Clearwater, separated by the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach, is the county seat of Pinellas County, and is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2010 census, Clearwater's population was 107,685.
In 2012, Clearwater was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by CBS Money Watch.
In Clearwater you can enjoy Sunsets at Pier 60, a nightly festival featuring music, crafts and street performers. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the home of Winter, star of the movie Dolphin Tale, is inspiring to people around the world. Winter is a symbol of courage, perseverance and hope – and the aquarium is the only place where you can see her. The aquarium also offers three animal interaction programs, dolphin photo opportunities and stingray feedings.
Annual events in Clearwater include:
- Imagine International Film Festival
- Sea-Blues Seafood and Blues Festival[43] (late February)
- Sugar Sand Festival-Clearwater Beach (April)
- Fun N Sun Festival (April - May)
- Clearwater Celebrates America (July 4)
- Clearwater Jazz Holiday (October)
- Clearwater Greek Festival (October)
- Hispanic Heritage Festival (October)
- Serb Fest Clearwater (November)
- Turkey Trot (November)
- Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3[44] (November 2006 – 2010)
- Superboat International Championship
- Winter Wonderland (December)
Photo: Mikereichold [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]
