The 1st annual Clearwater Heritage Festival makes its debut next weekend, August 2 – 5. The new festival takes the place of the city’s annual Heritage Day.
The Clearwater community was disappointed when the city’s long-time Heritage Day was canceled last year due to an unexpected issue. Determined not to let Clearwater continue without a celebration, a group of individuals got together last fall to brainstorm ideas. An organization was formed and committees chaired.
Next weekend their hard work will be coming to fruition.
“We’ve no longer Heritage Days, we’ve got a new name,” said Clearwater Heritage Festival President Brandii Thomas. “We wanted fresh ideas to revitalize and restart.”
The new festival will be a mix of old and new, with old favorites like the parade and fireworks joining new events, such as a medallion hunt, historical presentation with local authors, and kids’ BMX race.
Another new event has been historical Clearwater trivia on the organization’s Facebook page,
And for the first time there will be a digital parade program that can be downloaded from the Clearwater Heritage Festival’s Facebook page or website.
The fun starts Wednesday with a kids’ BMX race, historical presentation, and a children’s play by CLIMB Theatre at the Clearwater Library. Thursday features a senior pie social and a Music in the Park concert.
Along with the parade, Friday’s Fun Fest includes the Lion’s dinner, petting zoo, face painting, and bungee trampoline jumping. The band Mystery Machine and fireworks round out the day’s entertainment. All events will be held at Lion’s Park, which is also the designated place to watch the fireworks.
Saturday is full of events as well, with vintage snowmobile and car shows and craft and vendor show, all located at Rejoice Lutheran Church’s parking lot. Clearwater Corners is holding their bean bag tournament, the fire department is holding their open house, Parts City is hosting their customer appreciation event, and the Zoo-Mobile will be at the Clearwater Library.
The Clearwater Legion Riders annual Homeless Veterans Bike Run fundraiser is also on Saturday, which includes a number of events itself, and ending with a street dance featuring the band Pandemic.
The festival concludes on Sunday with a family whiffle ball game hosted by CLAYBA. The medallion Hunt and Kids Scavenger Hunt both begin July 31 and run through the festival.
Without the support of the community and local businesses Clearwater Heritage Festival would have never come to fruition.
“One of our goals was to get the community and local businesses involved more,” said Thomas. “We wanted to make connections and get their input.”
The business community has stepped up in a big way. TO Plastics is paying for the fireworks in honor of their 75th anniversary, the Clearwater Travel Plaza is paying for Friday night’s band, Clearwater Outfitters is paying for the prizes for the Medallion Hunt and Kids’ History Hunt, and the Clearwater Lions have provided donations and volunteer time.
Along with those businesses, other major festival sponsors include Clearwater Parts City, Lake Central Bank, Tri-County Lumber, and Franklin Graphics. There have also been donations from other local businesses.
Another of the organization’s goals was to focus on giving back to the community. For example, a $10 donation to the Clearwater/Clear Lake Area Food Shelf is required to participate in the car and vintage snowmobile shows.
Organizers expect the festival will be an annual event and will continue to grow.
“We’re celebrating our community through the festival,” said Thomas. “By attending you’ll learn a lot about Clearwater, even if you’ve lived here for a while. We’re not just a pass through truck stop town, there’s a lot to Clearwater.”
Complete information on the festival, including times and locations of events, can be found by visiting Clearwater Heritage Festival’s Facebook page or website at clearwaterheritagefestival.com.
