As one of the top races in Tampa it has been run by people like Mark Allen, the six-time World Ironman Triathlon Champion, Ronnie Holassie, Dan Otz, and a whole host of others.   Over 200 volunteers help the race to happen, and the race also helps other local charities, such as Challenged Athletes Foundation, Pinellas County Youth Ranch, Operation PAR, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts.

Come along and show your support, and if you can take part!



Keanan Kintzel: Hello, who are you? Where are you from and what are you doing?

There always seems to be a lot to do in Clearwater, and the events that are happening here are all pretty family friendly, so people of all ages can come. 

The revitalization of downtown is something that a lot of people have been working together for. Everyone from Imagine Clearwater to the Church of Scientology, and all of the individual block committees that make up the local community. Everyone wants to bring more people into downtown Clearwater, and to make it an even better place to live.

A lot of things are coming in to play, such as new housing, to new restaurants, and new retailers. All of these components are essential to booming the town and its economy, and attracting more visitors.

Second Century Studios and Bazaar Art Co-op were brought in to help increase the amount of art downtown, but also there will be art events hosted at various sites throughout the city, tapping into the already existing art scenes and music scenes, and bringing new people in as well.

You have Capitol Theater, which has been bringing some big names into the town - with great concerts and movies showing regularly. Clearwater Main Library which has held its own events for Comics and regularly hosts local authors and book signings, is also very active in creating interesting things for people to do.

Every Friday there is Lunchtime music in Station Square Park, and BLAST! Fridays have been drawing really big crowds to enjoy the entertainment and the food and drink. With art galleries, and great restaurants, and interesting shops, there is always something to keep you occupied, and something to bring you back for more.

St Pete has the Firestone Grand Prix, where the streets are taken over every year by the fast moving race cars from the IndyCar Series, and you can barely move for the crowds, or hear yourself think for the noise.

Clearwater puts an interesting spin on the whole racing phenomenon, with it's annual Achieva Box Car Rally, which, this year, took place on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Trading in the noise of race cars for the excited crowd, drawn from all ages, there were a lot people in attendance.

The main course the drivers take starts at the intersection of Osceola and Cleveland, and continues west down Cleveland to the waterfront.

You had Pee-Wees (7-12), Teens (13-17), Adults (18 and older), High School (where the driver represented a high school), Corporate (representing a business or organization) and Auto (where they represented a business in the automotive industry).

It was a fun day for everyone

Who doesn't like Tacos? Every October 4th the United States celebrates and promotes the consumption of tacos, and Taco Bell and presumably all of the other places in Clearwater that regularly sell tacos are lined up to do some good business today.

Taco Bell has a $5 National Taco Day Gift Set, which include 4 tacos of your choosing, and it all comes in specially themed wrapping. They have an animated ad called Glen and the Magic Taco,  you can send tacograms, and apparently some lucky people are being invited to Taco Bell's "top secret test kitchen".

If you want to skip Taco Bell and go somewhere with a more local feel, this list from Foursquare definitely points you in the right direction.

Tacos can be enjoyed by everyone, coming in wheat or corn tortilla, and also contain a variety of different fillings. They are generally a fairly reasonable price, and they are pretty filling. Apparently, last year, Americans ate 4.5 billion tacos, which according to the national taco day site is 490,000 miles of tacos, or 775 million pounds, which weirdly equals the weight of two Empire State Buildings.

Seems like, with such popularity, eating tacos puts you in the company of a lot of people - Taco Tuesday as a thing has been going for a while, and the lines to Taco Bell never seem empty. It's a good thing. Tacos are great, and they are pretty healthy too.

People like to build things. People like technology. Makers like to combine these two things and turn out some pretty interesting projects, ranging from 3D printing to even more complex projects.

It used to be a pretty fringe activity, and in some ways it still is. There have, however been robot fighting shows on TV and in the local area, that share some common interests, and other events as well. Barnes & Noble have held maker workshops for both adults and kids at their stores - making innovative use of the fact that they have a brick and mortar store. Writers like Warren Ellis have created groups in their stories that combine the ethos of maker groups with transhumanism, and some of that has moved into the real world as well, with people embedding magnets in their fingers, and such. A lot of local groups have sprung up, and the areas of expertise that they include is ever-expanding.

Gulf Coast Makers Consortium is a great resource for anyone interested in learning new skills or in making their skills available to others. Locally we have groups like St Pete Makers, and there is Backyard Workshop in Clearwater. Maker communities can have as their focus anything from producing food, to art, to 3D printers, to making available resources for adults and children alike who have a leaning towards STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

It doesn't take much digging around to find groups and events, and given the educational bent of most enterprises, a lot of schools are getting really interested in it, so if you have kids they may already know a fair bit about it. With this kind of thing going on, if you have any interest in science and technology, you should never be at a loss for what to do.