Downtown Clearwater Alive with the Holiday Spirit

With the recent palm tree lighting completed along Cleveland Street and holiday decorations up on downtown buildings, the District is ready for the Holidays.

From the Historic Fort Harrison to the Historic Clearwater Building, and the Humanitarian Centers sponsored by the Church of Scientology all received a touch of the Holidays from “the elves.” The City of Clearwater Parks and Recreations and their volunteers helped to light up Cleveland Street by decorating the palm trees lining the street along the 400 through the 600 blocks, in addition to the traditional holiday-themed colorful lit décor affixed to light poles.

“Coming downtown at night and seeing all the beautiful lighting and decorations makes it feel like we’re in a Christmas Village,” said Sam Lampson. “It brings out the holiday spirit which we can all use a large dose of after such an unusual year.”

“For those who love holiday themed photos, the community is invited to use the 102-year old Historic Clearwater building now housing the Scientology Information Center as their backdrop,” said Amber Skjelset, Manager of the Scientology Information Center. “The building façade is adorned with 15 wreaths with red and gold ribbons and white lights on Fort Harrison and Waterson Avenue, a red and green garland strand above the entrance, and two life-like lighted trimmed trees on the building’s exterior portico.”

Guests who are curious about Scientology can come inside and learn about the Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, see short videos on the basic tenets of Scientology, take virtual tours of Churches around the world and learn about the humanitarian programs sponsored by Scientologists. The Scientology Information Center is located at 500 Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater. For more information, please call 727-467-6966 or email amber@cos.flag.org or visit during its hours of operation: Sunday-Friday 10am-1pm and 2pm-7pm and Saturday 1-7pm.

No appointment is necessary. Masks are required indoors in accordance with the Pinellas County mandate, and are provided complimentary along with travel-sized bottles of hand sanitizer for guests.

For more information on Scientology, visit www.scientology.org or the Scientology Network on DirecTV channel 320, or streaming at www.scientology.tv or apps at appleTV, fireTV and ROKU.

The Scientology Information Center:

The Scientology Information Center, located in the century-old Clearwater Building in downtown Clearwater, opened on July 11, 2015, and currently houses a gallery of audiovisual displays with some 400 videos. The Center is open to all and provides a self-guided tour showing basic Scientology beliefs, Churches around the world, ongoing social programs and the life of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's founder. The Center offers tours to the broad public; and opens up the use of its conference room to social, civic and non-profit groups.