Downtown Clearwater Gets Snowed In

Jenny Esno was surprised to find out 10 years ago that children in Clearwater did not know what snow is.

They didn’t know what a sled or toboggan was either.

The Pittsburgh transplant wanted to change that and bring people from around the Tampa Bay area to downtown Clearwater. Enso is no longer part of the project, but she is the brains behind the snow that is coming to Cleveland Street as part of the holiday party Friday (Dec. 2).

“I left the snow to come build snow in the south,” she said.

And, with a cold front still in the air (the low is expected to be about 54, according to the National Weather Service), residents can expect snow on the 500 and 600 blocks of Cleveland Street.

About 7,000 people from all over the Tampa Bay area came out to toboggan down slides blanketed in snow last year.

“Last year it was just freezing outside,” Esno said. “It didn’t stop anybody, it was a lot like the way it should be.”

But to bring snow to Florida isn’t cheap. Esno said when she was planning the event it cost about $8,000. “But worth every penny,” she said.

The snow comes in bags of ice in the back of a large truck said Jay Polglaze, who helps volunteer and organize the event. The bags of ice are then shredded like tree branches through a mulcher.

In the past, a nearly 75-foot-long slide was covered in the shaved ice, Polglaze said.

“It’s a hoot seeing all these Floridians in knit hats, snow boots,” Polglaze said. “It’s uniquely weird Florida.”

The event will feature a tree lighting and live entertainment by the Clearwater Academy Children’s Choir, the Bella Voce Girl’s Choir and Tommy Mara and the Crests.

And, of course, the snow.

Esno is looking forward to the event this year though. She won’t have to push anyone down the slide. For the first time she can just enjoy the first snow of the season. 

For her, it's such a memorable time.

“Its absolutley amazing," Esno said.

If you go:

What: Miracle on Cleveland Street

When: 5:30 p.m. Friday (Dec. 2)

Where: 500 and 600 block of Cleveland Street