Watch Hope The Dolphin Dance Around As Bubbles Are Blown: Video

CLEARWATER, FL — Bubbles are one of Hope the dolphin's favorite enrichment activities. So, for her 12th birthday, the dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium was treated to a bubble party.

The aquarium staff said the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin loves to dance around and pop the bubbles with her nose (technically known as a rostrum) as they're blown her way.

Hope starred in the 2014 Warner Bros. movie "Dolphin Tale 2," with her best friend Winter, who died last November, Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble and Kris Kristofferson.

"Dolphin Tale" is about Cameron McCarthy (played by Freeman) developing a first-of-its-kind prosthetic tail for Winter so she could swim after she lost her tale when she was entangled in a crab trap line as a calf.

In "Dolphin Tale 2," Winter is grieving the loss of her surrogate mom, an elderly dolphin named Panama, who died. Since dolphins are social creatures, federal regulations require aquariums to keep dolphins in pairs but the aquarium staff was worried they'd have problems finding a female dolphin that Winter would accept as a pool mate.

The staff's "hope" of finding a suitable pool mate for Winter was resolved when a fisherman spotted a dolphin calf in shallow waters off Florida, trying to nurse from her dead mother, on Dec. 11, 2010.

The calf later named Hope was brought to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium where she was introduced to Winter and the two dolphins became fast friends.

Fortunately, Hope wasn't alone in her grief when Winter died last year. PJ, who was rescued on Aug. 21, 2018, was already accepted into the pod after arriving at the aquarium in March 2019.

At 51 years old, PJ is the oldest dolphin at the aquarium. She was found stranded in shallow water in Old Tampa Bay, and it was determined she couldn't be released back into the wild due to medical issues, including severe hearing loss, vision loss, worn teeth and arthritis.

This week's bubble birthday party for Hope was an ideal segue into the aquarium's latest offering for visitors, Boos and Bubbles, opening Friday.

During the Halloween event, kids can dance at a bubble party hosted by DJ Boo, mingle with playful poltergeists and giggling ghosts, enjoy a bubble show, create creepy crafts, watch spooktacular underwater dolphin and ghost dive presentations, see bubble acrobats.

Kids can also meet the aquarium's newest residents, two rare orange lobsters named Pumpkin and Spice.

Whitney’s Fresh Market in Hudson found them in a September shipment of Maine lobsters and decided to donate them over to the aquarium. According to the aquarium, an orange lobster is a one in 30 million chance, so finding the pair was particularly unusual.

Boos and Bubbles will take place Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 14 to 29 from 4 to 8 p.m.

Event access and free boat rides are included with admission to the aquarium. The boat rides will be offered every 30 minutes from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Click here.

Other seasonal experiences include:

• Create a nutritious harvest salad for the aquarium's resident green sea turtles using greens from the aquarium's hydroponic farm stuffed into a pumpkin. After learning about the hydroponic system, harvesting some lettuce and accompanying an aquarium biologist into the food prep area to make the healthy meal, kids can watch as their harvest salad is fed to the turtles. Click here.
• Go poolside and meet the aquarium's rare rough-toothed dolphins, Rex and Rudy. Kids can have their photos taken posing with the dolphins and some spooky props. Click here.
• Take the spooky edition of the Dolphin and Wildlife Boat Tour and explore Clearwater Bay’s haunted waters during this 60-minute eco-boat cruise. Families will learn more about dolphins, travel around a bird sanctuary and view seasonal wildlife during this family-friendly spooky cruise that takes place at on Fridays and Saturdays at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Click here.

See related stories:

• Amidst Tragic Loss Of Winter, Aquarium Finds Reason To Celebrate
• Winter The Dolphin's Death Mourned By Fans, Aquarium Staff
• Video: Stranded, Rudolph The Rough-Toothed Dolphin In Good Hands
• 2 Rare Orange Lobsters Get A New Home At Clearwater Marine Aquarium