"Clearwater Beach is known around the world for its beautiful sunsets, and we cannot imagine a better place to celebrate the final sunset of the year and sparkle into the next one." Lisa Chandler of Sunsets at Pier 60 Festival said that in the City of Clearwater's announcement of Sunset to Sparkle. The city calls it a brand-new New Year's Eve tradition for Clearwater Beach.
The new show changes how Dec. 31 works on the island. Its fireworks go off at 9 p.m. over Pier 60. The midnight show many people already know still happens too, but it launches from the north end of Sand Key Park, and organizers recommend watching from the south end of the beach. That gives the island two finales on one night, three hours apart, best seen from different spots. Everything else on the holiday calendar fits around that split.
Two launch sites, three hours apart
Sunset to Sparkle runs from 3 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, at Pier 60 Park. The city lists it as free. The program includes live entertainment, local artisans, street performers, amusement attractions and activities for all ages. It ends with what the city calls a grand finale fireworks display over Clearwater Beach at 9 p.m., so families can welcome the New Year together before midnight.
The later show is Light It Up, presented by Shephard's Beach Resort, also free and family-friendly, with fireworks at midnight. According to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the launch site at the northernmost part of Sand Key Park is closed to the public, and the best views are from the southern end of Clearwater Beach. The display is also visible along the rest of the beach.
Here's how the night lays out.
| Time on Dec. 31 | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 3 p.m. | Sunset to Sparkle opens | Pier 60 Park |
| Evening | Sunsets at Pier 60's regular nightly window, two hours before to two hours after sunset | Pier 60 |
| 9 p.m. | Sunset to Sparkle fireworks finale | Over Clearwater Beach at Pier 60 |
| 9:30 p.m. | Sunset to Sparkle ends | Pier 60 Park |
| Midnight | Light It Up fireworks | Launched from the north end of Sand Key Park, best seen from the south end of Clearwater Beach |
For a household with young kids and grandparents in town, the 9 p.m. show covers the whole evening in one place at Pier 60. If you're staying up for midnight, you'll be moving south as the night goes on. And because Sunset to Sparkle ends at 9:30, the two crowds shouldn't overlap much.
Pier 60 already owns every other night through Jan. 9
The early show makes sense once you look at who's running it. Sunsets at Pier 60 is back for its winter run every night from Oct. 31, 2026, through Jan. 9, 2027, weather permitting. It runs from two hours before sunset to two hours after. According to the city, the nonprofit has put on free, family-oriented entertainment on Clearwater Beach for more than 30 years, featuring artisans and street performers with the Gulf behind them.
So Sunset to Sparkle grows out of something already happening at Pier 60 every night. The same organization, partnering with the city, starts at 3 p.m. on the last day of the year and adds fireworks and amusement attractions. It's the nightly festival scaled up for New Year's Eve, timed around the year's final sunset and wrapping up by 9:30 p.m.
The same group also produces the Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival, which returns March 26 through April 11, 2027. Between the winter run of Sunsets, the new New Year's Eve event and Sugar Sand in spring, one nonprofit fills most of Pier 60's calendar from Halloween to mid-April.
Dec. 12 points the other way, toward Island Estates and the marina
The season's other big night happens on the bay side. The Clearwater Yacht Club's 52nd Annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. Boats launch just north of the Mandalay Channel Bridge, loop around Island Estates, pass Coachman Park, head toward the Sand Key Bridge and pass the Clearwater Yacht Club. The parade ends at the Clearwater Beach Marina, where the judging area is.
Any vessel can enter for free, individual or commercial. Registered boats compete for cash and prizes in four categories: Powerboats 30' & Over, Powerboats 29' & Under, Sailboats, and Overall Best in Parade. Judges score theme, color, lighting, creativity and special effects. The parade raises money for youth sailing scholarships at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center, which lets kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast get out on the water. Captains have to be represented at the pre-parade meeting at the club on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m.
Visit St. Pete-Clearwater's parade listing names these viewing spots on and near the beach side:
- Papaya Street Boat Launch, near Papaya Street Plaza
- Marina Cantina, Bait House Tackle & Tavern and Jimmy's Crows Nest, all waterfront restaurants
- Bayside rooms at JW Marriott Clearwater Beach, Opal Sands Resort, Hilton Clearwater Beach and Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach
- The Sand Key Bridge, plus Coachman Park at 300 Cleveland St. across the water downtown
The yacht club is holding a viewing party at its own marina at 6 p.m. for members, with friends and family welcome.
If you plan to bring your own boat, know that the finish line is still a construction site. The city's marina page says the Clearwater Beach Marina docks at 25 Causeway Blvd. are in the middle of a major renovation. The new fuel dock isn't working yet, a temporary fuel dock is being installed, and there are no transient or day docks. Tourism boats have moved into their new slips along Coronado Drive. The fishing fleet and dinner boats are operating from temporary spots along the floating docks.
The smaller dates that fill in the weeks between
Before the parade comes Thanksgiving, and two Gulfview Boulevard dining rooms have set plans. Visit St. Pete-Clearwater lists Thanksgiving Dinner at Latitude 28, 691 S. Gulfview Blvd., on Thursday, Nov. 26, from 3 to 10 p.m., with a three-course prix fixe. Opal Sands Resort, 430 S. Gulfview Blvd., serves its Thanksgiving 2026 menu from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations are taken at 727-450-6236.
A week after the parade, Clearwater Marine Aquarium at 249 Windward Passage on Island Estates holds Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 9 a.m. to noon. There's breakfast, crafts, story time and cookie decorating.
On Dec. 31, Opal Sands is also serving a reservations-only New Year's Eve dinner menu. That can work as a sit-down meal between the 9 p.m. show at Pier 60 and the midnight fireworks to the south.
Getting on and off the island on the two big nights
Both of the biggest dates fall on days the Clearwater Ferry runs. The ferry operates Thursday through Sunday between Downtown Clearwater, the Clearwater Beach Marina near Pier 60 and Dunedin. Dec. 12 is a Saturday and Dec. 31 is a Thursday. Coachman Park has its own ferry stop, so parade watchers can go from the beach to downtown by water. The Clearwater Beach Marina is also a stop on the Jolley Trolley's North Beach and South Beach routes.
If you drive, these public beach lots are within walking distance of the parade route: 420 S. Gulfview Blvd., 429 Mandalay Ave. and the main Clearwater Beach lot at Pier 60. On Dec. 31 the same Pier 60 lot sits right next to the 9 p.m. show. The city's Sunset to Sparkle page links to its parking FAQ, which advises arriving early and notes that beach meters have different enforcement hours and rates.
One more thing to know if you're walking around Pier 60 Park this season. The city says sidewalk repairs are underway at 370 Mandalay Ave., with sections of sidewalk closed while the pier, beach and park stay open.
Whichever show your household picks this year, Geri Sanchez and the Home Selling Group of Florida team know Clearwater Beach block by block, from Pier 60 to the south-end spots where the midnight crowd ends up. If you're thinking about what your home on the island could be worth as 2027 begins, Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through it.
