You’re invited to celebrate birthdays of dolphins Winter and Hope at Clearwater Marine Aquarium

One of the world’s most famous dolphins, Winter, is turning 10 on Oct. 10 — that’s Saturday! — and Clearwater Marine Aquarium is inviting you to help celebrate this weekend. The aquarium also is celebrating Hope’s 5th birthday that day. Winter and Hope were both rescued in the month of December at an estimated age of two months, which is why CMA celebrates their birthdays in October.

To start things off, children ages 3 through 12 who bring a homemade birthday card to the aquarium for Winter or Hope on Saturday will receive $10 off general admission. (One discount per child per birthday card.) At 3:30 p.m., guests can join in singing “Happy Birthday” to Winter and Hope. If you can’t be there, you can see the song being sung @CMAquarium via the Periscope app.

On Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 1 p.m., guests can participate in party games and kid-friendly crafts. Plus, everyone can enjoy complimentary slices of birthday cake at Shark Bites Café (while supplies last).

During the entire month of October, visitors can give Winter and Hope paper presents. All they have to do is go to the aquarium gift shop and donate $2 toward the care of the dolphins, and they will be given a paper present to sign. It will be displayed in the aquarium to show their contribution. Every donor will be entered in a drawing to win a $100 gift certificate toward a birthday party at CMA.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium also hosted a cake decorating challenge this week, inviting “Dolphin Tale” fans to “create any cake, cookies or cupcakes in honor of Winter and Hope’s birthdays and share them on Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s Facebook wall utilizing hashtag #CMACakeChallenge.” Four finalists have been chosen (see below). The winner will be announced at 5 p.m. ET Sunday at the aquarium, live via Periscope and on Facebook. He or she will receive an exclusive “Dolphin Tale 2” prize package.

Winter was rescued in 2005 from a crab trap rope entanglement. Her story of determination inspired the popular film, “Dolphin Tale.” Hope was rescued five years and one day after Winter. She was found near the site where Winter was found at a similar age — just a couple of months old. After her rehabilitation, she was paired with Winter, and they have become the best of friends. Hope’s rescue in 2010 and her friendship with Winter inspired “Dolphin Tale 2,” the second film to be based on true events at CMA.

Because of my daughter’s love of dolphins, and Winter in particular, my family and I began visiting Clearwater Marine Aquarium about four years ago. I gave a detailed description about what you can expect from your visit in this blog post. (Times and prices were accurate at the time of publication. Please check seewinter.com for current ticketing details.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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