{"id":1603,"date":"2026-05-26T04:07:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603"},"modified":"2026-05-26T04:07:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T04:07:06","slug":"clearwater-honor-fest-brings-veterans-and-families-together-for-memorial-day-tribute-candlelight-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603","title":{"rendered":"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEARWATER, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>A Memorial Day tribute in Clearwater brought together veterans, families and friends to honor America\u2019s fallen heroes.<\/p>

Read more Over 80,000 toys and LED shot glasses recalled due to battery hazards<\/a><\/p>

Annual tribute event<\/h2>

The backstory:<\/p>

<\/div>

The Clearwater Honor Fest featured patriotic tributes, veteran support booths and a candlelight ceremony at the Florida Veterans Memorial Plaza.<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

Organizers focused the event on remembering those who lost their lives while inspiring others to carry on their legacy.<\/p>

American flags filled the plaza as veterans, families and community members gathered together. Vietnam War Air veteran Diane Hoots highlighted the importance of this event.<\/p>

Resources shared with community<\/h2>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

“A good way to get a lot of the supporting vendors together,” Hoots said. “To show all the people that support veterans, all the things available to help us out.”<\/p>

Dozens of support groups and organizations set up booths throughout the event, including Hoots and fellow veteran Laurel B.<\/p>

Both women credited the contributions of female veterans, pointing out they\u2019re often overlooked.<\/p>

“We\u2019re passionate about women too,” Laurel B. said. “A lot of times, people go up to a guy and assume they were in the military, but a lot [of] women have served too.”<\/p>

Read more Lindsie Chrisley facing DUI and reckless driving charges in Georgia<\/a><\/p>

As the sun set, the focus shifted to a candlelight ceremony honoring the many men and women who never made it home. Josh Porthouse with the Florida Veterans Coalition hosted the event.<\/p>

Preserving legacies<\/h2>

Big picture view:<\/p>

“We\u2019re focused on ensuring that their names and their legacies carry on,” Porthouse said. “Not specifically just a grieving moment.”<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

The event also featured remarks from 84-year-old Father Bob Swick, a retired Marine Corps captain and Vietnam veteran.<\/p>

“It\u2019s a solemn event and a tribute, not a celebration,” Swick said. “We recognize our brothers and sisters in uniform that gave their all.”<\/p>

The true meaning of Memorial Day<\/h2>

As candles lit the night sky, Swick shared a message about the true meaning of Memorial Day.<\/p>

“Do a random act of kindness,” Swick said. “When you do, you\u2019re going to be affecting somebody positively, and it has a ripple effect.”<\/p>

Read more Thousands gather at Bay Pines National Cemetery to honor fallen heroes on Memorial Day<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Memorial Day tribute in Clearwater brought together veterans, families and friends to honor America\u2019s fallen heroes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[244,270,102,101],"tags":[245,271,105,104],"class_list":["post-1603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clearwater","category-holidays","category-military-may","category-veterans","tag-clearwater","tag-holidays","tag-military-may","tag-veterans"],"yoast_head":"\nClearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony - Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Memorial Day tribute in Clearwater brought together veterans, families and friends to honor America\u2019s fallen heroes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T04:07:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0b9d8e0d566c1fec7b85aa4b7bd2b40d.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"524\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"headline\":\"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T04:07:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603\"},\"wordCount\":399,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Clearwater\",\"Holidays\",\"Military May\",\"Veterans\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Clearwater\",\"Holidays\",\"Military May\",\"Veterans\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603\",\"name\":\"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony - Tampa moving journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T04:07:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=1603#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tampa moving journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony - Tampa moving journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony - Tampa moving journal","og_description":"A Memorial Day tribute in Clearwater brought together veterans, families and friends to honor America\u2019s fallen heroes.","og_url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603","og_site_name":"Tampa moving journal","article_published_time":"2026-05-26T04:07:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":932,"height":524,"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0b9d8e0d566c1fec7b85aa4b7bd2b40d.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"headline":"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony","datePublished":"2026-05-26T04:07:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603"},"wordCount":399,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp","keywords":["Clearwater","Holidays","Military May","Veterans"],"articleSection":["Clearwater","Holidays","Military May","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603","name":"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony - Tampa moving journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-26T04:07:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/9e2c1df48a178d210dcebfed8cd0abd5.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=1603#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Clearwater Honor Fest brings veterans and families together for Memorial Day tribute, candlelight ceremony"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/","name":"Tampa moving journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}