The Carousel of Light is closed for the remainder of the 2021 season.
We are so sorry to announce the Carousel of Light is closed for the remainder of the 2021 season. Our mechanical team has been working diligently to make repairs for ten days. To repair the machine, parts were flown in overnight at great expense. Unfortunately, we were not to get our historical antique carousel mechanism running again.
What’s next for the carousel? We need to acquire a permanent location to build a structure that will house our hand-carved masterpiece which has brought so much joy to over 140,000 kids of all ages since 2014. Once the building is complete, we can rebuild and restore this rare Allan Herschell portable machine that turns the horses on their turntable. To do this, we will need the support of town meeting members this fall. If successful, we will then raise funds to build an permanent home for the carousel, restore and rebuild the mechanism and keep the Carousel of Light in Falmouth, nestled alongside beautiful Shivericks Pond for generations to come.
What’s next for the carousel? We need to acquire a permanent location to build a structure that will house our hand-carved masterpiece which has brought so much joy to over 140,000 kids of all ages since 2014. Once the building is complete, we can rebuild and restore this rare Allan Herschell portable machine that turns the horses on their turntable. To do this, we will need the support of town meeting members this fall. If successful, we will then raise funds to build an permanent home for the carousel, restore and rebuild the mechanism and keep the Carousel of Light in Falmouth, nestled alongside beautiful Shivericks Pond for generations to come.
'Art in motion': Hand-carved Carousel of Light gets spruced up as fans push for permanent home
Dina Kaur -Cape Cod Times- Published August 18, 2021
FALMOUTH — The Carousel of Light, a familiar summer attraction downtown in recent years, has been going through a restoration as well as a search for a new home.
The 2020 closure due to COVID-19 gave restorer Joseph Gregg the chance to refurbish more than half of artist Lance Shinkle’s nearly 35-year-old hand-carved figures. At the same time, supporters have continued to work to establish an enclosed location for the entertainment that is also a piece of art.
The carousel will continue spinning daily through Labor Day weekend at the playground of the Mullen Hall School, to the delight of thousands of local and visiting children and families. The carousel was named this year as one of 29 of the best children’s activities on Cape Cod by capecodvacationrentals.com.
"It's like a light in this craziness, it's a light that everybody needed," said Ashley Pavlovich from Falmouth, who volunteers to house the carousel horses during the winter. Her children ride the Carousel of Light multiple times each season. "From getting your tickets to getting on the ride, the staff, everybody is amazing and we love it so much," she said.
In a few weeks, the board of directors of the nonprofit Carousel of Light Inc. plan to update the Select Board on plans for a permanent home in anticipation of asking voters at the Nov. 15 town meeting to help make that happen.
A long historyThe carousel dates back to 1988, when Falmouth artist Shinkle started to hand-carve the horses and chariots based on a book he had created for his daughter. The project became one of the few hand-carved carousels in the country, according to the organization’s website.
Shinkle used local lumber, cutting first with a chainsaw to get the shape of the horse, then chiseling and sanding, according to board secretary Denise Terry, who wrote a book “The Horses Took Flight” as a fundraiser for the carousel. “Each horse had a personality that he gave them,” she said of Shinkle’s work.
In 1993, Shinkle found a 1947 Allan Herschell Model in Ohio for the carousel mechanism and calliope and bought it with the help of private loans from friends and supporters, the website says. Now, the nautical-themed carousel consists of 23 different figures: 20 horses, a mermaid, a chariot and a large wave bench (wheelchair-accessible) and 12 scenery panels.
The carousel first operated in 1993 at the Barnstable County Fair in East Falmouth, then at other locations around Cape Cod, including Mashpee Commons, before Shinkle moved to California in 1999 to take care of his ill father. Shinkle shipped the carousel pieces back to the Cape in 2013, according to the website, and donated his “masterpiece” to the nonprofit.
The carousel, which the organization describes as “art in motion,” began operating seasonally in 2014 at the school. According to the website, more than 120,000 kids of all ages “have made a merry-go-round memory” since then, with many of the rides donated to senior and children’s organizations.
After nearly 35 years, though, that carousel was due for an update. Volunteer restorer Gregg said that over time, the protective top coat of varnish had started to turn yellow or white, obscuring the base colors. There were also some nicks, dents and chips that needed to be fixed or replaced.
He worked on the pieces during the pandemic in shop space donated by Highfield Hall & Gardens, finishing 13 of the horses so far at a cost of about $3,000. When the carousel closes for the season, he will start working at Highfield again on the remaining figures.
Gregg uses non-toxic, soy-based paint remover, oil-based finish paints and water-based polyurethane top coats. He has had to change the main color of two of the horses due to severe "blushing" of the epoxy top coat on them.
"Lance Shinkle, the creator of this carousel, is an artist," Gregg said. "I am, on the other hand, at best a good painter/restorer who was probably chosen because I am fairly 'anal' when it comes to working on a project as amazing as this and, like most people who grew up in a small town in the Midwest, I love carousels."
A permanent home?Other supporters will continue work after the season ends to find the Carousel of Light a permanent home to eliminate the need each fall to take down the mechanism and store the horses away, which risks damaging the carousel.
Board president Troy Clarkson said that in the next few weeks, they hope to provide the Select Board an update on their progress with the permanent location plan.
Several years ago, the Select Board appointed a task force that included two of its members, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Clarkson and another carousel board member. After multiple meetings and significant research, they unanimously agreed that the site adjacent to the Mullen Hall School, by Shiverick Pond, was the best location, Clarkson said.
Earlier this year, with the majority support of the School Committee and Select Board, carousel supporters asked voters at a virtual town meeting to allow the carousel to use a parcel of land to be able to remain on part of the Mullen Hall School property under an enclosure. Clarkson said discussion in the virtual meeting wasn't as "robust" as normal, and while the proposal received the majority of votes, it didn't get the two-thirds that was required to grant the space.
The November town meeting is, at this point, proposed to be in person and the carousel supporters will ask the select board to allow them to go back and try again with a more detailed discussion, Clarkson said.
Over the years, he said, there has been wide community support for the project, including from engineer Mike Borselli and architect Antonia Kenny. They plan to show the select board members a rendering of what a building could look like, and Clarkson said the construction estimate will be more than $1 million.
If the nonprofit wins town meeting support, Clarkson said he’d like to believe it’s possible the carousel could operate in its permanent location next summer, but it’s more likely it will return to its seasonal home as it has in recent years, with the enclosed location open in 2023.
"We've operated for the past seven years at the current spot, but the Carousel of Light has been a non-profit organization in Falmouth for nearly 30 years and some of our volunteers have been with us that long," Clarkson said. "So it's really part of the fabric of the community and it's wonderful to see the community coalesce around it.”
‘A wonderful activity’The carousel is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily July 1 through Labor Day weekend at the Mullen Hall School playground, 130 Katharine Lee Bates Road. Tickets are $3 per ride, or $25 for a punch card of 10 rides, paid on site or bought via Venmo. The carousel also offers organizations such as the YMCA and the Falmouth Recreation Center free rides as a way of thanking the community.
Carousel operation costs about $60,000 each year, according to board vice president Don Terry, with ticket sales paying for $50,000 to $55,000 of that and the rest made up in donations.
Denise Terry said it has been exciting to have the carousel open after a year of COVID-19 closure.
"It's a wonderful activity,” she said. "Once the kids see it and get on it, it is a really exciting ride. It’s not a babyish ride, although the babies love it, too."
Sales of the book she wrote two years ago, with illustrations by local artist Karen Rinaldo, also help to keep the carousel running. (It can be purchased at the carousel, on the website or at Eight Cousins bookstore downtown.) The idea came from a story that Don Terry, her husband, would tell children waiting for the carousel to open in the morning — about how the horses get off the carousel at night and go to all these different places before returning for the kids to ride. In her book, she had the horses travel to Falmouth locations, including Nobska Lighthouse and the Island Queen ferry.
She used the names carousel operations manager Beth Juaire gave to the horses “so now the kids are really excited because they want a particular horse,” she said.
Juaire, who has lived in Falmouth for 21 years, was happy the carousel could operate again. "I've missed a lot of families that I see every summer," Juaire said as children enjoyed the ride nearby. "It was just really sad — all my memories kept popping up on my phone and (I’d) see the carousel from the years before, and (I’d) just get really upset and tears started forming a little bit from how much (I) missed it."
She said running the carousel is the best job she's ever had in her life, “just watching all the kids come with their families and making magical memories."
Juaire recently offered Brooklyn vacationer Michael Holt’s young son a free ride for learning how to ride a bicycle.
"It looks like he's enjoying it tremendously,” Holt said while he watched, saying that playing at the schoolyard was a good way to spend the summer. “It's a pretty carousel, so it looks like he's having a great time."
Don Terry said he and his wife wanted to be a part of the Carousel of Light because it's an amazing piece of artwork but also because of the joy children get from it.
"Have you seen those horses?” he said. “Come on, that's it, that's the answer. They're beautiful."
To help fund carousel operations, donations may be sent to Carousel of Light Inc., 17 Meadow Lane, Falmouth, MA 02540. Information: 202-615-0146, http://www.carouseloflight.org/.
https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2021/08/18/carousel-light-restored-fans-push-permanent-home-falmouth-cape-cod-shinkle-mullen-hall-town-meeting/8134344002/?fbclid=IwAR0u5vD9pQhJXiKb2bG88l5RQZwBbZx7_kMzPIjG5KeV38iDqh_ygOKHORI
FALMOUTH — The Carousel of Light, a familiar summer attraction downtown in recent years, has been going through a restoration as well as a search for a new home.
The 2020 closure due to COVID-19 gave restorer Joseph Gregg the chance to refurbish more than half of artist Lance Shinkle’s nearly 35-year-old hand-carved figures. At the same time, supporters have continued to work to establish an enclosed location for the entertainment that is also a piece of art.
The carousel will continue spinning daily through Labor Day weekend at the playground of the Mullen Hall School, to the delight of thousands of local and visiting children and families. The carousel was named this year as one of 29 of the best children’s activities on Cape Cod by capecodvacationrentals.com.
"It's like a light in this craziness, it's a light that everybody needed," said Ashley Pavlovich from Falmouth, who volunteers to house the carousel horses during the winter. Her children ride the Carousel of Light multiple times each season. "From getting your tickets to getting on the ride, the staff, everybody is amazing and we love it so much," she said.
In a few weeks, the board of directors of the nonprofit Carousel of Light Inc. plan to update the Select Board on plans for a permanent home in anticipation of asking voters at the Nov. 15 town meeting to help make that happen.
A long historyThe carousel dates back to 1988, when Falmouth artist Shinkle started to hand-carve the horses and chariots based on a book he had created for his daughter. The project became one of the few hand-carved carousels in the country, according to the organization’s website.
Shinkle used local lumber, cutting first with a chainsaw to get the shape of the horse, then chiseling and sanding, according to board secretary Denise Terry, who wrote a book “The Horses Took Flight” as a fundraiser for the carousel. “Each horse had a personality that he gave them,” she said of Shinkle’s work.
In 1993, Shinkle found a 1947 Allan Herschell Model in Ohio for the carousel mechanism and calliope and bought it with the help of private loans from friends and supporters, the website says. Now, the nautical-themed carousel consists of 23 different figures: 20 horses, a mermaid, a chariot and a large wave bench (wheelchair-accessible) and 12 scenery panels.
The carousel first operated in 1993 at the Barnstable County Fair in East Falmouth, then at other locations around Cape Cod, including Mashpee Commons, before Shinkle moved to California in 1999 to take care of his ill father. Shinkle shipped the carousel pieces back to the Cape in 2013, according to the website, and donated his “masterpiece” to the nonprofit.
The carousel, which the organization describes as “art in motion,” began operating seasonally in 2014 at the school. According to the website, more than 120,000 kids of all ages “have made a merry-go-round memory” since then, with many of the rides donated to senior and children’s organizations.
After nearly 35 years, though, that carousel was due for an update. Volunteer restorer Gregg said that over time, the protective top coat of varnish had started to turn yellow or white, obscuring the base colors. There were also some nicks, dents and chips that needed to be fixed or replaced.
He worked on the pieces during the pandemic in shop space donated by Highfield Hall & Gardens, finishing 13 of the horses so far at a cost of about $3,000. When the carousel closes for the season, he will start working at Highfield again on the remaining figures.
Gregg uses non-toxic, soy-based paint remover, oil-based finish paints and water-based polyurethane top coats. He has had to change the main color of two of the horses due to severe "blushing" of the epoxy top coat on them.
"Lance Shinkle, the creator of this carousel, is an artist," Gregg said. "I am, on the other hand, at best a good painter/restorer who was probably chosen because I am fairly 'anal' when it comes to working on a project as amazing as this and, like most people who grew up in a small town in the Midwest, I love carousels."
A permanent home?Other supporters will continue work after the season ends to find the Carousel of Light a permanent home to eliminate the need each fall to take down the mechanism and store the horses away, which risks damaging the carousel.
Board president Troy Clarkson said that in the next few weeks, they hope to provide the Select Board an update on their progress with the permanent location plan.
Several years ago, the Select Board appointed a task force that included two of its members, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Clarkson and another carousel board member. After multiple meetings and significant research, they unanimously agreed that the site adjacent to the Mullen Hall School, by Shiverick Pond, was the best location, Clarkson said.
Earlier this year, with the majority support of the School Committee and Select Board, carousel supporters asked voters at a virtual town meeting to allow the carousel to use a parcel of land to be able to remain on part of the Mullen Hall School property under an enclosure. Clarkson said discussion in the virtual meeting wasn't as "robust" as normal, and while the proposal received the majority of votes, it didn't get the two-thirds that was required to grant the space.
The November town meeting is, at this point, proposed to be in person and the carousel supporters will ask the select board to allow them to go back and try again with a more detailed discussion, Clarkson said.
Over the years, he said, there has been wide community support for the project, including from engineer Mike Borselli and architect Antonia Kenny. They plan to show the select board members a rendering of what a building could look like, and Clarkson said the construction estimate will be more than $1 million.
If the nonprofit wins town meeting support, Clarkson said he’d like to believe it’s possible the carousel could operate in its permanent location next summer, but it’s more likely it will return to its seasonal home as it has in recent years, with the enclosed location open in 2023.
"We've operated for the past seven years at the current spot, but the Carousel of Light has been a non-profit organization in Falmouth for nearly 30 years and some of our volunteers have been with us that long," Clarkson said. "So it's really part of the fabric of the community and it's wonderful to see the community coalesce around it.”
‘A wonderful activity’The carousel is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily July 1 through Labor Day weekend at the Mullen Hall School playground, 130 Katharine Lee Bates Road. Tickets are $3 per ride, or $25 for a punch card of 10 rides, paid on site or bought via Venmo. The carousel also offers organizations such as the YMCA and the Falmouth Recreation Center free rides as a way of thanking the community.
Carousel operation costs about $60,000 each year, according to board vice president Don Terry, with ticket sales paying for $50,000 to $55,000 of that and the rest made up in donations.
Denise Terry said it has been exciting to have the carousel open after a year of COVID-19 closure.
"It's a wonderful activity,” she said. "Once the kids see it and get on it, it is a really exciting ride. It’s not a babyish ride, although the babies love it, too."
Sales of the book she wrote two years ago, with illustrations by local artist Karen Rinaldo, also help to keep the carousel running. (It can be purchased at the carousel, on the website or at Eight Cousins bookstore downtown.) The idea came from a story that Don Terry, her husband, would tell children waiting for the carousel to open in the morning — about how the horses get off the carousel at night and go to all these different places before returning for the kids to ride. In her book, she had the horses travel to Falmouth locations, including Nobska Lighthouse and the Island Queen ferry.
She used the names carousel operations manager Beth Juaire gave to the horses “so now the kids are really excited because they want a particular horse,” she said.
Juaire, who has lived in Falmouth for 21 years, was happy the carousel could operate again. "I've missed a lot of families that I see every summer," Juaire said as children enjoyed the ride nearby. "It was just really sad — all my memories kept popping up on my phone and (I’d) see the carousel from the years before, and (I’d) just get really upset and tears started forming a little bit from how much (I) missed it."
She said running the carousel is the best job she's ever had in her life, “just watching all the kids come with their families and making magical memories."
Juaire recently offered Brooklyn vacationer Michael Holt’s young son a free ride for learning how to ride a bicycle.
"It looks like he's enjoying it tremendously,” Holt said while he watched, saying that playing at the schoolyard was a good way to spend the summer. “It's a pretty carousel, so it looks like he's having a great time."
Don Terry said he and his wife wanted to be a part of the Carousel of Light because it's an amazing piece of artwork but also because of the joy children get from it.
"Have you seen those horses?” he said. “Come on, that's it, that's the answer. They're beautiful."
To help fund carousel operations, donations may be sent to Carousel of Light Inc., 17 Meadow Lane, Falmouth, MA 02540. Information: 202-615-0146, http://www.carouseloflight.org/.
https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2021/08/18/carousel-light-restored-fans-push-permanent-home-falmouth-cape-cod-shinkle-mullen-hall-town-meeting/8134344002/?fbclid=IwAR0u5vD9pQhJXiKb2bG88l5RQZwBbZx7_kMzPIjG5KeV38iDqh_ygOKHORI
The big hit this year is "It's Raining Tacos"
We have been selected as a Top Family Activities on Cape Cod: 2021 Winners
At the Carousel of Light, we are proud to accept the award a 2021 Top Winner.
Click on this link to learn all about the winners so you can plan your next family vacation. |
We are Open Daily until Labor Day Weekend!
A beloved fixture of Falmouth Village, the carousel has delighted local residents and visitors to Falmouth since 2013. One of the few remaining carousels of its kind in the United States, kids and adults alike flock to this Cape Cod institution every summer. Brightly colored hand-carved horses spin around the cheery red and white striped top. Joyous music fills the air as the horses go 'round. Take a ride on Patriot, Butterscotch or everyone's favorite, Pearl.
Join the more than 120,000 riders over the last seven years and make a merry-go-round memory this summer, too! The Falmouth School Committee and Superintendent Lori Duerr have once again been important partners in our efforts to bring joy and happiness to residents and visitors alike with rides on the Carousel of Light's hand-carved horses. While the carousel horses were corralled during the pandemic, they underwent loving and painstaking refurbishment by local volunteer Joseph Gregg and await a new season of eager carousel fans. We are open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning July 1st and close Labor Day weekend. We will be closed during any rainfall. Carousel rides cost $3. A book of ten rides can be purchased at the ticket booth for $25. The carousel is located on the Mullen School grounds located at 130 Katharine Bates Road in Falmouth. Get up to date news on our Facebook page. |
We have new punch cards that come with a beautiful cardholder for your favorite Carousel Of Light fan. They are available at Blast From The Past, Gallery on Main, and New Wave Printing in Falmouth. The purchase price is $25 for the ten ride punch card. (Punch cards NEVER expire) These punch cards have a brand new look, and we think that they are fantastic, so get yours now!!
If you live off-Cape, then email us to receive yours in the mail.
If you live off-Cape, then email us to receive yours in the mail.
End Of A Long Road -
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Troy's Take- "I Believe Horses Can Take Flight"
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Announcing the publication of our new book, "The Horses Took Flight"- a beautifully written children's tale brought to life by Falmouth's artist extraordinaire, Karen Rinaldo and author Denise Terry.
"Legend has it that every Fourth of July, while fireworks light up the sky over Vineyard Sound on Cape Cod, carousel horses set out to visit all the sites around town.”
Autographed copies are available at Eight Cousins Bookshop on Main Street in Falmouth. All proceeds support the Carousel of Light.
"Legend has it that every Fourth of July, while fireworks light up the sky over Vineyard Sound on Cape Cod, carousel horses set out to visit all the sites around town.”
Autographed copies are available at Eight Cousins Bookshop on Main Street in Falmouth. All proceeds support the Carousel of Light.
The Carousel of Light is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation is hard at work to bring this dream into reality. Funds are needed to repair, restore and maintain the horses and the vintage 1947 Allen Herschell mechanism that makes the merry go round spin. Donations can be made online or by check payable to Carousel of Light Inc. (tax ID 04-322147) at PO Box 184, Falmouth, MA 02541
Check our Facebook page for changes to our schedule
The Carousel of Light runs on the
Mullen-Hall School playground,130 Katharine Lee Bates Road
in Falmouth center, across from the Falmouth Public Library
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Cape Cod Life Features the Carousel of Light in it's May 2016 issue.
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Here is a video that Brian Switzer's Acting Camp made for us.
Carousel of Light from Brian Switzer on Vimeo. You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around--and why his parents will always wave back." --William D. Tammeus, Pulitzer Prize Journalist.
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