We have been selected as a  Top Family Activities on Cape Cod: 2021 Winners

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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.
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Are you looking for that last-minute gift? Look no more! 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.

End Of A Long Road -
The Falmouth Enterprise Editorial Nov 6, 2020

Picture Night riders enjoy the Carousel of Light. Photo by George Taylor
  1. The Carousel of Light and its hand-carved horses that Lance Shinkle created might finally have a permanent home. The Falmouth School Committee last month agreed to transfer control of a small part of the Mullen-Hall School grounds to the Falmouth Select Board, which will allow the carousel committee to install the carousel permanently under a protective enclosure.
It has been a long time coming. Mr. Shinkle started carving the horses for the carousel in the late 1980s. According to Enterprise archives he originally planned to build a traveling carousel, but his plans changed by 1993. Mr. Shinkle decided to find a permanent spot for the carousel where he could operate it and demonstrate the art of carving carousel animals. He also hoped to use it to raise funds for cancer research.
Falmouth quickly got behind the idea. The chamber of commerce endorsed it. The Falmouth Village Association wrote Mr. Shinkle of its desire to have the carousel in the center of town and offered to help raise funds.
A committee was formed. Friends of the Carousel of Lights included some names still associated with the project: Troy Clarkson, Rich Sherman and Jim Bowen.
It all looked promising; the committee signed an agreement with Mr. Shinkle and Elizabeth and Maxwell Millard, who owned property behind what is today Añejo, and offered to lease it to the committee for a dollar a year.
Then things began to unravel. The committee’s agreement with Mr. Shinkle expired, and it started to look into buying a different carousel. Mr. Shinkle set his carousel up in Mashpee Commons.
Years went by, and Mr. Shinkle moved to California to care for his father. When he returned the following year, life for the carousel began again. Mr. Shinkle donated the carousel to the newly formed Carousel of Light Inc., which formed as a nonprofit.
And in 2013 the organization received permission for the schools to operate the carousel during the summer on the grounds of the Mullen-Hall school. The first year, it attracted some 20,000 riders.
A permanent home was and is still needed. It is expensive to take down and store the carousel every winter. There is also too much wear and tear, especially on the turning mechanism, which is a 1947 Herschell.
Town Meeting will be wise to approve the new location. It takes little from the school grounds, as it is tucked away in a far corner. Yet it will be prominent enough to be seen and used by residents and summer visitors.
“Unique” is very often a misused word, but it applies unqualified to the Carousel of Light. There are several other hand-carved carousels in the country, but none is like any other. Except, of course, for the happiness they give young riders. And as Rich Sherman said nearly 30 years ago, the rides also bring out the children in adults.
www.capenews.net/falmouth/opinion/end-of-a-long-road---editorial/article_199e3fa3-cf05-5d95-abfc-c5e988fa3d91.html

Listen to Denise Terry read The Horses Took Flight.

 Troy's Take- "I Believe Horses Can Take Flight" 
The Falmouth Enterprise Sept 25, 2020

Sometimes, when your eyes, ears and heart are open, amazing things happen. When I got this letter in an email a few days ago, I didn’t believe it myself. But then I read Denise Terry’s book “The Horses Took Flight: A Cape Cod Carousel Story” in which she tells the tale of the Carousel of Light’s colorful horses leaving their home at the Mullen-Hall School and visiting places throughout the community, highlighting some of our rich local history. I realized that just because I don’t see Santa when he comes each year, and just because I can’t see a gentle summer breeze when it rustles the leaves on the trees in my yard, doesn’t mean I can’t believe in them.
I believe. The horses can take flight. The horses did. They have come to love Falmouth as much as I do and wanted to share their love of our community with me. I’m so happy to share it with all of you now. Here’s the letter from the horses of the Carousel of Light:
Dear Mr. Clarkson:
Because you have been a friend to the Carousel of Light for so many years, we are writing to ask you to tell the children of Falmouth that we are thinking of them. We didn’t expect our winter home, Mass Maritime, to be our summer place too! But during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carousel of Light was not set up at Mullen-Hall School. We miss everyone so much!
We, the horses, are doing well and have spent our time thinking and dreaming, remembering and planning. There is a lot to think about! Thunder and Lightning follow a weather app, so we know you had many great beach days. Sweet Caroline listens to the Red Sox on her radio and cheers every play, even though the team is in last place. Patriot wanted so badly to celebrate the Fourth of July—we all did!
Some of us have been going out for spa treatments with the restorative talents of Joseph Gregg. He did a lot of the interior work at beautiful Highfield Hall, so we feel like celebrities when he freshens our paint and smooths our rough edges. Lancelot is more handsome than ever, our shining knight. Karamel is golden, and Fireworks splashes with color. We didn’t think that Starlight Mist could be more beautiful, but she literally glows.
At night, we dream about the children, the laughter, the music and the sunshine. Shy Guy, who sometimes felt overwhelmed by all the company we had, now wishes he could be surrounded by the families and the noise. Bubbles just wants to dance!
When we are awake, we daydream about future summers in Falmouth.
We imagine the wooden building being planned by our board and their team of architects, engineers and community volunteers. We see the Carousel of Light set on the hill above Shivericks Pond, with a roof to protect our heads and a floor to prance upon. We picture a place where children don’t have to wait for Memorial Day to climb up and take a ride, a place where summer fun extends throughout the year, but only when school is not in session because we know the importance of learning time.
Imagine the children in their Halloween costumes riding on our backs! Cherokee wants the cowpokes, and Rosebud wants the princesses! We see birthday parties and family reunions. At Thanksgiving, a family might come with grandparents and babies, teenagers and aunties. And Christmas won’t stop talking about draping holly above us and giving us wreaths to wear around our necks. The holidays would be so exciting when they are celebrated on a carousel with Miss Beth playing “Jingle Bells” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
We dream about our permanent home. All we need, once this health crisis is history, is to move into the future with the help of the community. Their approval will open up the gate and we will gallop on to a new chapter and a happy new year!
Do the people of Falmouth want to make our dreams come true? In New England, at the Town Meeting, citizens can vote for ways to make their town a better and happier place. Would they listen to us? Will the children speak up? Do we have a vote? We hope so, and we are grateful for all the love supporters of all ages have given us over the years. Falmouth is our home, and we hope to keep it that way—always.
Thanks for listening!
With Love,
The Carousel Horses
It’s amazing what can happen when your eyes, ears and heart are open.
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.
DONATE


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

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Thank you to everyone who attended our celebration of 100,000 riders since we opened in 2014 at the Mullen-Hall School.

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. ​

Here is a video that Brian Switzer's Acting Camp made for us.

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.

The carousel is governed by the Board of Directors of the Carousel of Light Inc., a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Please support the businesses that support us
follow this link for more businesses  that help us out
Cloverfield Lawn Care
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Damien Wells Electric
     Professional, quality electrical work
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Falmouth Chamber of Commerce