THUNDER BAY — Poor ticket sales have forced the cancellation of a concert to raise money to support further restoration of the Chippewa Park carousel.
Organizers, however, see this as just a small glitch in their fundraising efforts, saying they are getting plenty of other support from the community.
The Save Our Carousel committee had planned the Sounds of the Century Concert for Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Moose Lodge.
The event would have featured the popular Roy Coran Big Band and the Fort William Male Summer Choir.
People who have already purchased tickets may return them for a full refund at the location where they bought them.
Alternatively, they can be returned to the Save Our Carousel booth at the Westfort Street Fair on Aug. 17.
In announcing the cancellation of the concert, project manager Iain Angus thanked the individuals who had agreed to donate food and prizes for the event.
Angus said the committee continues to work toward the complete restoration of the 104-year-old C.W. Parker Carousel.
It's managed to collect about $700,000 including money and in-kind contributions such as free labour.
As an example, Angus cited an offer from the Thunder Bay carving community.
"They're going to re-carve all the dragons and branches on the rounding boards, and we're working with the local public board to have their students do a lot of the painting of the dragons and the rounding boards and centre column panels. That's a value of $240,000 or $250,000," he said.
The rounding boards are the panels at the top of the merry-go-round.
Angus said the castles currently depicted on the boards are not original components of the carousel.
They will be replaced by iconic scenes from the Thunder Bay area such as Mt. McKay and the Sleeping Giant.
