THUNDER BAY -- The Save Our Carousel campaign saw a great turnout at their “Sneak Peek” event on Tuesday, May 29 at in the Sleeping Giant Brewery tap room. The event was held as an opportunity to update the community on the ongoing restoration of the Chippewa Park Carousel.
The event kicked off with Donna Gilhooly, Co-Chair of the carousel restoration project, providing the opening remarks to a full tap room. Jules Tupker, the capital campaign chair, followed and updated the room on the ongoing restoration and how they could get involved. He reminded the audience that while adopting a horse comes with a $20,000 or $25,000 price tag there are other ways to sponsor or donate with options all the way from 1$ to $25,000.
Heartwarming stories of adoption followed with Donna presenting how Ed Metzler adopted the horse he used to ride as a child and named it after his very first childhood pet, a dog named Prince. Early adopters, Karen and Ed Fukushima went up with their grandchildren to say a few words about how happy they were to participate in such a worthy cause and how excited they are to have named their two horses after their grandchildren.
Then, with all eyes on the horse, the unveiling began. Working together, Karen and Ed Fukushima, Kateri Banning (early adopter), Vic Germaniuk (restorer), and Ed Metzler gave the audience what they had been waiting for. As the blue horse blanket fell away the tap room erupted in oohs, ahhs, and loud applause as the exquisitely restored horse made its first public appearance.
To date, 14 of the 28 horses on the carousel have been restored to as close to factory condition as possible however they are all still waiting on their “bling” as glass jewels will be installed next winter. Tuesday night saw Horse 7B unveiled to the public as the very first public appearance of a restored carousel horse. For anyone who is familiar with the condition of the horses before restoration the difference was stark and the experience of the unveiling was breathtaking. About seventy people were in attendance at the event and $190.00 was raised, about enough for the restoration of one horseshoe and one set of bit and reigns. So far, the Save Our Carousel campaign has raised about half of its $900,000 goal.
The carousel, which is currently enjoying its 103rd year of existence and 83rd year in Thunder Bay will begin operations for this summer season this Sunday out at Chippewa Park during the Kite Festival. The newly restored horses, including 7B, will be present on the carousel and everyone is invited to come out, take a ride, and enjoy the craftsmanship and another wonderful summer out at Chippewa Park.
The Save Our Carousel campaign would like to thank everyone who came out to the event to enjoy the unveiling. They would also like to thank everyone who has donated or adopted so far and note that Rob Prober has also adopted a horse but was unable to make it to the event. Additional thanks go out to Sleeping Giant Brewery for the use of their venue and to Rooster’s Bistro for coffee donation.
If you would like to contact the Save Our Carousel campaign to donate or get involved you can go to www.saveourcarousel.ca or email coordinator@saveourcarousel.ca
