Highlights of 2012 National Carousel Association Convention

On September 19 - 23, 2012 The National Carousel Association held its annual convention in St. Joseph, Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan. The five day event which included a pre-convention technical workshop was hosted by the members of the Silver Beach Carousel, a newly built carousel by Carousel Works of Mansfield, Ohio. The busy convention included bus trips to visit carousels across the State and in Chicago area and also a banquet, auctions, and exhibit/shopping area. Jim and Jackie Shulman attended the convention and were recruited again to be “bus captains.”

Jim and Jackie with Suz Schalon, Convention Chairperson

The schedule included:

Wednesday September 19th: Full day Technical Workshop with segments on marketing, gift shops, maintaining and operating a carousel and fundraising.

Evening convention opening with carnival atmosphere including face painting, popcorn, carousel rides, fortune telling, mimes and more.  Jim was face-painted for the first time in his life!

Thursday September 20th: Eastern Michigan Tours with a visit  to Crossroads Village, an old fashion small amusement park with a 1912 CW Parker Carousel.

Then a visit to the Henry Ford Museum’s Greenfield Village which included a 1913 Herschell- Spillman Carousel.

Friday September 21st: Full day trip to the Illinois Coast Area.  First stop was the Bookfield Zoo with a 2006 Carousel Works endangered species carousel... their largest constructed.

The afternoon and evening was a special treat with a private visit to the Sanfilippo Foundation Place de la Musique housing an 1890 Eden Palais Carousel, over 1,000 orchestrion music machines, crank phonographs, amusement machines, a train, dozens of band organs, antique machinery and much more. Host Jasper Sanfilippo provided an organ concert in the huge auditorium with its incredible organ. Jasper was head of the family’s Fisher Nut Company and he loves the collection and sharing of antique musical and related items.

Saturday September 22nd: West Michigan Coast Tour. Visits included the Grand Rapids 1928 Spillman Carousel, the Fred Meier Gardens and the Holland Windmill Island DeBoer Brothers Carousel from 1908.

Grand Rapids:

Meier Gardens:

Windmill Island:

Saturday Evening the Convention Banquet and auctions were held to raise money for carousel restorations.

Sunday September 23rd: Visit to Eden Springs Park, formerly owned by the sect, House of David. The park had a carnival carousel to be restored and a miniature train. The next year’s convention will be in Kansas, the home of the CW Parker Museum in Leavenworth where Parker carousels were made.

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THIS ISSUE OF THE BERKSHIRE CAROUSEL NEWSLETTER IS THE FINAL EDITION. PLEASE CHECK THE FACEBOOK PAGE FOR FUTURE UP TO DATE HAPPENINGS FOR THE CAROUSEL AND THE WEBSITE FOR PERIODIC UPDATES.

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