Carousel spins again
Crossroads Mall’s merry-go-round now at Myriad Gardens
It was sunset and, even with Shakespeare at the Park performing at the water stage, Myriad Gardens was fairly quiet with just a handful of people strolling along the trails.
Then the lights went on at the Carousel — not even formerly open yet — and a diverse mix of families and young people gathered at the gate.
Maureen Heffernan, director of the gardens, couldn’t resist giving the families a special, unscheduled ride. The ride operator, following her directions, turned on the music and flipped the switch.
The carousel came to life and the kids and their parents couldn’t have been more thrilled.
“With the lights on in the evening, it’s not just beautiful, it’s magical,” Heffernan said. “When the lights go on, it’s like moths to a flame.”
The lights and music will switch on again Wednesday night for donors and civic leaders. The public will get their chance at creating new memories Thursday through Sunday, at which time the ride will shut down again as the gardens
staff prepares for the park’s annual Pumpkinville festivities.
“It will be open as part of Pump-kinville and it will be free for those who buy a ticket for Pumpkinville,” Heffernan said. “And then when that wraps up, it will be open to the public again.”
When Heffernan spontaneously decided to allow visitors a free ride last Thursday evening, she got a glimpse of how the community might embrace the ride. She already planned on accommodating requests for booking the carousel for birthday and wedding parties.
Watching the diversity of those gathering for the free rides, she saw young and old, she saw visitors of different races and religions. She was reminded just how popular the gardens already are with the city’s Hispanic community when teens celebrating a girl’s quinceanera strolled to the carousel after stopping to take party pictures.
Heffernan didn’t set out seeking to add a carousel to the gardens. But she didn’t hesitate to connect with Roddy Bates and Michael Dillard, owners of Crossroads Mall, when she was told they were looking for a new home for the carousel at the closed shopping center.
The businessmen could have sold the ride for more than $250,000, but instead agreed to donate it to the nonprofit gardens foundation. When the Project 180 makeover of the gardens was completed a few years ago, plans for a cafe by the children’s garden and Thunder fountain were dropped but the basic structure — a round, open pavilion — was built in its place.
Heffernan wasted no time measuring the pavilion after her first visit with Bates. As the deal was finalized, Heffernan was approached by veteran civic leader Lee Allan Smith, who was one the original fundraisers for the gardens in the 1980s and had long dreamed of it including a carousel.
“Lee Allan Smith is a treasure,” Heffernan said. “And he is so connected to this community and so giving of his time. When he heard we were getting this, he called and asked, ‘Maureen, can I help?’ And he talked about raising money and getting people to buy horses to sponsor. And in one weekend he had all of it sold.”
The fundraising exceeded expectations, with a major donor, Herman Meinders, paying for naming rights for the ride itself, concluding with it being named “Mo’s Carousel” after a longtime Meinders employee. The successful fundraising allowed for a mechanical overhaul of the ride as well as replacement of traditional light bulbs with LED lights, painting and polishing.
With donations covering all costs of starting up the ride, the $2 admissions are expected to generate a profit that will help fund gardens operations.
“It’s like the stone soup story,” Heffernan said. “You say, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had this?’ And then different people in the community come forward in ways to make it happen. And now this is the gift that will keep on giving.”