A VISIT TO ‘SANTA’S WORKSHOP’
Doug Warren is surrounded by custom lighting and animal reliefs in a workshop at Fort Edmonton Park. Warren is part of a 4-year project to replace the aluminum animals on Edmonton Valley Zoo’s 1950s-era carousel with hand-crafted wooden critters.
The reimagined Edmonton Valley Zoo is giving a new spin to a classic feature.
The aluminum horses on the 1950s carousel will be swapped out with carved wooden animals that better reflect the zoo’s attractions.
“We’re changing the dynamic and look of the carousel,” said Stephanie Perilli, director of fund development for the Valley Zoo Development Society. “We’ll have Arctic wolves, polar bears, camels, tortoises.”
The city bought the carousel in the spring of 1959 as a central component of the Storyland Valley Zoo, according to Perilli. It was manufactured by the Allan Herschell Company located in Tonawanda, N.Y., and is registered with the National Carousel Association, a U.S.-based organization that promotes the preservation of carousels.
The new animals are being handcrafted by volunteer wood carvers at Fort Edmonton Park. Carvers are channelling the likenesses of several endangered species that visitors can see at zoo exhibits. Individual or business donors can sponsor a seat for $3,000.
Each hand-crafted seat takes about 900 hours of volunteer work and several seats are already done.
In the end, the carousel will have 31 seats. Perilli said the project is an e ort to recognize the zoo’s history while also improving the attraction. The flooring will also be renovated.
“The carousel has been a mainstay of the zoo,” she said, adding that she paid a visit to the carvers at Fort Edmonton Park. “I actually felt like I was going into Santa’s workshop.”
The carousel project is one part of a massive revitalization of the Edmonton Valley Zoo, including the $45-million construction of Nature’s Wild Backyard. The area, which will replace the inner zoo, aims to help visitors experience exhibits on the same level as the animal habitat, Perilli said.
“It’s actually going to be done in four di erent zones,” she explained, adding that the zones are “above, between, on and under.”
The renovated carousel will be placed in the Yard, which is a free play space in Nature’s Wild Backyard. The area will have space for picnics and in the winter, visitors will have access to a backyard skating rink.
The zoo will consider showcasing some of the old aluminum horses on site to explain the carousel’s history, Perilli said, but there are no firm plans in place.
I actually felt like I was going into Santa’s workshop.