Funds sought to keep Chippewa Park carousel turning
Heritage landmark would need over $600K for upgrade, preservation group says
The group Friends of Chippewa hopes the community will rally to come up with $1.5 million to save the nearly century-old carousel at Chippewa Park in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The carousel, which is on the city's heritage register, needs a major facelift — which is estimated to be around $650,000 — plus new lighting and a new organ, said Iain Angus, who speaks for the group.
Once restored, Angus said a shelter needs to be built around the carousel to protect it from further damage. The shelter will also provide a little more opportunity for visitors to make use of the ride.
"I've seen one in the City of Guelph where they've put their carousel in a building," Angus said, "but, over the Christmas holidays, they open up a couple of shutters, and crank it up and get it running for a week during the winter celebrations."
Currently, parks staff dismantle the ride every fall, and then re-install it, Angus said.
Friends of Chippewa was originally going to wait a bit longer before starting a fundraising campaign, but a multitude of infrastructure grants means the best time to start is now, Angus said.
Angus said they are looking for funding from the Canada 150 Fund and Heritage Canada, and hope the Friends of Chippewa can raise $180,000.