15th Annual
Memorial Day Ceremony
Monday May 26 at the Carousel of Happiness
20 Lakeview Drive, Nederland CO 80466
~ Begins at High Noon ~
Each year we honor the men and women
who died while serving in the U.S. military.
The building is open to all as we encircle the carousel.
At noon, taps are played, and visitors are invited
to remember a fallen veteran with
his or her name and perhaps a brief story.
We will turn the carousel for a few slow, silent, riderless
turns before inviting surviving veterans for a ride,
and then open the carousel back up to the public.
Veterans and families are invited for a
coffee next door after the ceremony.
Please Join Us!
The Carousel of Happiness first opened on May 29, 2010 in Nederland, 43 years after it was conceived in the mind of a young combat Marine in Vietnam, and 100 years after it first was built by Charles Looff for Saltair Park. It all started 15 years ago with opening ceremonies, then Scott Harrison (the Founder) threw the switch to start the carousel for the first time in a century.
This was the end of 20+ years of meticulous restoration and a successful $650,000+ capital fund drive, and the beginning of 15 Years of Smiles! Over one million rides later, the Carousel of Happiness is still spinning thanks to the gracious support of the Nederland area community.
We invite all to join us for our 15th Anniversary celebrations!
- Monday, May 26 will be our 15th annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Noon
- Thursday, May 29 will be our 15th Anniversary Party with Free Rides and Cake 5-7pm
This lovely carousel started with a dream. There was no sure plan, no place to put it, and in
fact, in the beginning there wasn’t even a carousel frame. There was just a young man in combat
who found solace in a music box sent to him by his sister – he imagined a carousel spinning
peacefully in a mountain meadow, people smiling and laughing, peace and joy – something that was the opposite of the war that surrounded him. Many decades later, while raising his family here in Nederland, he never forgot the music box nor the peaceful carousel that calmed him, and he
grabbed some extra lumber, a book about carousel carving, and began making a wooden rabbit.
It was only after Rabbit the First (who now greets the cars on the highway, mounted on his
pole above the outdoor sign) that Scott found a carousel mechanism, one without animals, in
disrepair, awaiting the scrap metal pile. Serendipitously, Scott was told about this carousel frame,
and he quickly jumped on the opportunity to start this tremendous project, bringing it from its second home at Fairyland in American Fork, Utah all the way to our tiny town in Colorado. And lucky for all of us, he kept carving.
While many of you may know the story of the Carousel of Happiness, we think it’s important
to keep telling it. Our story is a reminder of humanity, of the story of life, and of how we keep going when the answers aren’t quite clear. Our carousel is a place to have fun, of course, but it’s also a place to remember our loved ones, to grieve the people and things we’ve lost. There’s a magic to the carousel that people tell us they feel deeply when they enter the building. While there are many theories of where the energy comes from – the magic crystal in the center powered by riders’ smiles, the spirits of carousel operators from Saltair and Fairyland that so loved this machine, the healing power of Scott’s journey as he carved its new set of animals, the memory of the two Marines that Scott lost in Vietnam and dedicated the carousel to – we are certain that the magic transforms our visitors, whether they ride or not. Every telling of the story is a powerful reminder that you, too, can bring joy out of your grief. That even without a solid plan, you, too, can create a powerful and healing community project. That when you don’t know how to do something (Scott had never carved before his attempt at Rabbit the First), you, too, can teach yourself new skills and master them. And you can take that healing, that lofty dream, and use it to leave the world just a little bit better than how you found it.
Scott’s vision was to create a place that is more than just a ride for kids. And he definitely accomplished that! It’s evidenced by the thousands of visitors we meet each week that tell us “I
always say, if you’re in Nederland you HAVE to ride the Carousel!” We are so grateful to you, the
mountain community, that make sure to tell all your friends and family about us. You sharing our
story is what keeps us spinning!
In 15 years, the Carousel of Happiness has:
- Sold over 1,180,000 ride tickets!
- Given away over 15,000 ride tickets!
- Hosted over 300 groups for tours and rides
- Kept Spinning thanks to over 21,000 volunteer hours donated
The Carousel of Happiness will be open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. every day from Memorial Day
through Labor Day. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The carousel is available for birthdays, weddings and other events. You can read the story of our Founder and Carousel in the two books “Don’t Delay Joy” by Jeanette Taylor and “Carousel Soul” by Scott Harrison.
For more information on donations and events, contact Executive Director Melody Baumhover at (303)258-3457 or [email protected]
