Sneak Peek Carousel Week

We’ve planned a special week of activities celebrating the Greenway’s new custom carousel! We caught up with Linda, our Director of Planning & Design, who has worked tirelessly to bring this delightful new carousel to the Greenway.

carousel characters on the move

How did Sneak Peek Carousel Week come about?

Our carousel artist, Jeff Briggs, is making incredible progress, and there are now seven completed carousel characters. It seemed like the perfect time to give the people who live, work, and play on the Greenway a preview of just how magical the new custom carousel will be.  All seven of the characters will be together today, for a class photo of sorts.

This morning, some of the local children who participated in our brainstorming and classroom workshops will have a chance to see how their drawings have come to life. Not to mention, they’ll get to sit on the character they helped inspire. Should be great fun.

What are you most excited about, as far as Sneak Peek Carousel Week is concerned?

I am really excited about the “Where’s Waldo” aspect of the week. After today, all seven characters will be splitting up and going to secret locations along the Greenway. The Conservancy will be giving people clues about which animals are where, on a given day, and the hours where people can hop on for a ride, have their picture taken, and enter to win free carousel tickets. We think it’ll be a really fun social media campaign.

Were the characters excited about going on a road trip?

We gave them a quick bath before they got into the van last night, and I can tell you they were raring to go. We had a small glitch when none of them wanted to sit behind the skunk, but they decided  to draw straws and it all worked out just fine. While they’ve loved living in Newburyport, they are psyched to explore city life.

Do you have a favorite carousel character? Or are all babies beautiful?

I am torn. I love them all. I have had an early look at the Barn Owl, which Jeff is still working on, and it’s incredible. And I love the Peregrine Falcon, because it is so large, so dramatic, and so well carved. A true piece of art.

Do you think the characters have a favorite Conservancy staff member?

Apparently, it’s unanimous. They love Laura, the Conservancy’s Project Coordinator for the carousel. They all want her to be the one who buckles them into their seatbelts.

Join us at our opening event on Friday, September 14th from 4PM – 7PM at the current carousel, where some of the custom carousel characters will be on display. We’ll be offering free carousel rides and food trucks will be serving up some delicious food. After the opening event, each character will be moved to a public location along the Greenway Corridor where it will remain on display for the week. Every day, we’ll post a riddle on Twitter and Facebook the day before with clues to what character it is and it’s location – try to figure them out!