MARION, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW) – Carousels and Carvings, located in Marion, has built a brand new carousel for the Ohio State Fairgrounds, where it will be permanently located.
In addition to traditional carousel horses, the carousel features fair animals as well as animals that are indigenous to Ohio. Some animals that can be seen on the carousel are a llama and otter, as well as a Native American Horse and bison.
“We worked with the Shawnee Tribe for some of the decorative elements of the Native American horse that’s on the outside row, along with the bison, those are both kind of traditional Shawnee Tribe designs,” said Todd Goings, Founder and President of Carousels and Carvings.
In addition, the carousel also features two themed chariots. The first chariot is themed after the book The Little Engine That Could, and the second is the woodland creature chariot that showcases animals such as toads, chipmunks, butterflies, and more.
Both chariots, which Goings considered to be some of the most challenging pieces to carve, required an immense amount of work due to their large size and the immense amount of detail featured in each one, a process that can take anywhere from four to 600 hours.
Carousels and Carvings worked on the project for a couple of years with a team of 22 to 25 people. Goings says that the best part has been being able to share it with the public and to see people’s reactions.
“That’s the best part, when the little kids come running up and want to jump on their favorite animal, that’s really the icing on the cake for what it is we do,” says Goings.
Goings also says that he hopes every time people return to the carousel, they notice different things they haven’t seen before and can learn more about the artworks that are featured.
“I guess the overall theme I hope we got correct is understanding that when you walk up to it, what you’re seeing is stuff based from Ohio. I hope it tells a little bit of the story of Ohio. This is a carousel built in Ohio for Ohio and hopefully will be here for a long time,” says Goings.
The Ohio State Fair shared a closer look at the new carousel on their Facebook page. A video from the grand opening is available at www.facebook.com.
The Ohio State Fairgrounds is open from July 29 through August 9, where the new carousel is available for visitors to enjoy.