Glen Echo Park Carousel 100th Anniversary Celebration Retrospective

Carousel 100th Anniversary

1921 - 2021

The Carousel 100th Anniversary was a monthslong celebration of Glen Echo Park's historic Dentzel carousel, installed in the park in 1921.

The celebration included lectures, family days, story time, a virtual carousel tour, a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, a new carousel history booklet, a carousel-themed art exhibition, and more! Many of the events were virtual and can still be viewed on our website and on YouTube.

February - September 2021 glenechopark.org/carousel100

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel Anniversary Launch Live from the carousel building, emcee Liz Dapo from the Puppet Co. and her sidekick Penny – as well as Glen Echo Park Partnership Executive Director Katey Boerner and Partnership Board President Bonnie Casper – told viewers all about the upcoming months-long Carousel 100th Anniversary celebration, with special messages from Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Jamie Raskin, and others.

February 18, 2021

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel Lecture Series The Carousel 100th Anniversary lecture series was produced in collaboration with Montgomery History and included four engaging topics related to the historic carousel. The lectures and Q&A sessions were presented on Zoom, and the recorded versions are available on our website.

February 24 | Carousel Civil Rights Story by Ilana Trachtman April 14 | Glen Echo's Two Great Carousels by Barbara Fahs Charles July 14 | Glen Echo's Wurlitzer Band Organ by Durward Center August 11 | Painting Style & Restoration Techniques by Rosa Patton

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Virtual Carousel Tour Viewers joined National Park Service Ranger Kevin Patti to learn about the 100-year history of the Glen Echo Park Dentzel carousel. Installed in the Park in 1921, the carousel is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been part of a century of cultural change. Montgomery History also collaborated on this project. The tour has now been viewed close to 2,000 times on YouTube.

February 20, 2021 - YouTube Premiere

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel Story Time In collaboration with the Puppet Co., Carousel Story Time offered young children and families a delightful free fantasy ride on a carousel each month from April through September. Through the power of storytelling, families enjoyed a different carousel-themed book brought to life on the screen by talented performers from the Puppet Co., an award-winning children’s theater residency at Glen Echo Park.

April 24 | 𝘈 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦 May 15 | 𝘈 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 June 12 | 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭 July 17 | 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 August 7 | 𝘜𝘱 & 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺-𝘎𝘰-𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 September 18 | 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony To mark the opening of Glen Echo Park’s Dentzel carousel for its 100th Anniversary season, we held a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony – live streamed from the carousel building on our website and YouTube with government officials and other dignitaries – to celebrate this local icon that has been a treasured part of the Park and the community for a century.

The event included a ceremonial first ride with officials and sponsors.

May 1, 2021

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel Exhibition Glen Echo Park Partnership Galleries presented a special exhibition in the Park’s Popcorn Gallery and Stone Tower Gallery: 100 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵.

The show celebrated the 100th anniversary of our iconic Dentzel carousel and honored the historic origins of Glen Echo Park as a theme park, exploring feelings of nostalgia, outdoor recreation, nature, and play. The show was curated by Tiffany Williams, who also filmed a tour of the exhibition that can be viewed on YouTube.

May 7 - 30, 2021

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel Mural Project In collaboration with Future History Now, a mural was brought to life on the grounds of Glen Echo Park, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the historic carousel and celebrating it as a place of fun and childhood memories, as well as its historic role in the Washington, D.C. civil rights movement. We also partnered with two Montgomery County-based nonprofit youth organizations: Community Bridges and Identity. The project was funded by the Corcoran Women's Committee.

May 21-22, 2021

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel Family Days We presented five FREE Carousel Family Days that included hands-on art projects and entertainment.

Hundreds of families turned out to celebrate the carousel’s birthday with days of activities in Glen Echo Park’s unique setting — all following CDC guidelines for everyone’s safety.

We partnered with Glen Echo Park resident artists at Washington Conservatory of Music, Chalk R!ot, and the Carousel Organ Association of America.

May 22 | Carousel Crafts June 19 | Chalk the Park! with Chalk R!ot July 24 | Music in the Park with Washington Conservatory of Music August 14 | Band Organ Rally September 26 | Final Carousel Celebration

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Carousel History Booklet We invite you to read our new carousel history booklet, 𝘎𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘻𝘦𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭 : 𝘈 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞. 𝘏. 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘻𝘦𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬

by Barbara Fahs Charles. Read and download the booklet on our website, or pick one up in print at the Park.

Published June 2021

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Oral History Video Project "Carousel Stories," our 100th anniversary Oral History Video Project, included the premieres of three short videos featuring the personal stories of Park visitors ranging from 8 to 98 years old! In a joint project with Story Tapestries, the Partnership invited the public to share their memories with us, first written and then on film. All of the stories are archived, and some of these important memories are told in three episodes of "Carousel Stories" on YouTube.

June 25 | Episode 1 July 20 | Episode 2 September 20 | Episode 3

Carousel 100th Anniversary

Social Media Contests To engage the public in celebrating the Carousel's 100th birthday on social media, we ran contests through the months-long anniversary event, including: Vote for Your Favorite Carousel Animal – The Rose Horse was the winner!

Guess the Year! Photo Contest – Each month we posted a historic carousel image, and those who guessed the correct year the photo was taken were entered in a drawing to win a Carousel 100th Anniversary tote bag! There were two winners each month.

What Carousel Animal are You? – The public answered questions designed to tell them which Carousel animal they resemble most.

April - September 2021