Happy Holidays From the Heritage Carousel!

Best wishes to you and yours as we celebrate the Holidays and welcome in the New Year! Thanks to everyone who supported us in 2021.  We appreciate all that our community does to keep the Carousel going around! 

When the Carousel opened in 1998, the board had one major mission – to keep the Carousel affordable and accessible to all.  Your support as donors, volunteers, and riders has allowed us to continue to fulfill that mission and be able to keep the cost of a child’s ride at just 50 cents.

As we look to 2022, we want to be able to keep up the mission, but everything else costs more than it did in 1998!  Opening the Carousel each season, including animal touch up, maintenance, and insurance, takes $15,000 annually. Please consider a contribution to the Des Moines Carousel Foundation so we can keep the Carousel going around!

You can donate online or send a check to The Des Moines Carousel Foundation, PO Box 8352, Des Moines, IA 50301-8352.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Heritage Carousel this season!  We were so happy to be able to open after being shuttered all of 2020.  Although ridership was down from 2019, we still had nearly 47,000 riders during the season.  The 2022 season begins Memorial Day weekend but the Carousel will be available for private rentals beginning in mid-March, weather permitting!

Your ongoing to support helps us keep the Carousel looking beautiful as well as keeping the cost of a child’s ride at just 50 cents.  You can continue to support the Carousel by visiting our online store here.  Carousel merchandise is great for your holiday gift giving and you can also make a donation to Keep the Carousel Going Around!

Thanks again and we will see you at the Carousel!

20th Annual Cruise to The Carousel Success!

The 20th Annual Cruise to the Carousel sponsored by the Des Moines Rollin’ Relics was held on Sunday, August 29.  In spite of some early morning weather concerns, it turned out to be a great day.  We had a total of 200 cars enter the show and they were all spectacular! The event was well attended and the auction and food sales were fantastic.

The Carousel Award was given to Jerry Robertson and his 1963 Pontiac Convertible and the Neighborhood Award was given to Jack Cleahuaus and his 1921 Model TT.  In addition to these awards, the top 20 in each class were awarded a plaque and there were a number of special awards given out as well.  For a complete list of award winners, go to www.rollinrelicsdsm.org.

The Des Moines Carousel Foundation is extremely grateful to have the ongoing support of the Rollin’ Relics.  All proceeds from the show go to the Carousel.  This has been a much-needed annual boost to our budget. In 2019, the Rollin’ Relics presented the Carousel with a check for $8,000. We are excited to see what this year brings!  Thank you, Rollin’ Relics!

To view more photos from this event, click here!

The 21st Season a Success!!

The 21st season of the Heritage Carousel in Union Park was another great one! We kicked off the season with our annual first rider contest followed by the dedication of our beautiful new customer service counter.   The end of the season saw the traditional Cruise to the Carousel Car Show sponsored by the Des Moines Rollin’ Relics, a glow party on the last night, and our first ever Thank You reception for donors and volunteers.  We also celebrated the 125th Anniversary of Union Park and held our first ever holiday event with the Union Park Neighborhood Association as we Lit the Carousel in celebration of the season.

Thank you to everyone who attended our events, hosted a party, purchased our merchandise, helped with a generous donation, and came to ride and enjoy the Carousel.  We had over 50,000 riders this season resulting in countless smiles and happy memories! 

Please continue to support the Heritage Carousel so that we can continue to keep the cost of a ride at just 50 cents for children.  The Heritage Carousel is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed.  If you would like to make a tax deductible donation, please send a check to:

Heritage Carousel
PO Box 8352
Des Moines, IA 50301-8352