Carima El-Behairy, director of operations for the Buffalo Heritage Carousel Inc. says she is excited to show off their new carousel ,which is actually, an old carousel. It was carved originally in 1924 in North Tonawanda.
The Erie Canal open on May 17, 1821 and they are thrilled to honor Erie County for their birthday. The Buffalo Heritage Carousel is are opening to the public on May 28th at 11am. They will be open 11am – 7pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
There are a lot of different animals on the carousel and there is significance behind each animal. Sal the mule on the carousel represents all the mules that carried the barges up and down the Erie Canal.
This carousel is menagerie park-style carousel. It is a little larger than the typical carousel and it has a combination of what they call figurines and horses. They have seven on their carousel. They have a lion, a tiger, a giraffe, an ostrich, a deer that has real antlers, Sal the mule who is considered one of theirs and a sea dragon.
Carima says they have great partners with Explore and More and the Erie County and Buffalo public libraries. She says both of them have been great resources for them, especially making sure they get to underserved populations. The carousel is only going to cost one dollar to ride because they want to make sure everyone can ride the carousel.
