'A love letter to Ohio': Take a spin on the state fair's newest carousel

Today from the Ohio Newsroom, a spin on Ohio's newest merry-go-round. Support comes from the James at Ohio State, cancer. For some, it's one of life's fiercest foes, but not at the James, where a team of nearly 300 specialists and over 1,500 researchers are working together to create a cancer-free world. Support comes from Ohio CASA. Ohio CASA's mission is to ensure children experiencing abuse and neglect have a caring, trained adult in their corner. Information about CASA volunteer work is at Ohio C-A-S-A.org. I'm Kendall Crawford. The Ohio State Fair opened on Wednesday with a new glittering crown jewel, a custom-carved Ohio-made carousel celebrating wildlife and notable landmarks from all over the state. Ali Vagrinzik from Ohio Newsroom member station WOSU reports from the fairgrounds. Will you choose the rooster, the bobcat? How about the prize-winning pig? Or you could go for a classic horse. There's not really a wrong choice. Every animal on the new Ohio State Fair Children's Carousel is beautifully carved and painted. Their brightly colored saddles and bridles are dotted with surprising little details like flowers and Ohio insignias. Every creature has a unique expression and its own personality. It's hard to pick a favorite. Mine is the llama. That is by far my favorite animal, but it's kind of hard. It's like picking children, you know. That's Vanita Keeman Goings. The Goings family owns Carousels and Carvings, the Marion Company, that built a new carousel. Keven Goings and her husband, Kyle Goings, were on the ride's inaugural spin. They sat in the woodlands creature chariot, an unpainted wheelchair accessible stall. Raccoons, dragonflies, frogs, and birds peek out from the carved leaf canopy that makes up the benches back and sides. We are going to paint it next year, but we think people won't let us because they all really enjoy that it is in barewood at the moment. While Governor Mike DeWine declined to give a precise cost for the carousel, the new attraction is part of around $460 million in updates and improvements to the state fairgrounds that began in 2023. Each of the more than two dozen animals on the ride took somewhere between 400 and 600 hours to carve, paint, and barnish. Still, the carousels and carvings team got it done in about two years. The ride's first official whirl happened last Saturday, 155 years to the day since the very first patent for a carousel was filed. After the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir performed, Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran highlighted some of the carousel's features. The state bird of Ohio, the cardinal, appears not once, but twice, as Fran Mike DeWine explains. What I insisted on is you can't just have a male cardinal. We have a female cardinal, too. Ohioans can find most of the carousels animals at the fair or in the state's forests and rivers. Others, not so much. One pale, off-white bovine stands out among the rides more colorful critters. It's a wooden rendition of the fair's famous butter cow.

And then there's Dunk, or Dunklosteus Terrali, the state's official fish fossil. Some people said, it's too ferocious looking for kids. Well, my kids think it's great. Murals on the Carousel's upper rounding board and inner panels depict Ohio scenes and famous places. You'll see a picture of the state fair many, many years ago. The Wright brothers flying over Huffman Prairie where they were in Green County. Also included our Hawking Hill State Park, Marblehead Lighthouse on Lake Erie, and Columbus's Palace Theater. The names of every county appear on the inside of the ride. This is really a love letter to Ohio. When people walk up, they're going to find something that they recognize. The carousel is housed in a grand pavilion in the Fairground's historic district. Its glass garage doors can be lowered to protect the ride from the weather. This carousel is expected to delight Ohioans young and old for decades, maybe centuries. Kyle Going says carousels are often a person's first ride. They're put on that horse, or bison or box turtle, by their parents. Years later, the same people put their children or grandchildren on for another ride. So I think it's that generational connection through the years of riding a carousel that's unique. They're moving works of art that people can get up close and personal with. They transport you to a world of lights, colors, music, motion. And after that voyage, they bring you right back around to where you began. For the Ohio Newsroom, I'm Allie de Brunswick and Columbus. That's all today from the Ohio Newsroom. We'll talk with you on Monday.