Hampton Carousel News Today

The grand reopening of the historic Hampton Carousel was on Saturday after it was rescheduled because of the weather.

The rainy weather even washed out some weekend events like the Cherry Blossom Festival and Don’t Sit on Colon Cancer 5K and Survival Walk in Virginia Beach.

The 100-year-old Historic Hampton Carousel will reopen to the public on Saturday, March 23, Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck announced Wednesday night. A grand reopening ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. that day, he said. Tuck said to celebrate the reopening, there will be free rides all day. Other activities include face painting, make-and-take crafts, and a DJ and dance activities with K’bana Blaq. ...

The animal-rights organization stated carousels normalize exploitation of real animals. Meanwhile, the Hampton carousel is due to reopen this spring.

This summer, the city announced that Carousels and Carvings, an Ohio-based company, would be repairing the structure, one of only 170 functioning antique wooden carousels in the United States. The repair work includes disassembly, fabricating and rebuilding mechanical parts and systems, and reassembling the carousel.

Carousels and Carvings will bring the carousel's mechanisms to the Midwest to restore it in-house. The horses will remain in Hampton, however.

A group of Hampton locals is pushing to keep a century-old merry-go-round where it is. City leaders are considering the short and long-term future of the space.

Public feedback was largely unenthusiastic about options Hampton presented for relocation of the carousel, with many preferring for it to remain at its current waterfront site next to the Virginia Air and Space Science Center. But some residents suggested a new option — moving the carousel to Bluebird Gap Farm, a park and petting zoo.

Hampton City Council is considering relocating the historic carousel from its current location on Settlers Landing Road to protect it from flooding and to potentially redevelop the land.

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