Press Release: P.T. High School Students Prepping Carousel for Shipping to Waveland, Mississippi
Date: October 5, 2007
Re: Port Townsend Carousel Association Preparation at High School for Shipping to Waveland
Contact Person: Bill Dentzel 360-531-2812 or bilito@gmail.com
This fall students in Jim Guthrie's and Kathleen Burgett's classes at the Port Townsend high school are working on the Carousel of the Olympic Sea after a seven year hiatus of the Port Townsend Carousel Association's carousel-making in the schools program. Guthrie's students, with additional guidance from chief carouselmaker Bill Dentzel, will be doing touch-up painting on the carousel's mechanism and then assembling it in the shop to make sure all of the parts are secure and running smoothly. Burgett's art students will be applying the final touches to the upper and lower inner scenic panels for the carousel.
As soon as the carousel has been freshened up, completely assembled and tested it will be disassembled and shipped to Waveland, Mississippi, its new home. Waveland was hit by the center of Hurricane Katrina which completely flattened and devastated the town. Residents are still going through massive repairing and reconstruction in Waveland. As the downtown area gets rebuilt a prominent site for the carousel will be prepared. A sturdy, hurricane-proof, housing for the carousel will be built and then the Carousel of the Olympic Sea installed.
The carousel is 20 feet in diameter and carries ten riders. It is built in the traditional "flying-horses" style. The carousel project has been funded completely through private donations usually in the form of sponsoring animals or other carousel parts. The PTCA still needs some funding to complete this project. The Port Townsend Carousel Association is a federally recognized 501c-3 non-profit corporation therefore your donations can be tax deductible. All sponsors' names will be listed permanently on the carousel when it is permanently installed. To see what carousel parts remain to be sponsored go to the sponsorship website at http://www.dentzel.com/ptcah-2.htm or contact Bill Dentzel at 360-531-2812 for more details.