By Dale M. King
BOCA RATON – Sugar Sand Park is one of the most elaborate recreation venues in the city.
It has a Science Explorium, a theater, a playground, ball fields and, since 2005, a carousel.
The Boca Raton Rotary Club Sunset was instrumental in raising money to help purchase the intricate merry-go-round, recalled Douglas Heizer, former president of Boca Rotary Sunset and now publisher of the Boca Raton Tribune.
Because of the Rotary Club’s generosity, the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Parks District, which owns the play area, offered the club a chance to use the carousel one day a year without charge.
That day has come to be known as the Annual Carousel Day at Sugar Sand Park. This year, the fourth annual event will be held Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the carousel in Sugar Sand Park at 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton.
Heizer said the day is special for a number of reasons. Kids can ride the carousel for free. All visitors can enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers with all the “fixin’s.”
The event is really a benefit for the needy children who will likely get no presents during the upcoming holidays. Those planning to attend are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy. They will be distributed to children for Christmas at the Wayne Barton Study Center and to children who get their meals from Boca Helping Hands.
The special day of free rides and food in exchange for a donated toy is sponsored by the Boca Raton Rotary Club Sunset and the Boca Raton West Rotary Club.
For information, call 561-347-3900.
The carousel opened Nov. 19, 2005, in conjunction with Sugar Sand Park’s 10th anniversary.
It was manufactured by Chance Morgan of Wichita, Kansas. It is 36 feet in diameter with 30 jumping horses (3 abreast) with two chariots (benches) that are wheelchair-accessible.
It was decorated with Dentzel-style scenery created by Gustav A. Dentzel, one of America’s carousel pioneers. The Dentzel family began producing carousels in 1867 in a shop in Philadelphia.
The horses are reproductions of various hand-carved wood originals produced for use on steam-powered machines of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The names of the original horse designers are familiar to aficionados of this art form: Parker, Carmel, Illions, Looff, Spillman, Dentzel, and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
Chance Morgan has obtained the rights to molds of these venerated antiques, and today, creates hand-painted fiberglass reproductions that are suitable for all-weather use.
The carousel is placed on a large brick patio, surrounded by benches and shade trees. It is surmounted by a decorative tent, complete with finial. Multitudes of lights and music enhance the festive scene.