Carousel of Happiness

09/01/2026

If you don’t know it yet or haven’t experienced it yet, you need to know that a visit to The Carousel can become a very long event. The main event of course is TheRide, spinning, spinning, gloriously spinning into the future forever and a day. But there are some side events that have become ever so popular especially with the wee ones.

The coloring table is usually the first stop, or could be the last. Some tell us what they wonder about in their own words…others will make a card for a special friend or family member simply saying “I love you!”. Some draw a flower or heart and just drop it in The Wonder Box, no words, just feelings…they are all precious…

Next stop is The Upstairs, another magical space. We have seen children and adults sit on the window seat overlooking The Carousel hour after hour, mesmerized by the turning of The Carousel as stories of a frog and a swan and cherubs unfold as The Carousel spins, bringing a frog and a swan and cherubs to life. We had a high schooler a few years back who would periodically study on the window seat as The Carousel turned to the sound of The Wurlitzer in the background, sometimes for hours on a slow day:)!

And then of course there is the puppet theater and all the creative play that goes on in that tiny space with an audience clapping and praising the tiniest of puppeteers as they all go along in their own little worlds, a momentary escape for sure from the real world.

And then everyone has to leave and sometimes that act of leaving such a Happy Place can be sad and a little traumatic. Who ever wants to leave HAPPY…no one…ever❗️So often we will give a magnetic butterfly to those littles who are so sad to leave saying “till next time around”, be well and Don’t Delay Joy❗️❗️

And so it goes, as The Carousel Turns, Be Well and Don’t Delay Joy Till “Next Time Around”…🎠

08/30/2026

Latest Podcast, hip hip hooray🎉

Today, we’ll hear from Sarah Bishop, the carousel’s assistant director and sometimes collaborator with Nick Our Podcaster – about how the process of writing and playing songs has helped them both get through challenging passages in life.

This is an incentive to choose our passions in order to keep ourselves centered in all we do , whatever those passions may be. And most importantly, Don’t Delay Joy and See You NextTime Around🎉🌺🎉

Podcast Episode · Carousel of Happiness Podcast · August 29 · 38m

08/28/2026

“The greatest casualty is being forgotten, let us not forget…”

Honored and blessed to host a very special group today…Wounded Warrior Project, WWP. Wounded Warrior Project is a well known veteran group changing the lives of over 1 million injured warriors, caregivers, and family members each and very day of the year. It helps bring independence back to our nation’s most severely wounded veterans.

The group is currently visiting Colorado and are staying at Duncan Park, a camp north of Nederland. Veterans from the Wounded Warrior Project and their families spent a week hiking and enjoying the cool mountain air at Duncan Park.

Their last day, as is tradition at Duncan Park, WWP came to The Carousel of Happiness and felt the pain that Scott Harrison endured from his years in The Vietnam War as they heard the Story of The Carousel. They also felt the unending Joy of The Carousel, spinning always spinning into the future. And the most important thing they felt was the magical and constant healing of The Carousel which goes ever so deep. Such a simple machine, meticulously carved by one man with his own hands and from his heart and soul, that emanates the strongest of healing spirits as it spins. We feel it each day, they felt it today and that brings nothing but SMILES🥰 We do all this for The Smiles you know. We will look forward to next year and more turns of The Carousel with The Wounded Warrior Project on board and next year we will invite Scott.
Don’t Delay Joy…ever❗️

https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/mission

https://www.dwtx.org/what-we-do/children-youth/duncan-park

08/24/2026

Put This On Your Calendar❗️ Another epic event. The Carousel of Happiness will be participating in another NederDays of Art in September, Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th🎨 We will be meticulously painting our picnic tables, we will have chalk art outside on our sidewalks and special coloring pages at our coloring table. Please come to participate, take that ride and walk the whole town to see featured artists everywhere…

From The MountainEar:

The NederDays of Art in Nederland, Colorado, is scheduled for the weekend of September 19–20, 2026. It takes place alongside the regional Peak to Peak Studio Tour, featuring local artist displays, sidewalk art, and creative showcases hosted in and around downtown businesses and the Nederland Visitors Center🎨

Event Highlights
• Dates: September 19–20, 2026
• Location: Downtown Nederland shops, galleries, and the Nederland Visitors Center
• Activities: Local fine arts and crafts displays, walkable art maps (available via local hubs like the library/visitors center), interactive community art projects, and studio visits.

Enjoy your moments in our tiny eclectic, eccentric town, a true respite from the maddening roar down below, even a step back in time…Don’t Delay Joy🩷🌺

08/19/2026

The famous song about San Francisco “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)", was recorded by Scott McKenzie in 1967, before many of you were even born. Written by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, it lives on and has become a massive hippie anthem. John Phillips famous line: "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.”

And here at The Carousel, we say “if you are coming to Nederland, be sure to wear flowers in your hair in our little hippie town” 🥰 Flowers in your hair have become a festive item of hair wear, creating Joy and Happiness and we have clearly found that out at The Carousel. Since the start of selling our Flower Wreaths in Our Carousel Gift Shop in 2018, they have become one of our hottest selling items, continuing to elicit special feelings of Joy and Happiness. They can be dressed up or down and hung on a wall in between. Everyone loves them, young and old alike, princes and princesses. Come get yours and wear proudly and happily on The Carousel and all around…you will be glad you did🌺And Don’t Delay Joy for a minute🥰

08/15/2026

Famous Quotes on Art:
Pablo Picasso: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up".
Leonardo da Vinci: "Art is never finished, only abandoned".
Henri Matisse: "Creativity takes courage".
Edgar Degas: "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see".

Oh what a night it was once again at The Carousel of Happiness🎠 We are Rockin’ It With Art, that’s most certain. Our very first Paint and Spin was a grand success…so much energy spinning around and artistic overflow, so much fun🎨 Thank you to Sarah for organizing it all, to Clara for being our resident artist/ teacher and leading the way, and to all our loyal participants who created their own beautiful masterpieces with our Carousel Animals as their models. There was much laughter and camaraderie with all the artfullness and a few spins in between. Looking forward to more sharing with our special communities near and far, locally and “down below” as we call it. So much more to come so stay tuned. And in the meantime, come take those rides and Don’t Delay Joy🌺🎠🎨

08/12/2026

“Creativity is a combination of discipline and a child-like spirit”
~Robert Greene

Paint and Spin at The Carousel is sold out for Friday evening August 14th…yahoo…Clara our quintessential artist/ teacher is very excited…see you next time around if you didn’t sign up🥰

08/11/2026

Special thanks once again to The Family Of Mary Wingate pictured here below for their Free Ride Weekend honoring Mary for her great love of The Carousel…in that her memory will live on forever and a day… Mary has been one of our most benevolent fans ever and we are grateful for that. Over 1500 riders smiled, laughed and carried on over this past weekend to the sound of our famous Wurlitzer, it’s perfectly tuned sound nowhere else to be found. We always say we do all this “for The Smiles” but am thinking we really do it “for the looove”, up and down and all around, spinning, spinning and remembering…this weekend was definitely testimony to that…it truly is all about the love🩷
And Mary is smiling down too and loving it all…
Don’t Delay Joy…
🩷🌺🎠

08/10/2026

Still admiring the whimsical beauty Uproot Florist in Nederland, CO created for our tea party in July. Thank you Jesse and Caroline for all you do! 🌸🌹🌼🌷🌺💐