2016 Carousel West at Asilomar Could Be Last Visit to No. California Coastline for A Couple of Years
Plans for 2017 Conference in Los Angeles and in 2018 in Cambria, CA
Below are the registration sheets you can print out to sign up for Carousel West at Asilomar, to be held this year, June 10-12. This might be the last visit to the longstanding Monterey coastline venue. Plans for Carousel West in 2017 are hoping to coordinate with the assembly of carousel folks in the Los Angeles area for the 1017 NCA Convention. In 2018, plans are for Carousel West to try a new site a bit further south from Asilomar, in Cambria, CA (San Simeon, Hurst Castle visit a must).
Below is the 2015 Asilomar story which I will leave as is as it tells the history of Carousel West. Looking forward to seeing you at Asilomar in 2016
– Jean Bennett
carouselwest@gmail.com
Carousel West At Asilomar Started as a Weekend Exhibit and Conference, Now A Carousel Enthusiast Tradition for 38 Years
“Our program at Asilomar, while including a generous portion of slide shows and restoration information, is aimed at preserving an open forum to encourage the greatest possible exchange of ideas and to expand friendships and ties. … A place to relax and enjoy”.
– Nina Fraley from the Invitation to the first Carousel West at Asilomar.
Pacific Grove, CA – The 38th Annual Carousel West at Asilomar is just over a month away – set for June 19-20, 2015.
M. C. Illions carousel horse head and original Illions carving tools.
For those not familiar with the Carousel West gathering, maybe it’s time for a visit. According to Rol Summit in his tribute to Nina Fraley, Carousel West founder, “One of Nina’s most outstanding legacies is her successful effort to restore the cordial spirit that had engendered the founding of the original [NCA] organization.
Jo Summit with Marianne Stevens at Asilomar 2009.
In less than three months after announcing her NCA resignation, she had mailed invitations to her Bay Area colleagues and other friends to come together into a demilitarized refuge. She offered yet another show, American Carousel Art, at the Monterrey Peninsula Museum of Art in conjunction with Carousel West, “A two day Collector’s Conference at Asilomar Conference Grounds in nearby Pacific Grove, California, for the weekend of June 23-25, 1978”.
As further promised in the mimeographed invitation, “Our program at Asilomar, while including a generous portion of slide shows and restoration information, is aimed at preserving an open forum to encourage the greatest possible exchange of ideas and to expand friendships and ties. … A place to relax and enjoy”.
Kris Rowberry, Creator and Host of “Great American Thrills” made a presentation at Carousel West, 2014 on Lost Parks of Northern California. It’s a great website, GreatAmericanThrills.net. Here is the trailer.
That promise has been fulfilled annually in each of the 36 subsequent meetings of Carousel West at Asilomar. We have learned together, dined together, partied together. We have celebrated together and mourned together in the natural progression of births and unions, divorces and deaths. There is no need to state the underlying premises of civility and respect; they are self-fulfilling in the enduring climate of mutual interests and affectionate connection.”
For the upcoming 2015 gathering, the registration deadline has just passed, but there may still be time to join carousel friends on the Monterey Coast this June. Please contact Jean Bennett at: carouselwest@gmail.com ASAP.
