The Carousel of Light - Still Yet to Re-Open

By Elizabeth Salenius

July 12, 2025

Falmouth, MA

On Saturday, June 28th, volunteers gathered outside of the Mullen-Hall School in Falmouth, MA to help prepare the Carousel of Light for the 2025 season. The initial set-up date, Saturday, June 14, was rained out, forcing them to postpone.

Despite the set-up going smoothly based on photos posted on FaceBook, the carousel has yet to re-open for the season, missing the busy Fourth of July weekend crowds on the Cape. In a July 7 post on the Carousel of Light FaceBook page, it was stated that the carousel is going “through a few more essential steps before [they] are allowed to open.”

The carousel, consisting of 20 hand-carved horses and 2 chariots made by Lance Shinkle, a Falmouth native. He started the carving part of the project in 1988 and acquired a 1947 Allan Herschell carousel frame in 1993, which he used to get his carousel spinning. It first operated at the Barnstable County Fair in the summer of 1993. It has moved a few times before settling in its current, temporary home at the Mullen-Hall School in 2014. 

The carousel is taken down at the end of each summer in order to place it in storage and protect it from the New England winters. 

Unfortunately, the age of the 1947 carousel frame has started to show. In 2022, the carousel suffered a mechanical failure which resulted in the carousel’s abrupt closure. The Carousel of Light Inc. Board has contributed ongoing maintenance issues to the constant tear-down and set-up of the carousel causing excess wear. 

For several years, the Board has been seeking a permanent home for the carousel where a building can be constructed, allowing the carousel to remain set up year-round. Plans for the carousel’s building have already been made, they just need a place to build it. They hope to keep the carousel in Falmouth, but have had no luck finding a home for it as of 2025. 

Let’s hope that the Carousel of Light starts spinning again soon!

Click here to go to the Carousel of Light FaceBook page.

Click here to go to the Carousel of Light website.