Carousel marks 10th anniversary

Terrific party marks 10th anniversary of carousel
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published April 16, 2003

Oh, what a party!
The 10th anniversary of the saving of the C.W. Parker Carousel was celebrated in a special ceremony last weekend that saw the unveiling of a plaque from the U.S.-based National Carousel Association.
Jo Downey, executive secretary of the NCA, was joined by Mayor Derek Corrigan and parks commission chair Leslie Roosa in unveiling a plaque that pays tribute to the effort that went into preserving the 91-year-old piece of local history.
More than 1,000 people came out for the event, which featured free rides on the carousel, plus free cake provided by the Liberty Bakery. Other dignitaries on hand included Friends of the Carousel cofounder Don Wrigley and Global TV personality Sarah Daniels.
Maurice Guibord, a programmer at Burnaby Village Museum, said the turnout was tremendous, and Downey, who hails from Portland, Ore., impressed everyone with her knowledge of the local merry-go-round.
"She came up here for the opening ceremonies 10 years ago," Guibord said. "She was able to walk around the carousel and give a history of each and every horse. That's quite remarkable."
The presentation is significant because of the possible fate of the venerated old carousel, which was originally slated to be auctioned off, horse-by-horse, to the highest bidders at a New York auction. That's when a group of Vancouver-area heritage lovers, headed by former PNE staffer Venus Solano, decided to save this unique piece of local history and restore it for use at Burnaby Village Museum.
After the Friends of the Carousel Society was formed, enough money was raised through private donations to buy each horse, and then volunteers were found for the painstaking task of restoring and refurbishing the entire structure.
The NCA plaque commemorates both the work of the volunteers, plus city hall's contribution of the carousel pavilion and decision to include the merry-go-round in the school education program that is offered to virtually every child in the Lower Mainland.
Only one thing was missing from the afternoon - and that was Solano, the woman who helped drive the original effort to save the carousel.
Museum officials are still hoping to hear from anyone who knows the whereabouts of the former PNE staffer. She is believed to be living somewhere in Alberta, but nobody really knows for sure.
Anyone with information can contact Guibord at 604-293-6500.

BIG BIKE RIDERS SOUGHT

Want to help out a good cause, while having a whole lot of fun and getting a little bit of exercise at the same time?
The Big Bike Ride is coming to Burnaby on May 1, and teams of 29 riders apiece are being sought to help make this event one of the largest fundraisers yet for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. and the Yukon.
If you don't already know, the big bike is a 30-seat contraption that will be wheeled around the parking lot of the Home Depot by teams who collect pledges for the foundation.
To register, contact Laura Henderson-Wong at the foundation offices, 604-983-8492.

CATCHING 90-KG SALMON

Mark Angelo, the world-renowned champion of rivers and head of BCIT's fish, wildlife and recreation technology program, took the unusual step of issuing a press release to congratulate a multinational corporation this week.
Angelo, who recently received the Order of Canada, offered his thanks to International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, for donating $1 million towards the protection of the isolated Eg River in Mongolia.
The river, which was visited by Angelo last year, is home to the 90-kilogram (200-lb) taimen. In total, the area will see $1.9 million spent - the rest came from local tour operators and other nonprofit foundations - on what is being described as a "ground- breaking initiative" to protect the 3.5 million-hectare ecosystem.
"This is great news for the Eg River and its major tributary, the Uur River. This river system is one of the wildest and most beautiful in Asia," said Angelo.
Angelo is also in negotiations to have BCIT participate in several research studies on the river and its giant salmon.

THE SHADBOLT FOUNDATION

The memory of Burnaby's favourite artist lives on in the presentation of the 2003 Viva Awards to B.C. artists Geoffrey Farmer and Kelly Wood during a Thursday ceremony at the Emily Carr School of Art and Design.
The two $10,000 awards have been given annually since 1987 by the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation to mid-career artists who have demonstrated strong creative potential and a long-term commitment to their work.
Both Farmer and Wood create art that is described as urban, often documentary and politically oriented to social issues.

Woron goes Beta Theta Pi

Scott Woron, an accomplished young rower from Burnaby and football player when he was at Vancouver College, was recently initiated into the Beta Theta Pi fraternity by the Gamma Omicron chapter at the University of British Columbia.
The fraternity, founded in 1893 at Miami (Ohio) University, is dedicated to scholarship, brotherhood and community service and has more than 118,000 members, including over 6,500 collegians on 127 campuses in Canada and the U.S.
The announcement was made via press release from the fraternity's head office in Oxford, Ohio last month.