Historic Carousel looking for volunteers

The Albany Historic Carousel & Museum is a magical place to visit and thousands have enjoyed the experience. But, if you really love it and want to get up close and personal for a few hours a week you are in luck. The Carousel is looking for volunteers.

The Carousel will be holding two open houses to recruit more volunteers, so step up to help run this wonderful attraction. The open houses will be 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 and 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 at the Carousel. Snacks, prize drawings and rides will be available for those attending, and brief presentations by volunteers sharing their stories and information about the various positions will be held at the top of each hour. Volunteers must be at least 15 years of age.

The Carousel usually has a pool of about 250 volunteers but is currently down to 25 to 30 active participants. For more volunteer information check out the website and fill out a volunteer application.

Few people realize that volunteers are the very heart and soul of the Carousel, who make sure it is ready to run 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Jobs include cheerful greeters, tour guides, café staff, gift shop cashiers, carvers and painters.

Just imagine taking control of this wonderful mechanism and helping make dreams come true for kids of all ages. Or learning to carve some of the fantastic creatures that whirl around on the historic 1909 Dentzel mechanism, a vital part of the Carousel that was worked on by – you guessed it – volunteers. Or help give the creations depth and life in the painting studio.

“Our volunteers are amazing!” said Carousel Executive Director Peggy Burris. “Some of them are retirees looking to give back to our community now that they have some free time. Some are in high school and adding to their resumes while getting valuable job experience. And some of our volunteers are local business owners who’ve set aside a few hours a week to bring smiles to others.”

So far since opening, more than 47,000 volunteer hours have been logged by more than 460 dedicated people, young and old, serving in so many ways and keeping the Carousel turning and bringing joy to our community. And they are kept very busy, with more than 160,000 visitors coming through the doors each year.

If you would like to volunteer but are concerned about safety measures for Covid-19, just know that the Carousel has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of everyone on the premises – visitors, staff members and volunteers.

All staff, volunteers and visitors are required to wear masks and a limit of 50 people in the building at one time is being enforced, so some people may have to wait a few minutes during busy times before being allowed to enter.

Go here for more about Covid-19 procedures and expectations,