Kingsport Carousel: Ninth Birthday

The Kingsport Carousel will mark its 9th birthday next week and we need your help to celebrate!

Everyone needs to come down to the carousel (320 Clinchfield Street) on July 20 and enjoy free rides all day (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.). There will be free treats and giveaways from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (while supplies last) and a photo booth will be set up to capture the perfect carousel picture with your family.

“The Kingsport Carousel is one of the most magical places in our community and we’re excited to invite everyone down to help us celebrate its ninth birthday,” said Special Events Program Leader Heather Buckley.

And be sure to come early and pick up your favorite produce or baked goods from the Kingsport Farmers Market (which opens at 7 a.m.) before enjoying a few rides on the carousel.

Event Schedule

Kingsport Farmers Market: 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Birthday Giveaways: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Free Carousel Rides: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Kingsport Carousel is a volunteer-led project completed in 2015. More than 300 volunteers worked for five years to hand-carve and hand-paint platform and sweep animals for the working 1956 vintage Herschell carousel. Since opening in July 2015, the Carousel has hosted more than 500,000 riders. The carousel is open to the public year-round and all rides are $1. Private parties and birthday parties start at $100 and can be booked by calling 423-392-8414.

The carousel is currently open Wednesday through Sunday, from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit EngageKingsport.com, or call 423-392-8414.

About Kingsport Cultural Arts

Kingsport Cultural Arts connects, coordinates and engages the public with a creative community. We operate the Renaissance Arts Center, the Farmers Market Pavilion, the Kingsport Carousel, the Carousel Fine Craft Show, Kingsport Public Art Program, Engage Kingsport Performing Arts Series and a broad range of support to the area’s arts organizations. KCA works in tandem with Engage Kingsport, Inc., the “Friends of the Cultural Arts” group, a private, volunteer-led 501(c)3 non-profit community organization. For more information, please visit www.artskingsport.org.

About the City of Kingsport

Founded in 1917, the City of Kingsport (pop. 55,400) is located on the Tennessee-Virginia border at the crossroads of I-81 and I-26 near the geographic center of the eastern United States. The city is widely known as a planned community, designed by renowned city planner John Nolen and wrapping around the foot of Bays Mountain – a 3,750-acre park, nature preserve, planetarium and observatory. Kingsport is recognized as an International Safe Community by the National Safety Council, a Healthier Tennessee community, and won the 2009 Harvard Innovations in American Government Award for its higher education initiatives. While many city names are duplicated throughout the U.S., there’s only one Kingsport – a fact that invokes community pride, known locally as the “Kingsport Spirit.” For more information, please visit www.kingsporttn.gov.