MANSFIELD — The Richland Carrousel Park isn’t just a Mansfield landmark for Denise Kroger.
It’s a place of timeless joy.
Kroger, a handler at the Ohio Special Response Team, brought her 4-year-old cadaver dog, Falcon, to help celebrate the Richland Carrousel Park on its 34th birthday Saturday.
Kroger brought Falcon along for the children to pet and admire, but she also had a personal connection to the park.
“I came out because I love the carousel,” Kroger said. “I think it is absolutely wonderful that we still have a historic carousel.”
Kroger lives in West Salem, but makes multiple trips to Mansfield just to visit it.
“I love carousels,” she said. “It’s like I am still a kid at heart.”
Kroger reminisced about a special memory with an old friend from North Carolina, who was excited to learn that Mansfield still had a carousel.
“He asked me, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I said, well, I want to go eat,” Kroger said. “Then a bunch of us old bums came up and rode the carousel — and it was absolutely wonderful.”
For Kroger, the carousel remains “ageless and timeless,” a sentiment made clear by many people of all ages who gathered to mark the park’s 34th birthday.
Richland Carrousel Park celebrates with food, crafts and reptiles
RCP celebrated with a lively community celebration Saturday, drawing a crowd of families under sunny skies.
The event featured a mix of outdoor games and indoor treats, giving guests plenty of ways to enjoy the day. Children decorated the sidewalks with colorful chalk drawings, while families played classic yard games like horseshoes and corn hole.
Inside, visitors enjoyed favorites from Two Cousins Pizza, along with hot dogs, brats and nachos provided by the carousel. Dessert was on hand too, with Dippin’ Dots, cookies, and refreshing lemonade from Lanie’s Lemons truck.
Reptile Adventures was an exciting hit, bringing snakes, lizards, tortoises and more for guests to hold or pet.
The reptiles drew wide smiles and some brave touches, with one young visitor exclaiming, “I love him!” while petting the snake.
At one point, they even let their tortoise roam free in the grass, as kids laughed and got close to touch it.
The Mansfield Richland County Public Library joined in the festivities by helping kids create paper robots that could stand on their own with the help of paper clips.
The Mansfield Police Department also brought excitement with its K-9 unit, introducing guests to their newest addition — Charlie, a Mini Goldendoodle serving as part of their therapy canine team.
(More pictures from the Richland Carrousel Park’s 34th birthday celebration. Picture credit: Hannah Martin)
