Things are not going well for the oldest carousel in the world!
The oldest “galloping” carousel in the world is at La Ronde, in Montreal. Have you ever boarded? The problem is that it hasn’t been working for a few years. The merry-go-round would need several repairs, but the owner of La Ronde explains that it would cost too much… We’ll explain!
The carousel, named Le Galopant, is 138 years old! Like all amusement rides, its mechanism must be carefully maintained every year. In the case of the Galopant, it is very expensive since the broken parts often have to be custom made, because they are very old and no longer sell.
In 2002, the carousel had been dismantled and stored because it was in such poor condition. But as it is a rare ride, La Ronde decided to refurbish it. It cost $1 million!
Because it still needs to be repaired, Le Galopant has not been running since 2019. La Ronde told the newspaper The Press that she was thinking about what she will do with the merry-go-round.
The story of Le Galopant
The Galopant was made in 1885 in Belgium (a neighboring country of France, in Europe). It is called Le Galopant because a mechanism made the wooden horses move up and down and gave the impression that they were galloping.
The merry-go-round entertained Belgian children for almost 80 years before crossing the Atlantic in 1964. It was first part of a fair in New York, USA.
Then, in 1967, the City of Montreal bought it and moved it to La Ronde. La Ronde became the owner of the carousel in 2001.
In 2022, there was even a Canada Post stamp paying tribute to the famous carousel!
To the rescue of the Gallopant!
Historians are worried. They would like Le Galopant to be kept, because it is a unique ride that is part of the history of Quebec.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is aware of the situation and said the city is considering ways to recover the carousel, renovate it and make it accessible to the public again.
It is therefore not impossible that one day you will be able to take a tour of Galopant!
According to an article by Philippe Teisceira-Lessard, The Press
Yippee, it’s almost the holidays!
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Solidarity put to the test!
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
In this photo taken on June 3, forest fire 172 threatens the city of Sept-Îles and its surroundings, on the North Shore.
Quebec is still affected by forest fires. Fortunately, the situation is improving. Over the past week, residents of several evacuated towns such as Chibougamau have been able to return home. The other good news is that this ordeal gave rise to a real outpouring of solidarity throughout the province. Here are some examples that give hope.
A busy campsite!
Since the start of the fires, many communities have had to be evacuated in northern Quebec. This is the case of Chapais. To compensate for the lack of accommodation, the Opémiska campsite, located a few kilometers away, allowed the evacuees to stay in its trailers. And it was free!
Activities for families
In Saguenay, evacuees were able to chase away boredom by taking advantage of the region’s attractions completely free of charge. Among them: the Zoo of Saint-Félicien, the Innu Museum of Mashteuiatsh or the Alpagas du Lac. Ideal for entertaining children deprived of school!
The Saguenay tourism industry has even created an interactive map that lets you know the activities offered free of charge and the accommodations available.
Brave volunteers!
We learned that 25 Anishinabeg volunteers from Pikogan and Lac-Simon went to Mont-Tremblant to take a three-day training course with the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU).
Once the training was over, these highly motivated volunteers lent a hand to the wildland firefighters in fighting the fires.
You can also count on the SPCA!
The Val-d’Or SPCA has worked hard to provide for the needs of abandoned or emergency evacuated pets. Hundreds of cats and dogs were rescued. Many volunteers have mobilized to bring food and many other accessories that could be used at the center.
He feeds the fire fighters!
Daniel Quenneville opened a restaurant in Chibougamau at the beginning of April. He was far from imagining the continuation. With the evacuation of his city, Daniel found himself without customers. That didn’t stop him as he decided to turn his restaurant into a cafeteria to feed the fire fighters!
“We are tired at the moment, we do about 20 hours of work a day,” Daniel told a journalist from the Daily. The cafeteria accommodates between 120 and 150 people for lunch and almost as many for dinner.
But despite the fatigue, Daniel says he is ready to feed everyone who comes to his restaurant. “The best pay is the comments from people who say they’ve never eaten so well,” he rejoices.
Help everywhere
The list of good deeds could go on for a long time! In the last few days, many people have taken in strangers driven from their homes by the fires.
And this solidarity goes beyond Canada’s borders, because firefighters from other countries such as France, Spain, Portugal, South Africa and the United States join us to fight the fire. In fact, the video of South African firefighters singing as they arrive at the airport in Edmonton, Alberta, is heart-warming.
With all this solidarity, we will defeat the flames, that’s for sure!
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