Enjoy Free Rides, Much More at Laub Balboa Park Carousel for National Carousel Day

Save the date: It’s National Carousel Day on Tuesday, July 25.

Families and carousel aficionados alike are invited to celebrate at the Dorothea Laub Balboa Park Carousel beginning at 11 a.m. that day, continuing through the early evening.

The community event is presented by Forever Balboa Park, with free carousel rides all day.

Family friendly activities and entertainment include circus performers, face painting, photo booth, crafts with the Spanish Village Art Center and activities with the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Food will be available for purchase from local vendors, including Golden State Dogs and Ice Cream, and Toro Churros and Doughnuts.

The entertainment, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., includes Kathryn the Grape, The Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, mariachi and folklorico performances, Pasacat and Opera 4 Kids

The Balboa Park Carousel will be open to riders again after a months-long restoration. Visitors will see a new tile roof and a fresh coat of paint on the building, but there also were structural reinforcements and other upgrades to ensure that the historic attraction is available for generations to come.

Built in 1910, the carousel still runs on its original General Electric motor, and the hand-painted animal menagerie and paintings, military band organ and brass ring game are original as well.

The carousel was brought to Balboa Park in 1922 and is one of just a few in the U.S. that still operates as it did more than a century ago. Forever Balboa Park has owned and maintained the carousel since 2017.

The Balboa Park Carousel received a Historical Resources Designation by the city of San Diego’s Historical Resources Board in 2021. On National Carousel Day 2022, it was officially renamed the Dorothea Laub Balboa Park Carousel in recognition of Laub’s significant support.