The Heritage Carousel of Des Moines, Iowa: Wooden menagerie carousel, Union Park, Des Moines, Iowa

20th Annual, Cruise to the Carousel Car Show Cancelled for 2020

The Rollin Relics had to cancel the “Cruise to the Carousel Car Show” at Union Park in Des Moines, Iowa used to support the Heritage Carousel Foundation. The Carousel Foundation Board made a very difficult decision but because of the COVID19 virus and the need to sanitize the carousel between each group of riders the decision was made to not open the Carousel this summer.

This show has been our annual mission to support the Carousel Foundation for nineteen years. Our past donations to the Heritage Foundation have enabled the foundation to keep the riding costs at an affordable rate of 50 cents per child. The carousel relies entirely on private donations for its operation. If you need additional information on the non-profit foundation it can be found on the website: www.heritagecarousel.org

If you would like to make a contribution to the Carousel to help them through this difficult year, please use the website above to make that contribution.

We have contacted you as a past participant for the car show and hope that you will participate again in 2021. In 2019 we had over 230 cars displayed and we estimated over 1000 people attended. We depend on you and your great car for our show. We also invite you, your family, and your friend’s families to attend our show in 2021. On the day of the show, everyone rides the carousel for free! All ages are welcome to ride. The gallery always attends the show for free and only the show cars pay as participants.

Thank you for your past support and we hope you will be able to participate again in 2021.

For additional information contact these club members.

Wendell Saunders 515-988-6902 & Dee Crane 515-480-3988 & Tom Ladd 515-321-9329
Cruise to the Carousel, officers

18th Annual Rollin' Relics Cruise to the Carousel Car Show
August 26, 2018

Rollin’ Relics Help the Carousel Go ‘Round!

Award Winner Dean Archer with his 1946 Super Deluxe Ford Station Wagon Thank you to the Des Moines Rollin’ Relics for their unwavering support of the Heritage Carousel! The 2018 Cruise to the Carousel, held on Sunday, August 26, 2018 was a huge success and a fun filled day for all.

This is one of the longest running and largest car shows in Central Iowa! People come for the cars and stay for the fun. There were 183 cars registered for the August 26th show. This year there were 100 hot dogs, 100 walking tacos, and over 250 hamburgers served as well as tons of baked goods.

The Rollin’ Relics handed out 53 awards including the Carousel Award. This year’s Carousel Award was given to Dean Archer of Ankeny for his 1946 Super Deluxe Ford Station Wagon. The car invokes the spirit of the Carousel with its attention to detail and shiny paint! This was Dean’s first year at the Cruise and he plans to come back next year.

In addition to the cars and the food, some super items were auctioned off including a one of a kind commemorative Carousel T-Shirt quilt and a Weber grill. The 50/50 auction raised over $1,000 with half of it going to the Carousel.

The event this year raised $7,000 for the Heritage Carousel. The Rollin’ Relics presented a check to Carousel board members on Oct. 1 at their monthly meeting. In addition, the Carousel was presented with a beautiful metal sign painted by Rich Hansen and Tim and Pat Schmidt from Maaco of Clive. It will receive a place of prominence on the new display case at the Carousel in 2019!

The Heritage Carousel is operated by the Des Moines Carousel Foundation, a 501 C 3 not for profit.

To view more photos from this event, click here!

17th Annual Rollin' Relics Cruise to the Carousel Car Show
August 27, 2017

The August 27, 2017 Cruise to the Carousel has rolled on through! Once again, the Rollin’ Relics Car Club put on a great event. Cruise to the Carousel is the main fundraising event for the not-for-profit Heritage Carousel and we would not be able to keep goin’ round without the support of generous organizations like the Rollin’ Relcis!

There were nearly 180 cars entered in the show, tons of prizes to win, great food, and lots of friends and laughter! The Rollin’ Relics sponsored free rides at the Carousel and we had over 900 Carousel riders throughout the day. The awards were presented in the afternoon and the winner of the Carousel Choice Award was Bob Miller’s 1965 GTO. This car, like the Carousel, is a serious piece of machinery with a lot of whimsy! The tiger on top looks just like our Carousel Tiger, Trixie. Congratulations, Bob, and we hope to see you and everyone else back next year.

To view more photos from this event, click here!

16th Annual Rollin' Relics Cruise to the Carousel Car Show
August 28, 2016

The Rollin Relics sponsored the 16th annual Cruise to the Carousel on Sunday, August 28. It was another great success! There were 186 cars registered for the Car Show. Estimates put the crowd at 700 to 800. Guests were able to look at all the cars, bid on silent auction items, sign up for door prizes, enjoy food and drink and, as always, enjoy a free ride on the Carousel! The Carousel had nearly 1,000 riders during the event.

The winner of the coveted Carousel Choice Award was Gene Poore. Gene’s car is a 1940 Ford Sedan. The winner of the Union Park Neighborhood Association award was a beautiful 1941 Oldsmobile owned by Chuck Clark. To see more pictures from the show, check out the Rollin Relics facebook page, rollinrelicsdsm.

Cruise to the Carousel is a fun event for the community but it is also very important to the Carousel. It is the largest fundraiser for the Carousel each year. This year, members of the Rollin Relics presented the Heritage Carousel with a check for $7,000.00. Support from donors like the Rollin Relics allows us to maintain and update the Carousel while keeping the cost of a ride to 50 cents for children. For more information about donating to the Carousel, click here.

To view more photos from this event, click here!

Thank you Rollin Relics!!

2015 Cruise to the Carousel
Sunday, August 30, 2015

The 15th Annual Cruise to the Carousel Car Show
was a Huge Success!!

Carousel Choice winner Chad Davis and his '57 Chevy Bel Air!

It was the Cruise to the Carousel's 15th year!! It was a banner year with a record breaking 220 cars registered and 986 free rides given! It was a lovely day for all in the park. Great food, amazing cars, smiles, and Carousel rides for everyone!

The Cruise to the Carousel Car Show is put on by a lot of hard work, love, and dedication by the many volunteers from The Rollin' Relics Car Club. They put in a lot of work all year 'round to make this wonderful event happen and to help support The Heritage Carousel. We can't thank them enough! Many thanks to everyone who supported the show by organizing, entering, attending, and/or donating to the event.

The Rollin' Relics are the largest contributor to The Heritage Carousel and have generously donated over $46,000 in the past 15 years to help keep the Carousel going 'round and keep the rides at 50 cents for children.

Congratulations to the 2014 winner of the
Carousel Choice Award, Gale Gregg!!

Carousel Choice Award Winner Gale Gregg & Mater
Gale and his 1958 Chevy Tow Truck ("Mater!")

This year the Cruise to the Carousel Car Show had 160 registered cars as well as numerous cars in attendance from The Rollin Relics. It was a lovely day for all in the park! Great food, amazing cars, smiles and Carousel rides for everyone! The Rollin Relics sponsorship of the Carousel provided 1,100 FREE RIDES during the event. WOW! To view more photos from this year's event, click here.

The Cruise to the Carousel Car Show is put on by a lot of hard work, love, and dedication by the many volunteers from The Rollin Relics Car Club. They put in a lot of work all year round to make this wonderful event happen and to help support The Heritage Carousel. We can't thank them enough! Many thanks to everyone who supported the show by organizing, entering, attending or donating to the event.

The Rollin Relics is the largest annual contributor to The Heritage Carousel. They help to keep the Carousel going 'round and keep the rides at 50 cents for children.

Rollin's Relics 2013 Winner

2013 Rollin' Relics Cruise to the Carousel winner is
Larry A. Osborn of Des Moines

The Rollin’ Relics is the largest annual contributor to the Heritage Carousel!
Click here for photos of this year’s show!

THANK YOU Rollin’ Relics Car Club & Congratulations on
a record breaking car show!

Rollin' Relic Car Club Check Presentation
Bob Lehrkamp, Chair of the 2012 car show, presents a donation check and customized mailbox to Carousel Director, Susan Kuker and
Foundation Board Members, Scott Cahill, Rachele Kugel and Bobbi Segura.

The 2012 Cruise to the Carousel had a record breaking show with 188 registered cars and the club gave a donation of $7,000 to the Des Moines Carousel Foundation in November. The car club has held the car show in Union Park for 12 years. The show continues to get better and more popular each year. Thank you to the many club members who organize, arrange for donations, coordinate cars, food and the schedule. It is a nearly year round effort of lots of hours, hard work and sweat that goes to support the Carousel, help the Foundation keep up on maintenance needs and help keep the price for a child’s ride at just 50¢. A custom, hand-painted mailbox was donated to the Carousel. The mailbox is a beautiful and fun depiction of cars at the Carousel. The fun and phenomenal artwork was done by Rich Hansen of Des Moines. Look for it to be on display at the Carousel in 2013!

Mark your calendars for the 2013 Cruise to the Carousel – Sunday, August 25th.

Rollin' Relics Car Club Members
Rollin’ Relics Car Club Members – still having fun after a long, but successful, show!

Thank you Rollin’ Relics Car Club for a Great Show!

The 12th Annual “Cruise to the Carousel” took place Sun., August 26th and it was BIG!
Over 180 beautiful cars were registered.

Carousel Choice Award Winner - Kent from Des Moines
Congratulations to Kent Gatzmeyer, recipient of the “Carousel Choice Award”!
Kent, from Des Moines, is owner of a 1959 NSU Prinz II.

Congratulations also to the Pilcher Family from Cummings, Iowa!
Jacob and Isaac were two of the winners in the Model Car Contest, new to the Car Show this year. Isaac Pilcher was the Carousel Award Winner of the Model Car Division for his model “Moose’s Chop Shop”. Thanks for entering!

Thank you to all who supported the show by organizing, entering,
donating to the event and/or attending.
The Rollin’ Relics is the largest annual contributor to the Heritage Carousel!
Over 1500 free Carousel rides were taken during the show!

To view additional photos from this year’s event, click here!