The Inland Northwest Grand Adventure:

Dreams, Smiles, Traditions

The carousels of the Inland Northwest invite you to attend the 2025 52nd Annual NCA Convention, September 17 through September 21, 2025. The convention will be headquartered at the Ruby River Hotel on the shores of the Spokane River in downtown Spokane Washington.

You will need to make your own Ruby River Hotel Guest Room reservations by calling (509)326-5577 and identify you are with the National Carousel Association Convention. We have secured a special discount rate of $125 per night plus taxes and fees. We currently have a room block from September 14th through September 21st, 2025. Free parking is included if you are driving.

And in conjunction with the NCA Convention, the Carousels of the Inland Northwest will be hosting a Carousel Owners and Operators Conference in Kennewick, Washington at the Gesa Carousel of Dreams on September 15 and 16, 2025. More . . .

For those who have Microsoft Powerpoint installed on their computers and would like to see the Powerpoint presentation that was presented at the 2024 convention, the slide show can be Downloaded Here.

Your adventure will include visits to six fabulous carousels in beautiful North Idaho and Eastern Washington communities. The following is our tentative schedule:

Wednesday September 17th:

• Dinner at the Ruby River Hotel

Thursday September 18th:

• Spokane's 1909 Looff Carrousel in Riverfront Park
• Country Mercantile in Pasco, Washington
• Kennewick's 1910 Carmel Gesa Carousel of Dreams

Friday September 19th:

• Grand Coulee Dam
• Republic's Ferry County Fair 1895-1900 Armitage-Herschell Carousel
• Convention Banquet and Auction at Ruby River Hotel

Saturday September 20th:

• Coeur d'Alene's Playland Pier 1922 Spillman Engineering Carousel
• Silverwood's 1952 Allan Herschell Carousel
• Sandpoint's 1920's Allan Herschell Carousel of Smiles

Since the last NCA visit to the Inland Northwest:

• Spokane has built a new building to house their 1909 Looff Carrousel
• Kennewick's Gesa Carousel of Dreams has opened in a beautiful new building with a new Carousel Works mechanism and completely restored and painted horses plus new menagerie animals
• After 50 years on the road, the Playland Pier carousel has returned to the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
• You will be among the first to ride the Carousel of Smiles since its last operation at the 1952 Kansas State Fair.

In addition to the carousels, Saturday September 20th will be a great family day with a four-hour visit to Silverwood Theme Park, the largest theme park in the Pacific Northwest.

We are currently exploring the idea of a Post-Convention tour of four carousels and the Bovay Band Organ Collection in Montana, including:

• A Carousel for Missoula Montana
• The Great Northern Carousel in Helena Montana
• The Boulder River Carousel in Boulder Montana
• The Spirit of Columbia Gardens in Butte Montana
• Bovay Band Organ Collection in Nevada City / Virginia City Montana

Click here if you are interested in joining a Post-Convention Montana Tour, and complete and submit the survey.

Your grand adventure can continue beyond the convention by extending your visit to the Pacific Northwest. There are eight other carousels to visit in Western Oregon, Washington and British Columbia plus the four new carousels in Montana. You could also visit the Bickleton, Washington Carousel Museum and The Dalles, Oregon Neon Museum located along the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. This museum visit would allow you to check up on the progress of the 1921 Parker Jantzen Beach Carousel.

A visit to this area of North America would not be complete without a stop at the many world-famous National Parks, including Banff, Glacier and Yellowstone.

There are multiple transportation options to reach the Inland Northwest. Spokane International Airport is currently served by seven airlines with non-stop flights from 20 airports across the United States. Amtrak's Empire Builder serves the area, as does Interstate-90, if you prefer to drive.

More details will follow in the next two issues of the Merry-Go-Roundup as well as the NCA's website, Carousels.org, and postings on the NCA's Facebook pages.

Start planning your Inland Northwest Grand Adventure and join in for the experience of Dreams, Smiles and Traditions at the 2025 NCA Convention. For questions about our convention, please send email to Don Largent.