Enjoy live Latin Jazz and American folk art as we kick off Merry Go Round Leonardtown on First Friday, May 2nd from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in downtown Leonardtown, MD.
Leonardtown is celebrating spring and kicking off our month-long promotion Merry-go-Round Leonardtown with a fun-filled May First Friday event. There’ll be hand-carved carousel horses in businesses around town and fabulous live music on the Square from CSM’s acclaimed Latin Jazz ensemble, Ritmo Cache’.
First Friday is a terrific way to enjoy art in Leonardtown. Each gallery premiers a new show with a lovely reception and other special features every First Friday. This month regular businesses become galleries with special display of one of Southern Maryland’s largest collection of American folk art – a selection of hand-carved, hand painted carousel horses from the Southern Maryland Carousel Group.
Carousels and carousel animals are a fascination for many people. Caught forever mid stride, carousel animals embody anticipation and the potential for a fantastical journey to wherever your imagination will take you. Who can resist a brightly painted pony festooned with intricately carved flowers and ribbons! Carousel animals are a delight and an accessible art form meant to be seen and touched and enjoyed by all. A classic example of American folk art, Carousels were tremendously popular during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Interest fell off during the great depression, but in the early 1970s, a Carousel Renaissance began, and today, talented craftspeople and artists work together to create carousel animals every bit as fabulous as those of the carousels’ golden age.
The Southern Maryland Carousel Group (SMCG) is just such an organization. This small but dedicated team of craftsmen has meticulously hand carved more than 50 carousel animals. Talented Southern Maryland artists, including Nicole Stewart, Shelby Opperman, Renee Nelson, and Rose Beitzel, have donated their talents to create a collection of unique hand painted art. There are spectacular painted ponies as well as more fanciful animals such as Jumping Josiah, the frog, Harlequin Beatrix Bunny, and M
