Category Archives: fun

2012 Nunley's Carousel Turns 100

Nunley’s Carousel Turns 100

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
June 11, 2012

Nunley’s Carousel Centennial Celebration

Nunley’s Amusement Park was a real treat for my daughters when they were young. After riding the carousel and a couple of outdoor rides, we’d have ice cream and play Skee-ball, winning red tickets to exchange for prizes.

So when Nunley’s closed in 1995, our whole family was sad to lose that Freeport-Baldwin landmark.

Garden City, New York, USA. June 9, 2012. Nunley's Carousel during 100th Anniversary festivities. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Garden City, New York, USA. June 9, 2012. Nunley’s Carousel during 100th Anniversary festivities. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Happily, by 2009 the carousel was beautifully restored and moved to its new home in Museum Row, Garden City.

Nunley’s Carousel Centennial Celebration held this past weekend, June 9th – 10th, gave visitors the chance to play croquet in front of Nunley’s Carousel Pavilion and have other old-fashioned fun.

Festivities also included a campaign visit from ex-President Theodore Roosevelt – portrayed by actor JAMES FOOTE. In 1912, the year Nunley’s Carousel debuted, Teddy Roosevelt ran again for President in 1912 – unsuccessfully, as Bull Moose Party candidate.

Jack Neary hopes to grab a brass ring while riding historic Nunley's Carousel during its Centennial Celebration on Saturday, June 9, 2012, at Museum Row, Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA. Though most rings are steel, a carousel rider who grabs a brass ring wins a free ride. (Ann Parry/Ann Parry, ann-parry.com)

Garden City, New York, USA. June 9, 2012. JACK NEARY hopes to grab a brass ring while riding historic Nunley’s Carousel during its Centennial Celebration. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

And your admission fee included a ride on historic Nunley’s Carousel, where lucky and athletic riders had a chance to grab a brass ring to win a free ride.

Nunley’s Carousel Centennial 2012:  my Photo Gallery

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2012 Nigerian Dwarf Goats Walk in Norman J Levy Park & Preserve

Nigerian Dwarf Goats Walk in Norman J Levy Park & Preserve

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
May 5, 2012

Though I first met the Nigerian Dwarf Goats that live at Norman J Levy Park & Preserve about 3 years ago, this week was the first time I saw them as they walked through the grounds with a park ranger.

May 1, 2012 - Merrick, New York, USA - Nigerian Dwarf Goats walk with Park Ranger during sunny spring day at Levy Park and Preserve, marshland on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Due to unusually warm weather, this was the first day of the year the park stayed open until 19:30 (7:30 PM), which usually doesn't happen until later in season. (Ann Parry/Ann Parry, ann-parry.com)

May 1, 2012 – Merrick, New York, USA – Nigerian Dwarf Goats walk with PARK RANGER SUE during sunny spring day at Levy Park and Preserve, marshland on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Due to unusually warm weather, this was the first day of the year the park stayed open until 19:30 (7:30 PM), which usually doesn’t happen until later in season. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Entering the parking lot, I saw a sign announcing the goats were out walking, so I asked someone at the Park Station exactly where they were. He called Park Ranger Susan, who had them up by the hilltop ponds and was about to take them back on the trail near the golf course.

Merrick, NY, USA. May 1, 2012. Nigerian Dwarf Goats graze during walk at Norman J Levy Park & Preserve. (© 2012 Ann Parry/ann-parry.com)

Merrick, NY, USA. May 1, 2012. Nigerian Dwarf Goats graze during walk at Norman J Levy Park & Preserve. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

This delightful, working goat herd eats weeds as it walks through the park – each day, early morning and early afternoon – using a variety of routes. It’s one of many ways the park maintains itself in a green, ecologically friendly way for Long Island’s marshland environment.

  • UPDATE: The book Extraordinary Goats by Janet Hurst, 2014, includes one of my photos of Nigerian Dwarf Goats walking with Park Ranger Susan at Levy Park.

Nigerian Dwarf Goats & Birds, Levy Park & Preserve:  PHOTO GALLERY

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2011 Flash Mob: Macy's on Long Island, NY

Flash Mob: Macy’s on Long Island, NY

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
September 30, 2011

Music starting playing near the central cosmetics area of Macy’s in the mall, and a young woman and man rushed into an empty space in the aisle and started dancing.

The blond girl’s aqua shirt had Estée Lauder “Imagine having nothing to hide” on it, and the boy wore a white T-shirt, and after they did some particularly dashing jumps and lifts, several dozen dancers joined them.

Flash Mob dance event for Estee Lauder at Macy's in Long Island, New York, USA, on July 23, 2011. Teal shirts dancers wearing have "Imagine having nothing to hide" written on front. (Ann E Parry/Ann Parry, Ann-Parry.com)

Garden City, NY, USA. July 23, 2011. Flash Mob dance event for Estee Lauder at Macy’s. Teal shirts dancers wearing have “Imagine having nothing to hide” written on front. (© 2011 Ann Parry/ Ann-Parry.com)

So we had ourselves a flash mob, with dancers who ranged from amateurs to pros, and from a young girl around 10-years-old, to a very pregnant twenty-something, to those who were my age and beyond. They danced to Martin Solveig’s “Hello” which Flash Mob America choreographed.

And the Long Island, New York, shoppers loved it, many taking out their cell phones to photograph the 4-minutes of unexpected fun that Summer of 2011 afternoon.

Flash Mob:  my PHOTO GALLERY

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