Paradise Ponies, Inc. and the Carousel of Aloha, are committed to creating, developing, and maintaining the first permanent, hand carved Hawai’i-themed carousel and pavilion on the island of Hawai’i. The carousel will provide a unique community recreational, educational, art and cultural center for people of all ages, while uniting each of our diverse island communities in a collective statewide art project.
Ken Means, Instuctor & Juanette Baysa, Our Founder
Even as a young child, Juanette had a fascination for carousels. Thirty plus years later, while attending a spiritual retreat, everyone was asked what they wanted to leave as their contribution to society, their legacy.
Juanette’s answer was she wanted to carve carousel figures and place them in as many children’s hospitals as she could.
The facilitator’s remark was “That’s not big enough”. And the idea of carving and constructing an entire carousel, was born.
The idea was further solidified when she had promised her goddaughter a carousel ride at a nearby amusement park. When they arrived at the park, the carousel was gone. Juanette apologized, but in a way only a child can, her goddaughter’s response was, “That’s Okay Auntie. We’ll just have to build one”.
Paradise Ponies and The Carousel of Aloha begins…