New York City has the Empire State Building, Los Angeles has the Hollywood sign and Burlington has the Dentzel Menagerie Carousel.

But don’t underestimate its influence – the 100-year-old carousel is the reason for the beloved annual Burlington Carousel Festival, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this weekend.

“The festival is centered around the historic carousel,” said Mary Faucette, special events supervisor for the Burlington Recreation & Parks Department. “It’s a one of a kind carousel, so we’re celebrating (the carousel’s) rich history and the fact that we have it here in our City Park.”

The carousel, which includes 46 hand-carved wooden animals, was built in the early 1900s in Philadelphia by the Dentzel family. It was purchased by the City of Burlington in 1948 and was restored in the 1980s, and the city began celebrating the carousel shortly after its completed restoration.

The festival not only celebrates the history of the carousel, according to Faucette, but it provides Burlington locals with a fun, inexpensive opportunity to bond within their community.

“(Having the festival in City Park) allows the community to stay local for an event,” Faucette said. “And since most of our rides are free, it’s fun for adults and children because it provides a local festival that’s affordable for families.”

This year’s festival will include a variety of events and activities for all ages, including more than 50 artist booths with handmade arts and crafts for sale, live entertainment on three different performance stages, food vendors and interactive booths for children.

“We try to keep (our activities) new and fresh,” Faucette said. “We have standing performers who have been with us for several years, but we try to find different people with unique talents so we have a variety of genres every year.”

The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 15 and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at Burlington’s City Park on 1333 Overbrook Rd.

To read a full story about the history of the festival, the carousel and the city of Burlington, pick up the print edition of The Pendulum next week.