Ryan WHaylie: If you're part of this, you're probably a little crazy.

Haylie Robinson: I'm Haylie Robinson, and I'm a former fair queen full of wanderlust.

I explore art, culture, community, heritage, history and more.

One festival at a time.

I invite you to join me in finding festivals.

Announcer: Finding festivals is brought to you in part by Find some Lake Erie Love?

It's a SHORE thing!

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Toledo.

More than you ever imagined.

Learn more at visittoledo.org.

Haylie: Well, it's home to the amusement park, Cedar Point.

Downtown Sandusky hosts several events throughout the year, including festival of sail.

While it's still setting up, I want to show you around the area.

Sandusky sits on the shore of Lake Erie and is full of tourist attractions.

Before we explore the city, I'm going to a local breakfast spot inside a marketplace at the cook to grab some morning cups of coffee to share with dear friend and lifetime local Jill Bauer.

Jill Bauer: You've been a native in this area for most, if not all your life.

All of my life.

Haylie Robinson: Born and raised So what is it?

I know that you obviously left home for a little bit to go to college, but what kind of brought you back?

Like, you just love this area.

Jill Bauer: I mean, when you grow up near the lake, you can't leave it.

I mean, I'm sure you know that being from, you know, the area that you're from as well, you just are drawn to being on the water all the time.

And the last ten or 15 years or so, you are really seeing people take pride in being in downtown Sandusky, fixing up old buildings.

There is an entrepreneurial spirit that is insane in Sandusky right now.

Haylie: I do remember, you know, just even, you know, 12 years ago or 15 years ago when I was dancing and we used to do our recitals in the state theater.

Exactly.

Yes.

You know, downtown did look a lot different than it does now.

And then when I came back to work in Sandusky and I got to see a little bit more vibrant set to see the growth.

Jill Bauer: Yes.

Yes.

And now you see bars and restaurants and rooftop bars.

And the Jackson Street Pier has been refurbished and is now a multi-use space where it's just where everybody hangs out.

They have concerts, they have festivals.

They show family friendly movies.

That's the place to be for the sunset.

You can get your coffee or in the evening, you can get your drink and you know, hang out over there.

And yes, downtown Sandusky is the place to be now.

Haylie: And I know that, you know, for a living, you help people find cool places and educate them on the area.

So can you tell me what you love most about your position?

Jill Bauer: Oh, about my job.

It's so exciting to be able to.

To let people know about things that they maybe were previously unaware.

Just as an example, I was talking to somebody from Indiana this week who had no idea Ohio had islands.

You know, their perception of Ohio was corn fields and highways.

And, you know, when I started telling them about Sandusky and the islands and that we have ferries and we have this amazing amusement park.

Cedar Point, they did know that.

But behind that, they were like so surprised about, you know, all of the things that there were here.

They were just blown away.

And that is really the the most rewarding part of my job is when I get to tell somebody now not just how much fun it is to live here, but how much fun it is to visit and how many great things there are going on in this area.

Haylie: Absolutely.

I can imagine, especially like you said, there's so many that are confused, like, wow, Ohio has cool things to do, right?

Yes.

Yes, we do have some cool things to do.

Amazing.

Cool.

Just got it.

You just got to know about it.

Which started as a celebration for the release of four Carousel themed postal stamp designs in 1988 became the Now Merry-Go-Round Museum.

What makes this establishment different is the exploration of the craftsmanship, artistry and history of carousels and the featured pieces on each construction.

Bonnie Behm: This building was built in 1927 with a round front and served as Sandusky's post office until the mid eighties and then 1988 they issued their first set of carousel commemorative postage stamps.

And of the four animals on that set of stamps, only one was still on a working carousel.

And it just happens to be located just up the road from us at Cedar Point Amusement Park.

So they went around town and knocked on all the doors that had had carousel pieces in their windows to see what kind of pieces they could borrow and were able to come up with about 50 carousel pieces, open their doors for reception, hoping for 2 to 300 people to come through and over 2000 did.

So they put together a nonprofit and in 1990 we opened our doors.

Haylie: It's kind of incredible.

So it really was supposed to start is just in celebration of another event, but it turned into an established institution, essentially.

Bonnie Behm: That's that.

And everybody has their own favorites, their own reason for coming in.

And we always laugh because you'll get a group coming in and one person really wants to be in here and there, and several in the group are just being dragged in because one person really wants to be here.

And so they're humoring that person by coming in.

And there is so much to see on these pieces and it's so much more than you were expecting that everybody leaves and go, Oh, my goodness, it's so much better than I was expecting here.

Carousel Museum, you think?

Not another museum.

Why do I want to go look at these horses?

But each horse is so individualized and so different.

And until you're actually standing looking at them, you think of the ride that you grew up with, but you don't really pay attention to the animals.

And then you start looking at these animals and it's amazing and we would all be wrong.

Most of the animals are horses, but we have camels and goats and donkeys and frogs over.

Haylie: Kind of fun to ride a frog.

I mean, how often can you say you rode a frog, right?

Bonnie Behm: Not just a frog, but address frog, bow tie, vest, dress to go out on the town.

Haylie: That is a fancy frog.

Bonnie Behm: Yes.

So if Fredrick.

Was carved here at the museum and we did a name, the animal contest after he got carved.

So we have project the frog on our machine that you can ride.

Haylie: I love that.

So what?

So what is the oldest horse you have in the collection currently?

Bonnie Behm: Currently the oldest horse in here we have a Charles Deere horse that was from his changeover from doing hobby horses to start doing carousel horses.

And he was completed sometime between 1860 and 1875.

Haylie: : And it's here in this museum to.

Bonnie Behm: He's still in either early park paint or original paint.

So he has a more of a authentic antique look to him where most carousel animals because the maintenance guys in the park will repaint them from time to time.

They've had so many layers put on them that they've been restored that they look brand new.

So you're looking at these pieces, you really don't realize they're all over 100 years old.

Haylie: I wouldn't have guess.

I would have figured.

Maybe eighties at best.

So maybe 30 years old.

But yeah, that forget over a hundred years old.

What is your I guess you could say youngest piece that you have.

Bonnie Behm: So the youngest one really is on our machine.

It is currently Eddie the Dog and he's been on our machine for about two years now.

Haylie: You see Eddie the dog?

I did you have a dog?

Wait a minute.

So we have horses.

We talked about a frog.

Now we have a dog.

Okay.

I'm excited to check all of this out.

Bonnie Behm: And watching people's faces light up when they ride the carousel.

So one of the highlights of my day.

Haylie: Thank you so much.

That was so much fun.

A carousel may bring out my childlike joy, but the world's largest rubber duck brings out a youthful wonder.

That begs the question Where did this come from?

Now, I did want to address the duck.

Yes.

And the shot.

Where did it come from?

What's the story?

Ryan WHaylie: So it's a funny story.

The duck was there was a tall ships fast like this, and LA and 2000 was 12.

So 2012.

And the folks that were helping produce the event, the Port of LA, they were like, okay, we've got these tall ships, we need something even bigger.

And so like brainstormed a little bit and we're like, let's build the world's largest rubber duck.

And of course, they thought we were crazy.

As I mean, if you're part of this, you're probably a little crazy.

But and so we built it and that thing they actually had to close the highway coming into the event because there was some people coming to see the stuff.

And so it was supposed to be a one time thing.

And here we are now, more than ten years later and there's Mama Duck.

Haylie: It's right here.

Well, now this is the same duck that, like, takes over the Internet every summer.

Ryan WHaylie: Yes, it is.

Yes, that is.

That is Mama Duck.

She's very popular.

Haylie: How does one start making a duck of this side?

Ryan WHaylie: So believe it or not, there's a company in Ohio.

It's it's I believe it's in Brunswick, Ohio, and they make hot air balloons.

So they also have the ability to make things like the world's largest rubber duck.

Haylie: So this was made in Ohio.

Ryan WHaylie: This was made in Ohio.

Haylie: Festival of sail.

Now, how long has this been going on this and so.

Ryan WHaylie: This is the third festival of sale in Sandusky.

I think there was a there's one like ten or 15 years ago.

It was kind of a different organization.

But we started getting going and kind of pre-pandemic had great turnout, just a great venue.

And so this is the first year post-pandemic.

Things are going well.

We've got Mama Duck behind us here and we hope to continue it every year if we can.

Haylie: Where did the ships come from?

I know we have the Niagara.

And and the Trinidad.

Ryan WHaylie: so we have two ships here on this event.

The Niagara is from Erie, Pennsylvania.

So not too far away.

So Lake Erie ship, the Spanish ship, they travel a little far.

They actually came from Seville, Spain.

So they came from across the sea.

They're going to be in the Great Lakes throughout the summer.

This is their first stop.

They are very serious about making it a true replication.

I mean, it's sails the way it's supposed to sail in the past.

The crew is train that way.

The Niagara is a replica as well, but the Niagara has pieces of her haul that are from the original Niagara that was in the Belle Lake area and at the controls.

Haylie: Mama Duck may help you see the festival still from a distance, but the ships are the stars of the festival.

I toured the U.S. Brig Niagara, which is a historical replica of the ship sailed by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during the battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

Captain Sabbatini told me that he spent the whole summer sailing the Niagara from port to port.

In New York.

William Sabatini: The professional crew will come on usually for about six months.

Just roughly the season is what grew up in April or May, and people say on to about September October.

So Niagara is the official flagship of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania's goodwill ambassador.

So we travel all around the Great Lakes and we tell the story of the ship.

We also take on trainees.

So the students come under the ship and they become part of our crew.

Haylie: In addition to teaching the next generation of sailors, Captain Sabbatini also shares the story of the US Brig Niagara, which, aside from being in the battle of Lake Erie, I'm not too familiar with the details, so I'll let the captain fill us in a spoiler.

William Sabatini: We want.

Now, Niagara was the relief flagship now for Oliver Hazard.

Perry and Oliver Hazard Perry.

He is the one who coined the phrase Don't give up the ship.

It was part of a really important battle for the war of 1812, because the battle that Niagara fought in would give one of those two sides control of Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

So it was a pivotal moment in the war of 1812.

Haylie: Now that we know how the US Brig Niagara was used in the Battle of 1812, let's get a tour.

Captain, how big is this ship?

William Sabatini: The Niagara is 120 feet tall, 200 feet long, has 15 sails, and there is 12,000 square feet of sail area and there's six miles of running rigging of the rope that we use.

So that's just in this one ship.

Wow.

And then we have the head rig, which is out there and the crew actually have to climb out there pretty regularly.

Major take care of things.

Also, the crew needs a climb up there, too.

Haylie: And you just I mean, you just climb up with Latrobe.

William Sabatini: Yes.

Haylie: Okay.

William Sabatini: So those are called ratlines is the actual ladder, the rope ladder.

And then the pieces that they're attached to are called shrouds.

So those actually support the mass and then we put there at London so we can climb up there and do the work we need to do lying.

So these are 32lb grenades and the they're not they don't make 32 lb.

It's because the ball is actually 32 lb.

Haylie: Okay.

William Sabatini: These who had a very short range, but they couldn't fire a really big ball and Niagara had 20 of these on the deck.

So now when a ship like this got in close, they would just be smashing the other ship.

Naval warfare in the like the fighting age of sail was an absolutely brutal, brutal experience.

So this is the tiller.

This is how we steer the ship.

We think that Niagara is probably one of the largest ships in the world that still is being steered by a tiller.

So we don't have a ship's wheel.

Now, I hold the tiller over like this, and then the rudder is connected through this other piece of water called the rudder post.

So now I've just turned the rudder over there, which allow me to turn the ship to the left.

Well.

Haylie: I've never seen a ship navigated with a tiller before.

It's like a little publicist.

Um, yeah.

And then you go, it's turned.

That's it.

Okay.

And then I push it back.

Walk me through that.

I mean, did you always know that you wanted to have a ship or naval life or.

Okay.

William Sabatini: Oh, yeah.

Night.

When I was about 16, I knew I wanted to be a tall ship sailor.

This is truly my life's passion.

You know, I've the the ability to share this with people is really what gets me going and, you know, motivates me to get up in the morning and go to work every day and do all those things.

And it's because this is such a unique thing and such a huge part of our past and who we are as a that's like a human, human race.

I mean, it's just is really important, you know, for thousands of years, the only way that people, commerce or ideas moved anywhere in the world, it was on ships just like this.

And it's really only the past 150 years that it's gone out of the public consciousness.

You know, this is something that has to be passed on person to person, you know, hand to hand.

It can't be something.

You have to be reading a book and figure it out.

Haylie Robinson: I love that.

I love it that it started when you were young.

You knew you wanted to do this.

But you're it's going much further than just a passion.

It really is almost a form of advocacy because you really do want to help people.

And I love that.

William Sabatini: Absolutely.

I mean, that's, you know, these ships, they don't have to exist anymore.

But I feel that having them really does make everything better because the lessons you can learn on a ship like this can't be you can't get that anywhere else.

Haylie Robinson: Before leaving the ship, Captain Sabatini addressed a cocktail table, or so it appears.

William Sabatini: Well, we get asked questions about this all the time because it's sort of a weird looking thing.

Kind of looks like a cocktail table.

Haylie Robinson: Yeah, that's right.

William Sabatini: And actually, yeah, this is actually where the officers usually eat armor up here on deck.

We actually do a dinner in here and have our morning meetings and things like that, but it's actually just a winch.

So anything that's really heavy, we use this to pick it up, so we'll run.

It's like the anchor, for example, we run the rope from the anchor and that rope is brought to here wrapped around this.

And we have caps and bars.

So back here, those big, huge bars that put into the caps and and then people walk around.

So they walk around kind of winding up that rope.

And that's how we pick up the anchor is how we actually send all of the big pieces of what they're up there.

That was all done by hand with people.

Haylie Robinson: Wow.

That's incredible.

To your point, I think there is a disconnect.

And while I've seen ships in pictures, I mean, actually physically being here and experience it, I mean, it's just awakening and excitement in me that I you just don't get and photographs or history books and just physically seeing and touching and experiencing how things work.

It's just it's an experience that I just didn't think I would get today, to be honest.

William Sabatini: And that's why these festivals are so important.

You know, this is how people find out about these things.

You know, it's a place for people to gather, but it's also a place for people to learn.

Haylie Robinson: Okay.

Now I want to learn more.

The new Trinidad sailed in from Spain and is a replica of the flagship from Magellan's expedition in 1519.

The ship weighs 150 tons and is 93 feet in length.

The view of Lake Erie from the upper deck was worth the climb.

No.

For anyone who wants to know if you come on a ship, it is going to rise.

Which I guess is obvious right?

I guess I didn't expect this much movement.

So here's to being on Sea Worth.

Lake Erie.

I couldn't help myself.

The balloon creation scene throughout the day were so cool.

And now I want one.

Perfect.

All right.

We are going to do an eye quiz.

All right.

Let's do it.

Show it off.

Balloon Blake: In the business world, we call this deflation.

Haylie Robinson: All right.

And the official holder.

Yes.

Balloon Blake: The lovely assistant.

Haylie Robinson: It looks like a lot of fun It's just I love how you blow it up and it's like a curlicue.

Balloon Blake: Yes.

So when I blow it up once, I never played it.

It actually takes a little.

Hayliee Robinson: It expands into the spiral.

Okay.

Okay.

Balloon Blake: Now, from that one.

Oh oh.

All part of the plan.

Haylie Robinson: Yes.

That's just how it goes.

Right?

Creative process.

Ballon Blake: That's the process that for me.

Okay.

All because I think about every.

Baloon Blake: Year the same spots.

Yes.

Well, we are by the second or like SEC.

I don't know what you call that a little second.

Now you want friendly eyes, scary eyes.

Haylie Robinson: Cool, friendly, friendly.

Baloon Blake: Now, here's a cool talent.

Okay.

So a deer in the headlights.

I love this joke.

That's kind of funny.

There wasn't much here, but let's.

Haylie Robinson: I thought that was a balloon.

Balloon Blake: That wasnt even the balloon.

Really?

Oh, wow.

All right, we'll do one last fancy little part.

Oh, it was a convention once, and I was a fast balloon artist to do this one really like this, because everybody.

Honors test later on us.

Haylie Robinson: Oh, okay.

I don't think I took notes.

Oh.

Balloon Blake: I tell you.

There.

Now I'm a clown.

All right, here we go.

All right, this.

About an octopus?

Oh, my goodness.

Well, you did fabulous.

Very good.

What should we name him?

Balloon Blake: Phil?

Haylie Robinson: Phil?

Phil the octopus.

Well, we filled him up.

I appreciate that.

Well, Blake, you were a joy here and definitely have to come back and see what other creations you could do.

Balloon art isn't the only art you'll find at the festival.

Kelly Anderson is from Minnesota and not only created the design for the festival of sail merchandise, but uses a unique medium.

Kelly Anderson: This is all about the crayon, so I actually draw right on the canvas as it's melting.

And then when I want to get the drips, all like pulling the canvas forward with crayon, it's all like.

Haylie Robinson: Okay.

Now how long does it normally take you to make one of these?

Kelly Anderson: I probably have about 18 hours into this one.

18 hours.

18 hours.

And a lot of crayons.

Haylie Robinson: And a lot of crayons.

About how many crayons do you think is in this piece of art?

Kelly Anderson: So there's probably about over 100 crayons.

I feel them all in.

I will use them until they're about that big because then I'll start to burn my fingers with good gun.

And so I've learned to get it pretty small.

Haylie Robinson: I've noticed throughout your art, you like to use text.

Yeah.

And I think that's so interesting.

I like to use.

Kelly Anderson: Dictionary pages because it gives the definition.

And how I started my business five years ago is really kind of emotion based art.

So it was like, How can I take a color of materials and make somebody feel that word that I want to describe?

And that's where the dictionary pages give it.

But I've been using a dictionary that's from the 1900s, from some very wealthy person out of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and all of the artwork.

So I think that that's also very unique.

Haylie Robinson: Absolutely.

Kelly Anderson: This one behind also has like a message in a bottle, handwritten on a dictionary page.

I was admiring this piece.

Probably the most I mean, the Quality really stands out.

But this I love the color and the background, but the use of the dictionary pages for the sails is just so unique.

Kelly Anderson: Yeah.

My favorite part about this is learning how to do this, these blots and stuff.

Haylie Robinson: They look beautiful.

I mean, it really stuck out to me when I first approached your little gallery that you have here.

Well, thank you.

It's been an exciting yet hot afternoon.

Let's grab a cold, sweet treat to cool down.

Tom's ice cream is said to be Ohio's oldest dairy and was a childhood staple for me.

The company has been part of Sandusky since the early 1900s.

Fifth generation family member and employee Morgan Miller shared the process of making a new flavor of ice cream.

Morgan Miller: It's a really fun process just coming up with new flavors.

We like to try to test out the competition to see what the trends are.

And then we also will ask customers in our ice cream parlor and then on social media what they feel we're lacking or what flavors they want to see us come out with.

And then we will.

We make all the ice cream here about the inclusions, like we call them Farragut or the squirrel.

The flavor swirl that comes in the ice cream or the little pieces, whether it's cookie dough or like cookies and cream pieces.

We get those inclusions from other companies and it's always a really fun time when a company will come in with those inclusions and they'll let us play with it and sample things and pair things together and basically a lot of the family members and several other employees will sit down and we'll sample these flavors.

And then it's just trial and error from there and seeing what tastes good, what doesn't taste good.

One of our more popular flavors for little kids is Lake Erie, Cookie Island Monster.

And it's a bright blue ice cream.

It's got cookie dough pieces, chocolate chips and cookies and cream pieces.

And that one probably one of our bestsellers.

And for a new flavor like that, to be a bestseller, you know, it's good because a lot of people, they like to stick to the old reliable flavors.

But this one is great, especially for little kids.

Haylie Robinson: Because you get to wear the blue all over your face, right?

Oh, yes, of course.

Of course.

So how does one become an official cloth face tester?

I mean, I'm open to helping if you ever need help.

Kelly Anderson: Volunteers.

We definitely love customer feedback.

Haylie Robinson: This ice cream hit the spot.

There is one last thing I have to do before we call it a day.

And working on my.

Attending festival of sail, I didn't know what to expect, but I can say I have developed a new appreciation for sailing and the volunteers who make it possible to experience tall ships connecting with others and deepening understanding is what makes annual event special.

I look forward to learning more at the next festival.

We find you can visit finding festivals dot com to learn more about the series, get updates to the digital newsletter and connect with me on social media where you can access more content on festival fun.

And I definitely have got to try your signature drink the cavity this.

It sounds marvelous because I call it the Elsa horse.

They say this is the Elsa horse from the Cinderella horse.

Depending on the age of the child.

Apparently I'm five Finding festivals is brought to you in part by Find some Lake Erie Love?

It's a SHORE thing!

Learn how at SHORESandISLANDS.com and start an adventure today.

Toledo.

More than you ever imagined.

Learn more at visittoledo.org.