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In 2011’s “Midnight in Paris,” Owen Wilson hops in a car and finds himself magically transported to Paris in the 1920s. Starting tomorrow, you don’t need magic to do the same: all you need is the Governors Island ferry.
The island off the tip of Manhattan is playing host to Fête Paradiso, what’s being billed as the world’s first collection of vintage French carnival rides and games, some dating back as far as 1850. Visitors to the carnival, which runs through Sept. 29, would be hard-pressed not to feel transported by the romantic charm of handcrafted carousel horses and an antique pipe organ. Organizers have even hired actors to play French carnival workers, and you’ll be serenaded with “La Vie en Rose” and other tunes from the chanteuses walking the grounds. It makes for a vintage romantic outing.
“It’s a way to have a tribute to the old past,” says Tristan Duval, one of the French producers of the carnival. “So many things are ugly in the world. It’s good to take time to show the handmade works of the world.”
One of the fair’s main attractions is the bicycle carousel, which was built for the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889. Once stationed right under the Eiffel Tower, it was created to help people learn to ride bikes, and it’s one of only two left in the world — the other one was used in “Midnight in Paris.”
In addition to the rides and games, the carnival has food by Robert Arbor of Le Gamin, featuring French menu items such as croque monsieur, crepes and lamb sausage, and a bar offering beer, wine and Lillet cocktails, which are served in a dining pavilion constructed out of an old bumper-cars ride.
“You go to a carnival ride or Six Flags now, the rides are incredible and they’re fast and death-defying. And they’re also mass-produced,” says Chris Wangro, another producer. “These have an intrinsic charm to them. There’s such a sensibility of creating fantasy that comes from this age, an older and bygone time. It’s like looking at a beautiful old storybook.”
Fête Paradiso runs every weekend through Sept. 29, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; admission is free, rides cost $3 each.