Employees and customers at the Carousel Center celebrated 21 years of operation Saturday with a sparkling cider toast and complimentary cupcakes near the namesake carousel.

Rose Hapanowich, director of marketing for the Carousel Center, kicked off the celebration at noon by popping open a bottle of champagne and initiating the toast.

‘Turning 21 is an important rite of passage into adulthood and a milestone celebrated by everyone,’ Hapanowich said in an email before the event.

The Carousel Center first opened its doors Oct. 15, 1990, with 137 tenants and currently has 164 tenants, according to an Oct. 14 Carousel Center news release. The mall has been under construction for the Destiny USA expansion, an 850,000-square-foot addition expected to open in spring 2012.

Saturday’s celebration was the last under the Carousel Center name, as the expansion is expected for completion next year, Hapanowich said. The two will be rebranded as a single destination titled Destiny USA, she said.

Carousel Center employee Ruth Hall attended the event and said she has seen the expansion coming along well. Construction originally began in March 2007, was postponed for two years due to funding issues in 2009 and resumed in April. The project received an extension of tax exemptions for six months in June.

Slightly before noon, Hapanowich and Josh Amidon, assistant marketing director, set up tables near the carousel with cupcakes and cups of sparkling cider, garnering interest from passers-by unaware of the anniversary.

Margy Hiltz of Cazenovia wasn’t aware of the celebration before heading to the mall Saturday, but said she went near the carousel to see what was going on. Hiltz, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said the cause for celebration was ‘wonderful.’ Though Hiltz said she did not know much about the Destiny USA project, she is looking forward to the expanded retail options.

Hal Kiah and Sam Fedele have worked at the Carousel Center for 20 and 17 years, respectively, almost as long as the mall has been open. They operate the carousel located next to the food court, where free rides were offered Monday through Saturday to commemorate the anniversary. Both Kiah and Fedele said the best part of their job is seeing children happy and parents and others reliving memories.

‘It’s good seeing the kids come in, being happy about free rides,’ Fedele said. ‘They get overjoyed.’

Along with the free carousel rides, Hapanowich said mall guests had the opportunity to register to win one of 21 gift cards. At Saturday’s celebration, a face painter, balloon artist and clowns were also near the carousel to entertain the kids.

For Susan Stalker of Mattydale, the mall’s birthday was a celebration of her own. In the early 1990s, Stalker suffered from panic attacks in public situations such as entering a mall or traveling. Though she never had that kind of problem before that time, she attributed the anxiety to the stress of having a sick child and starting a new job at Upstate Medical University Hospital.

‘I never saw this mall for like four or five years,’ Stalker said. ‘And everyone would say, ‘It’s so great,’ but I never could come.’

Around 1994 and 1995, Stalker said, she started easing herself into the Carousel Center for short amounts of time until she became more and more comfortable. She said that though she is not 100 percent fine with being in a crowded public situation, it is getting better.

She participated in the toast and enjoyed a cupcake afterward in personal celebration, too.

Said Stalker: ‘I like that they’re doing this for the community, and because for me it was a significant thing to get here, it’s pretty neat to be a part of it.’

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Published on October 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm

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