This weekend COAA (Carousel Organ Association of America) will hold
what is usually the biggest rally in any year at Knoebels Amusement
Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania,  http://www.knoebels.com/ 

Knoebels is the largest free admission amusement park in America.
This is the first time COAA will be there since The Flying Turns ride
started operation!  We have seen it under construction three times,
I think.

Mark Chester, the COAA host for our rally this weekend at Knoebels,
sent me the following organ information (below).

Wallace Venable

 - - -

First, we are expecting sixteen large organs and eighteen small.

"Regulars" (who have been to this event at Knoebels at least two or
three times before) attending with organs include David and Darlene
Wasson (Erie, PA) with their "Trudy" concert organ, Kevin and Lindy
Sheehan (Sebago Lake, ME) with The Squirrel (das Eichhornchen) Dutch
street organ, Tom Billy (Little Silver, NJ) with his Ruth model 33A,
Pete and Jill Hallock (Agawam, MA) with their 165-roll playing
Bruder (Katie-Sue), Pauline and "Captain John" Leonard (St. Catharines.
Ontario) with her North Tonawanda model 191 brass trumpet organ, Eddie
and Bernice Evarts (North Tonawanda, NY) and their Model 58 Stinson,
John Ravert (Watsontown, PA) and his Dutch Street Organ, and Burl and
Shirley Updyke (Hunlock Creek, PA) with their hand-made Wurlitzer 105
replica.

Also returning from their first appearances at the 2012 rally are
The General (Wurlitzer 164) owned by American Treasure Tour of Oaks,
PA, and displayed by Jim Kenney of East Brunswick, NJ, Shawn Patton
(Sandusky, OH) and his Wurlitzer 148, and Gregory Badger (Collegeville,
PA) and his hand-played Calliaphone.

New to this rally include a beefy Gavioli playing Wurlitzer 150 rolls
(owned by Mike Venizia and brought by Joe Hilferty -- himself a regular
but who has brought a different organ every time), two more Wurlitzer
105s, a home-made organ of which I have no other information as yet
other than the owner is the Haynam family, and another calliope brought
by the Kistenmachers (a National model B-53).  Also making its Knoebels
debut is the 36-key Verbeeck organ, "de Javaan", owned by Stefan Batist
of den Haag, Netherlands.

Most of our usual contingent of crank-organ folks will be in attendance:
Tim Wagner, Dan and Anne Wilke, Wally and Norma Venable, Ed and Carol
Ditto, Bob and Marcia Ebert, Mark and Beth Ann Mitchell, Ian, John and
Jill Fraser, Paul Senger, Galen and Joanne Lesher, Bob Buckler, Angelo
and Suzie, the Hildebrants, Schultzes and Swansons.

Non-members may register for COAA rallies.  In this case, a $10
registration fee gets you admission to our picnic, plus, I think, a
private tour of the Knoebels' organ collection, and some ride tickets.
For details see the link at http://www.coaa.us/ 

Mark Chester