COEUR d'ALENE - An open house for Coeur d'Alene's historic ride will welcome the ponies home.

The Coeur d'Alene Carousel Foundation, Inc. is hosting a free gathering to share hand-painted art panels on the carousel, prospective building designs for its future home and to outline campaigns to ensure the horse ride gets a house of its own.

"Major fundraising will be better when we know where it's going to be," said Rita Sims-Snyder, foundation board member. "We just don't know where it's going to be yet; are we putting an addition on a building or are we starting from scratch?"

The group is working with the city to identify sites, with its goal that the closer the better to its old location at Playland Pier at Independence Point.

The goal is a 12,000-square-foot facility.

The first major fundraiser will be later this year with a public art project featuring hand-painted carousel ponies. Selected artists will paint 20 to 26 ponies to place around town. It will be similar to the Moose on the Loose fundraiser that set up the decorated moose around town a couple of years ago.

The open house is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Blackwell House, 820 Sherman Ave. There will be old-time Wurlitzer carousel music, popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy.

New Coeur d'Alene residents John and Pat Foote bought and donated the carousel to Coeur d'Alene after reading about how its former owners, Duane and Carol Perron of Hood River, Ore., wanted to sell the carousel with the condition that it return to its former home in Coeur d'Alene.

Info: www.cdacarousel.org or call 664-6279.