Where is the Little Twirling Girl?

Six years ago, magic was captured on film when a little girl was caught in a delighted spin on the Pearl Street Mall by Daily Camera photographer Cliff Grasmick. It so enchanted Carousel of Happiness artist Scott Harrison, that he recreated the image in a carving.

Janette Taylor, Carousel of Happiness Board Member tells the story of the mysterious little girl. “So this is what happened. Six years ago, in the Boulder Daily Camera, Scott spotted a picture of a little girl named Eliana Dreyfus. She was about three years old in the picture. She was dancing on the Pearl Street Mall. Scott absolutely adored the picture. It just said ‘pure joy’ to him.” Taylor went on to explain, “The carving of the little girl is about three feet high. His intention is to put the statue on top of the carousel.”

Taylor said, “We thought it would be really neat if the real girl, who would be probably nine or ten by now, could meet her ‘doppelganger.' I have taken upon myself, this detective job. I have made some progress, but I have not found her yet. I have traced a woman whom I believe is her mother named Sharon Lawrence Dreyfus, to Europe, where she is an activist. She was in a newsletter in Germany, and was in Switzerland for a while. I have traced her, if it’s the same woman, but I lost her ‘trail’ around 2004. “

“They were at the Boulder Jewish festival when the picture was taken, so I am going to talk to the three Rabbis of Boulder, to see if they know them, or where they are. I really appreciate a chance to tell this little story. If anybody knows where Eliana Dreyfus is, we would love to find her.”

Taylor initially became involved with the Carousel when she put together a fund-raiser for them at the Mexican Grill. “We raised about $6,000, with an art auction and wine and cheese.”

“Scott and Eleanor (Harrison) are my friends and neighbors. We did a big fund-raiser in Boulder last weekend at the Dairy Center for the Arts. Many of the animals were adopted. That is our big push right now, is to get as many of the animals adopted as possible, at $1,000 a pop.”

“There are 34 animals, and 10 have been ‘adopted’ so far. Those who ‘adopt’ an animal get a plaque with their name printed on it placed on the carousel animal for a period of time, and then it will be moved to a different part of the carousel. “So if people have a special affinity for an animal, they should see if it’s still available.”

There is still a lot of money to be raised for the Carousel. There have been recent fund-raisers at Whole Foods and at High Peaks Art Fair. Fund-raisers are challenging, because it is difficult moving the animals.

Taylor is clever with her fund-raising ideas, “I have printed out 38 ‘golden tickets,’ for the 38 seats that will be on the Carousel. We raffle them off one at a time. We’re averaging about $50.00 a ticket. On the first day of the Carousel, these ‘golden tickets’ will be used for the first ride. We hope they’ll be filled with children!”

This is the first published article to appear about the little 'Twirling Girl'. The subsequent article, which appeared when Eliana and her mother were found in Switzerland, appears in this blog as well.