Happy New Year to one and all!
Grand Rapids Heats Up for Big Wizard of Oz Festival
As
plans for the 2014 Judy Garland – Wizard of Oz Festival are firmed
up, the excitement is growing! This week a large meeting took place
at the Judy Garland Museum, with everyone revved and raring to go! Stay tuned. The events now planned are bound to make this festival
one for the memory books of young and old alike!
Nine Year Old Girl’s Idea Becomes a Festival Goal
Two
years ago, when seven and a half year-old Reece Veatch visited The
Judy Garland Museum, no one could have guessed that Reece would soon
be on a journey to break the Guinness World Record.
 |
| Nine-Year Old Reece hopes to break the Guinness World Record! |
At
that time, Reece had come to Grand Rapids to visit her grandfather. On
the way home, Reece, who is a big fan of the Guinness Record books,
told her mother she’d like to be in the Guinness Book of Records.
After discussing it, mother and daughter came up with the idea of
trying to break the record for the most “Dorothys” in one place.
However, after contacting the Guinness office in New York City, Reece
decided to try to break the record for the most persons dressed as
Wizard of Oz characters – that is characters from the 1939 Wizard
of Oz film.
This record now stands at 446.
Reece
made the application with Guinness and contacted The Judy Garland
Museum. Of course, the Museum thought this was a great idea and
decided to try to help make Reece’s dream come true.
This
year, Reece Veatch, who is now nine, got to see Warner Brother’s
reissue of The
Wizard of Oz
in IMAX 3-D and says it is her favorite film. Because of her great efforts to break the Guiness Record, Reece has been chosen as the "honorary Dorothy" to open the 2014 Judy Garland - Wizard of Oz Festival.
On Wednesday, June
11th,
2014 at 2:00 pm, Reece, as
Dorothy, will arrive at the Romanesque Revivalist Central
School in the heart of Grand Rapids by horse and carriage. She is thrilled about the coming event and told me by
phone last week, “I have my costume all ready.”
The
Judy Garland Museum is now bound and determined to help make Reece’s
dream to break the Guinness record for the most Wizard of Oz
characters in one location come true. This event will take place on
Friday, June 13th,
2014 at 5:30 pm on the Evergreen Terrace Lawn, just adjacent to the Judy Garland
/ Children’s Discovery Museum. A $1.00 per person is the
entry fee will be charge. This money will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.
Right now Reece is raising money to add to the money donated to Habitat during this event. Please visit her site: http://www.givemn.org
Sign in, search Reece Veatch, Habitat for Humanity or No Place Like Home.
Meanwhile, we will be updating this story shortly.
GUINNESS RULES
One
key thing as mentioned in the following notes from Guinness is that
the characters chosen must be INSTANTLY
RECOGNIZABLE.
The
Guinness
World Record
rules for the contest are as follows:
All participants must be wearing costumes of characters from (the 1939 film) The Wizard of Oz. These include (but are not limited to):
Dorothy
Professor
Marvel/The Wizard of Oz
The
Scarecrow (Hunk)
The
Tin Woodman (Hickory)
The
Lion (Zeke)
Miss
Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West
Glinda
Toto
Aunt
Em
Uncle
Henry
Nikko
(Flying Monkey)
The
Munchkins
- The costumes worn must be the full costume and participants must be instantly recognizable as the character they have chosen.
- All characters chosen must be in the original story of The Wizard of Oz. Adaption characters are not permitted.
- All participants must be in position simultaneously and remain so for a minimum of five minutes.
- Each participant must wear their own outfit and an outfit cannot be shared between two people.
- A loud start and finish signal recognized by all participants must be used. Two experienced timekeepers must time the attempt with stopwatches accurate to 0.01 seconds.
- All participants must wear the costume for the entirety of the attempt.
For
further information, please check The Judy Garland Museum site:
http://www.judygarlandmuseum.com
We
are asking everyone who wants to join in, to come to Grand Rapids for
Friday, June 13th
, 2014 at 5:30 pm dressed as one of the characters listed on the 1939
Wizard
of Oz
cast list. The event will be videotaped and photographed from a
crane! Again, we need more than 446 persons to break the Guinness
record!
Following
this amazing event, The
Wizard of Oz
will be shown on a 40 foot screen under the stars. The film will be
shown at dusk, approximately 9pm, so spread the word now. Come, join
in the fun and break a world record!
“There’s No Place Like Home”
The
Judy Garland Museum is proud to announce that in conjunction with
Warner Brothers Pictures and in honor of the 75th
Anniversary of the film, Habitat for Humanity will build a new home
for a deserving family in Itasca County, home of Grand Rapids. To find out more about Habitat for Humanity in Itasca County, visit the link below:
Ruby Slippers News
Although
we can’t say much about the status of the “Ruby Slipper” case,
progress is indeed being made. In December, an interview with one the
detectives on the case appeared in The
Grand Rapids Herald Review.
As noted in this article, the detectives on the case believe they are
narrowing in on the persons involved.
A
resolution is much hoped for, possibly in the next few months.
Whatever the results of this investigation, those attending the
Festival will have the opportunity hear a live report given by one of
the detectives on the case. This talk will be given on Wednesday,
June 11th
at the Welcome Breakfast.
These
detectives are extremely bright and knowledgeable, and their exploits
as detectives are as dramatic and exciting as any film you’ve
watched, so don’t miss this event.
Be a Part of the Yellow Brick Road
In
closing our report on the 2014 Festival for this Letter
from Home,
we’d like to let you know that the Museum intends to pave its
inside entrance with yellow bricks this year. Buy a brick for $100
and you can have a personalized message engraved on it. If you buy
your brick now, you will be able to see it at the Festival in June.
Grand Rapids as the Gumms Knew It
Cold
weather has been gripping a good portion of the United States and
Grand Rapids has been no exception. A few days in Grand Rapids saw as
low as -32 degrees Fahrenheit. We can just imagine how Frank and
Ethel Gumm felt during some of the winters here. It’s no wonder
they finally moved out to sunny California and never looked back.
Since
most Judy Garland fans are used to seeing their favorite small town
in the summertime, we thought you’d like a glimpse of the Judy
Garland Birthplace and surrounding garden in wintertime, so here are
a few photos for your appreciation.
We’ll
close for now, but please remember you can always keep up to minute
with the latest news on The Judy Garland Museum via these websites:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Judy-Garland-Museum/157870361075815?ref=hl
Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Judy-Garland-Museum/157870361075815?ref=hl
Until,
next month we send you best wishes from “home!”
