Sunday, January 26, 2014

January 2014 Newsletter - Guinness World Record News!


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:
  1. 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
  1. The costumes worn must be the full costume and participants must be instantly recognizable as the character they have chosen.

  2. All characters chosen must be in the original story of The Wizard of Oz. Adaption characters are not permitted.

  3. All participants must be in position simultaneously and remain so for a minimum of five minutes.

  4. Each participant must wear their own outfit and an outfit cannot be shared between two people.

  5. 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.

  6. 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!”


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