It is now less than four months until The
Judy Garland / Wizard of Oz Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The
dates set for the 2014 Festival are Tuesday,
June 10th through Saturday, June 14th. In addition, on Sunday, June 15th, a Farewell Breakfast Brunch is planned (9:00 - 11:00am). It’s going to
be a great time, so we STRONGLY suggest that you buy your tickets and make your
hotel reservations now!
According to the information now available, it
appears there are few rooms available for Saturday, June 14th,
HOWEVER, there are always last minute rooms opening up. In addition, there are
many small resorts and bed and breakfasts in Itasca County.
Other lodging options include Hibbing, which is just 30 minutes from Grand Rapids. There is also plenty of lodging an hour east in Duluth. While enjoying the Festival events, if you stay in Duluth, you also may witness Lake Superior's spectacular vista, the largest in the world. Another option just an hour west in Bemidji. Here you can visit the source of the mighty Mississippi River at Itasca State Park.
The Judy Garland Museum is going to look into finding additional places in Grand Rapids for those attending the Festival, but we must have an idea of how many people plan to attend in advance, so don’t delay purchasing your tickets and being counted.
For further lodging options, please visit:
To purchase tickets for the Judy Garland / Wizard of
Oz Festival, please visit:
* * * LOOKING FOR YOUNG TALENT!!! * * *
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| Judy Garland, age 13, in the film, Everybody Sing |
One of the exciting events that will take place at
the Festival this year is the Youth Talent Contest. The announcement released by The Judy Garland Museum
states:
“We are looking for dancers, singers,
magicians, gymnasts,
comics or any appropriate stage acts.”
To qualify for the talent competition, participants
must be between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age. The act must be from any of
“The Wizard of Oz” movies or plays—including “The Wiz,” OR you may perform a song
from one of Judy Garland’s films.
First
Prize will be a $1,000 scholarship to be used for music,
dance or educational classes, including a college fund! ($750 scholarship/$250 cash).
Second
Price will be a $500 ($350 Scholarship/$150 cash)
Third
Prize will be $250 ($200 Scholarship/$50 Cash)
On Wednesday, June 11th, there will be a
preliminary talent contest at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids. (Time to be
announced.) The Final Competition at the Reif will take place
before a live audience on Saturday, June 14th at 7:00pm. Tickets for
this event are available through The Judy Garland Museum.
For further information and an application, please
contact The Judy Garland Museum, either by e-mail: jgarland@uslink.net or by phone: 800-664-5839.
This is an exciting opportunity for talented kids
out there, so don’t miss it!
Grand Rapids To Become The Emerald City
Wednesday,
June 11th, at 2:00pm, Dorothy will be
arriving at the Central School House by horse and carriage to celebrate Judy
Garland’s birthday.
There will be carriage rides on the street next to
Central School, along with Glitter Tattoos and a “Red Sneaker” Factory, where
you can decorate your sneakers and turn them into “Ruby Slippers.”
If you want, you can also bring a blanket and have a
picnic on the green with characters from The
Wizard of Oz. We shouldn’t forget to mention “The Wizard of Oz Cake Decorating Contest. It’s going to be a fun,
family-friendly event.
Wednesday
will also be the day that the first clue for the “Family Oz Scavenger Hunt” is
given out. The Grand Prize will be a $1000 scholarship!
Friday,
June 13th, The Judy Garland / Children’s Discovery
Museum will stage an OZ FAIR, with the “Gale’s Farm Petting Zoo.” This event will be outdoors and free to the public. For other events, regular admission will be charged. There will be games, Face
Painting, an old-fashioned Cake Walk and Oz crafts in the Art Room.
On Saturday,
June 14th at 10:30am, you can take the sneakers you’ve decorated and go
on a “Red Sneaker Walk” around Grand Rapids. It’s going to be a lot of fun!
Following the
Red Slipper Walk on Saturday, there will be an Emerald City Festival on The
Old Central School House grounds. This will include a “Youth Parade” with
decorated bikes and wagons, carriage rides, face painting, a “Wash & Brush
Up Company” beauty parlor where you can get special “Oz painted fingernails,
hair braids with ribbons and rainbow streaks. Additional entertainment is being
planned, so don’t miss this event.
On Saturday, you may want to visit our Munchkin Baby
Shower where you can donate items to Baby Steps Boutique. Baby Steps is a non-profit
organization, founded to
empower families to seek and use services that will strengthen families and
improve the health and well being of families, pregnant women, and young
children.
There will be a lot more exciting events to tell you
about in our next “Letter From Home.
For a complete list of Festival events, please
visit:
Calling all Dogs for "The TOTO Too DOG TALENT CONTEST!”
One of the neat events scheduled to take place at the
2014 Festival will be the “Toto Too” Dog
Talent Contest. If you have a
talented pooch, please get them rehearsed and ready for this show! The event
takes place, Thursday, June 11th
in the Art Room of the Children’s Discovery Center from 3:00-4:00 pm. The contest
will be free for VIP Pass Holders, and $8 per person for everyone else.
To obtain a VIP Pass, just purchase a complete
set of tickets for the Festival. The Judy Garland Museum website is now set
up for persons to purchase their tickets via PayPal, so check it out.
All About TOTO
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| Shirley Temple with Terry otherwise known as "Toto" in "Bright Eyes," 1934 |
Terry’s first appearance on film was opposite
another great star, Shirley Temple. Playing Shirley’s little dog, “Rags,” Terry
appeared with Shirley in “Bright Eyes,” the film where Shirley made her mark
singing, “On the Good Ship Lollipop.”
Judy Garland’s Son, Joe Luft, To Visit
Oz
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| Joe Luft with image of his mother, Judy Garland, and Munchkin Jerry Marin, who presented the lollipop to Judy in "The Wizard of Oz." |
Mr. Luft is thrilled to be joining in on the 75th
Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz and
his attendance will be a great opportunity for Garland and Oz fans who have yet
to meet him.
Jerry Marin (left) is the last of the living Munchkins attended the Judy Garland Festival for many years, entertaining guests with his wonderful stories and recreation of the song he sang to Judy as he presented her with the Lollipop. Unfortunately, Mr. Marin is no long able to travel long distances.
Jerry Marin (left) is the last of the living Munchkins attended the Judy Garland Festival for many years, entertaining guests with his wonderful stories and recreation of the song he sang to Judy as he presented her with the Lollipop. Unfortunately, Mr. Marin is no long able to travel long distances.
Onward to Break the Guinness World
Record
For those following news on the effort begun by nine
year-old Reece Vetch, to break the world record for the most persons dressed as
characters from the 1939 Wizard of Oz film in one place at one time, an effort to
spread word about this event continues. We need to get as many individuals and
groups involved as possible.
This event will take place on Friday, June 13th
between 5:30 and 6:00pm. Parking will be made available, and, possibly,
bus transportation to and from nearby parking lots will also be available.
The key thing involved in this effort is to dress as
a character from the film and be “instantly recognizable” as that
character. In order to be counted by Guinness World Records, it’s very
important not to get too creative or veer from the film.
More information will be released shortly.
Meanwhile, here is a site that may be useful for those planning to attend:
Search "Reece Veatch Habitat for Humanity" and you should find it easily.
If you missed the January newsletter on Reece and
the effort to break The Guinness World
Record, please click on the right hand link to read the January “Letter
from Home” for the details.
***
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| The outside of the Judy Garland and Children's Museum, February 19th, 2014 |
This has been a wild winter for much of the United States, so we thought some of you might like to see the results of last week's snowstorm!
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| The museum store. Note the shadow outside the window - that's snow! |
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| This week, the snow in the corner of the museum, by the entrance hall piled up to the top window. The warmer temperatures, new snow and high winds made some interesting shapes, like the one you see here! |
There is a lot more news to report, but right now, we'll say "goodbye."
Please stay tuned for our March News-letter with a special article by Oz historian and Garland expert, John Fricke. This June at our Wizard of Oz Festival, Mr. Fricke will be giving two very special presentations!
