Time to Register for Munchkin Convention....
2006 IWOC Munchkin Convention, Aug 11 - 13, Hyatt Regency, Princeton Posted by: "sheriebaby2002" warkala@comcast.net sheriebaby2002 Date: Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:19 am (PDT)Greetings Fellow Oz Enthusiasts!We are posting this message to invite everyone to attend the 2006 International Wizard of Oz Club Munchkin (East Coast) Convention ("MunchCon") and to provide you with some of the highlights of the fantastic program planned for this year. Our theme this year –"Ozma's Birthday Party for L. Frank Baum" – celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of the creator and Royal Historian of Oz and pays tribute to Baum, his works, and all things Oz that have derived from them. The convention will be held August 11th to 13th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Princeton, New Jersey. Our weekend program will feature:-- Clarence Swensen – An original MGM Munchkin Soldier. Accompanied by his lovely wife Myrna, Clarence will spend the weekend with us and will be featured as a part of our Saturday evening program. Clarence will also be accessible to the general public on Saturday Afternoon in our MunchkinLand MarketPlace area and will be posing for photos and selling/signing his own photos and autographs. -- John Fricke -- Author, director, Emmy-award winning producer, renowned Judy Garland expert and biographer, Oz historian, entertainer, and long-time friend and member of the Int'l Wizard of Oz Club, John Fricke will join us and will help us pay tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the first televised broadcast of MGM's "The Wizard of Oz".-- Michael Patrick Hearn - One of the world's leading Oz scholars and author of The Annotated Wizard of Oz, Michael Patrick Hearn, will come to Munchkin Convention to discuss his latest Oz-related endeavor as curator of The Wonderful Art of Oz exhibition at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and provide his unique perspective on our tributes to Baum and Denslow on their sesquicentennials.--Land of Oz, Banner Elk, NC -- MunchCon's favorite Scarecrow, Sean Barrett, in collaboration with David Maxine, owner of Hungry Tiger Press, will bring a fantastic multimedia presentation on the Land of Oz Theme Park in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Also on hand will be the entire cast of costumed Oz Characters from the annual Banner Elk Autumn at Oz event including Sean as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Wicked Witch of the West, and, of course, Dorothy with a real live Toto too! The Oz gang will be on hand ALL WEEKEND LONG, so bring your cameras for plenty of photo opportunities with your favorite characters! -- The Madame Alexander Doll Company will feature a weekend long display of their extensive line of Wizard of Oz collectible dolls. MADC representatives will give a presentation on the creation of their collectible dolls on Friday evening. MADC will also be displaying and selling their dolls on Saturday during at the MunchkinLand MarketPlace. They promise special treats and surprises for MunchConventioneers throughout the weekend including a special, one-of-a-kind piece to be included in the MunchCon Auction – doll and Oz collectors won't want to miss this!-- IWOC's own John Bell will give a celebratory talk on the centennial of L. Frank Baum's non-Oz fantasy "John Dough and the Cherub".-- All of new IWOC publications will be available and on sale at MunchCon (save on shipping costs and buy them at MunchCon) and we are anxiously waiting for word on availability on the release of the latest new Oz title from author Gina Wickwar and illustrator Anna-Maria (Cool) Basom – Toto of Oz! IWOC tells us that the book is in the final stages of publication and we hope that it will be ready to debut at MunchCon. Gina and Anna-Maria will both be at MunchCon to sign their new book and their past collaboration – The Hidden Prince of Oz - too! Anna-Maria will also be selling/signing pieces of her original artwork from Toto and Hidden Prince at the MunchkinLand MarketPlace on Saturday Afternoon!-- Author David Anthony will be at the MunchkinLand MarketPlace on Saturday selling/signing his new book - In Search of Dorothy: What If It Wasn't A Dream? - the first of a trilogy published by Frederick Fell Publishers. What if Oz wasn't a Dream? What if it was real? In Search of Dorothy picks up where the movie, The Wizard of Oz, left off. Get your signed copy at MunchCon and read the story that Rolling Stone Magazine says is, "the best sequel of OZ yet!"-- Origins of Oz – Things You Didn't Know That You Didn't Know About Oz! NEW THIS YEAR! Long before Wicked came to Broadway and Judy Garland took us over the rainbow to Oz and ever since, Oz has been an enduring and pervasive topic in art, literature, entertainment, and popular culture. In honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the creator of Oz, L. Frank Baum, the International Wizard of Oz Club will present a series of lectures by renowned Oz scholars on a variety of Oz-related topics. You don't have to register for the convention to attend the lectures -- they are FREE and OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. Spend a Saturday afternoon expanding your Oz horizons and exploring the Land of Oz beyond the yellow brick road!ATTENTION OZ COLLECTORS: Our auctioneer, Bruce Conklin, has some great items that will be featured in the Auction on Saturday. Some of the featured items that serious collectors won't want to miss: At least fifteen 1st edition books including nine from the Baum fourteen and a John Dough and the Cherub (100 years old this year!), 2nd editions including the Wizard of Oz, MIB Mego Dolls, a Mego Emerald City Playset with box, rare British Wizard of Oz Card Game, 50th anniversary WOZ promotional jacket, and the one-of-a-kind Oz piece from Madame Alexander Doll Company that will only be available at MunchCon, and more, more, more!! Past attendees and serious collectors know that the prices can't be beat at the MunchCon Auction! So if you consider what you might pay for any one of these pieces on Ebay – you can probably finance your entire weekend of Ozzy fun at MunchCon AND leave with an armful or more of goodies for your Oz collection!Our Saturday evening gala reception and dinner banquet will feature the theme Ozma's Birthday Party for L. Frank Baum. As is Ozma's custom when celebrating her own birthdays and as a tribute to L. Frank Baum, the Royal Historian of Oz, the party will begin with a procession of the "Citizens of Oz" dressed in their Oz finery. Munch-Conventioneers are invited to come dressed as their favorite "Citizen of Oz" and all costumed citizens will be entered into the Munchkin Costume Contest! If you don't want to don a full costume -- wear your best Ozzy party hat instead! And if you don't have one or forget to bring it -- we'll have a party hat crafting opportunity during the auction! Prizes will be awarded for the best Ozzy costumes and party hats!In addition, we will have games, contests, the Antiques Road to Oz Show (bring your Oz collectibles and have them appraised by the Oz Experts), displays of Ozzy collectibles, tributes to significant Oz anniversaries, and a few more special surprises that are still in the works! For more information and to keep abreast of program updates, visit the Munchkin Convention website at mywebpages.comcast.net/munchcon or email us at munchcon@comcast.net.We invite all to attend this great annual event! Hope to see you there!Yours in Oz,Chris & Sharon WarkalaMunchkin Convention CoordinatorsEmail: munchcon@comcast.netWebsite: mywebpages.comcast.net/munchcon/
