OzCon 2022 Schedule

All activities happen in the Emerald City Room unless otherwise noted.
Emerald City Room = Auditorium
Pumperdink Lounge = Exhibit Lounge
Emerald Hillside Terrace = Emerald Hillside Terrace

Friday. July 15
6:00 PM
Early Registration Opens

7:00 PM
OzCon Welcome Meal – Emerald Hillside Terrace
The 2022 Winkie Award announcement – Eric Gjovaag

Saturday, July 16
9:00 AM
Registration and the Vendors’ Tables Open for Business
The OzCon Trade Table is back, so bring your Ozzy tradeable and collectible items to the Emerald City Room.
Quiz Time and Introductory Activities – Pumperdink Lounge

9:45 AM
Welcome from the OzCon Organizers

10:00 AM
Toto: Beloved Animal Companion or Yapping Meddlesome Pooch?
In The New Yorker, Salman Rushdie famously called Toto “that little yapping hairpiece of a creature, that meddlesome rug!” Gregory Maguire’s Glinda seems to echo Rushdie’s thoughts when she refers to Toto as a “nasty little pooch yapping at [Dorothy’s] heels,” and Danielle Paige’s protagonist Amy continues the Toto-bashing when she says that “Dorothy’s little dog was as vicious as she was.” And although Toto drives much of the plot in Baum’s Wonderful Wizard, he’s often left out of academic conversations about Oz. Dina Massachi discusses what we learn when we put Toto in the conversation and see if this answers why so many modern writers paint Dorothy’s little dog in a negative light. 

11:00 AM
Royal Historians of Oz: Assuring the Succession
In celebration of the centenary of Ruth Plumly Thompson’s Kabumpo in Oz, Oz historian Peter Hanff recounts the transition from L. Frank Baum’s Oz books to a new author, a woman who would go on to write more Oz novels for Reilly & Lee, and produce them more steadily, than Baum did.

11:30 AM
Letters from Ruth
The second Royal Historian of Oz, Ruth Plumly Thompson, kept busy, churning out an annual Oz book for 19 years. In addition, she was ghost-writing for the Walt Disney Company and looking after her mother and sister. Nonetheless, Thompson took the time to reply to many letters from Oz book fans. Colin Ayres analyzes a handful of Thompson’s letters and what they reveal about her dedication to the Oz series, its fans, and the history of Oz in the media of the times. 

12:00 noon
Lunch Break – Emerald Hillside Terrace *
*If you have not registered for meals in advance, please refer to the dining options flyer from registration.

1:00 PM
“Dorothy”: A New Film
Award-winning filmmakers Glenn Roberson and Ashley Chase share their new short, followed by a question-and-answer session. Does their story ring any bells? “A young girl is taken from her aunt and uncle at the onset of a natural disaster. She awakens years later wounded and confused in a dystopian world far from home. Seeking help from the secretive Oscar, she collects a group of misfits and makes a deadly pact to earn her way back to her family. She grows stronger than she’s ever been as she pursues revenge against a powerful enemy and battles her way back home.”

2:00 PM
The Concept Art for Return to Oz
Return to Oz collector Freddy Fogarty showcases the wonderful concept art from Walt Disney’s cult classic film from 1985. How did the studio’s artists turn Baum’s words, Denslow and Neill’s art, and their own imaginations into a new vision of Oz?

2:30 PM
Judy Garland at 100
Judy Garland was an actor, singer, and international star. At 100 years since her birth, we take a look at her legendary career. With a video tribute by Jay Davis and a presentation by OzRoy Chase.

3:00 PM
Animals in Oz: A Panel Discussion
What is the status of animals in Oz, from the Cowardly Lion in Ozma’s palace all the way to the fish in Skeezer Lake? Are beasts equal to the humans they converse with, or are they second-class citizens, shunted to separate tables and harnessed to vehicles? Do wild animals and their rulers, such as Gugu, owe any allegiance to Ozma? Do the laws of Oz—and the laws of Ozian magic, such as immortality—apply equally to animals? J. L. Bell moderates a panel of expert Oz fans discussing the philosophical and ethical questions raised by a land of many creatures. Bring your questions and opinions.

4:00 PM
Ozzy Animal Drawing Contest
Who is your favorite Oz animal: The Cowardly Lion? Maybe Toto? Or perhaps Kabumpo? Now it’s time to let your artistic skills shine in a tribute to your Ozzy animal friends. Grab the pens and paper provided and unleash your creativity with a portrait of your favorite. You can even submit your drawing to win a prize!

5:00 PM
Last hour to shop

6:00 PM
OzCon Saturday Royal Banquet – Emerald Hillside Terrace *
During the sit-down meal, we raise a glass to Judy Garland at 100! We’ll also remember OzCon friends who cannot be with us this year. Ballots will be collected for nominees for the 2023 Winkie Award. (It’s an OzCon tradition to dress up a bit for this dinner.)
*If you have not registered for meals in advance, please refer to the dining options flyer from registration.

7:30 PM
Thanks and Farewells
OzCon Animal Drawing Contest prizes are announced. The chair of OzCon for the past few years shares thanks and remembrance. Meet next year’s chair and hear about plans for returning to a three-day OzCon in 2023!

8:00 PM
Beware the Woozy
Meet one of L. Frank Baum’s most enigmatic animal creations. The Woozy is one-of-a-kind; as Ojo points out in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, “The sign does not say: ‘Beware a Woozy’; it says: ‘Beware the Woozy,’ which may mean there’s only one in all the Land of Oz.” Director Nate Barlow shows how Baum’s boxiest creature helped to promote his new endeavour, the Oz Film Manufacturing Company.

8:30 PM
All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz
In 1907, L. Frank Baum hoped to bring his third Oz book, Ozma of Oz to the stage, and recapture the great Broadway success that Julian Mitchell had directed. After six years and one of the most turbulent periods of his life, Baum succeeded in producing a stage show of his own. Learn how in an excerpt from Eric Shanower's forthcoming book about The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.

9:15 PM
The Oz Squad Quiz!
Team Baum and Team Thompson are pitted not just against each other but against the entire OzCon audience.

10:00 PM
Finish off the night with Ozzy fellowship at the after-party (complete with a cash bar).

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This Years OzCon is once again sponsored by Wonderful Books of Oz.com Use OZCON2022 for $10 off any order of $40 or more thru end of the year at www.wonderfulbooksofoz.com