This Year's OzCon is once again sponsored by Wonderful Books of Oz.com Use OZCON2023
for $10 off any order of $40 or more thru end of the year at www.wonderfulbooksofoz.com
Please keep in mind that plans are subject to change. We will notify attendees of any last minute changes when possible
.
Meals MUST be purchased 2 weeks ahead of the event, the venue cannot provide walk-in sales for meals.
Schedule for OzCon 2023
Friday July 28th
Key to Rooms
Baum’s Bazaar = Mountain Vista
Emerald City Room = Auditorium
Rainbow Room = Campus Vista
Wizard’s Lounge = Exhibit Lounge
3:00 PM
Registration Opens – Wizard’s Lounge/Hallway
4:00 PM
Baum’s Bazaar – Dealer’s Room Open for business.
Open Reception – Wizard’s Lounge/Hallway
5:45 PM
Dinner – Dining Rooms
Join us in the dining room for a catered meal.
7:00 PM
Welcome from the OzCon organizers – Emerald City Room
7:15 PM
The Tin Woods Presentation & Screening
Join us in viewing this special presentation. Only at OzCon, Nick Boxwell and Mattzilla Duron are presenting the Public Premier (backers will see it previously) of their completed short film, The Tin Woods. A stop-motion film about the Tin Woodman’s origin story, this project has been in the works for years and the directors are as proud to present their work as we are honored to present it here.
8:15 PM
Eshbaugh & McLellan Classic Cartoon Screenings
The 1930s saw the birth of Oz Animation, and we're discussing it. Ted Eshbaugh’s 1933 short film, The Wizard of Oz, was the first fully animated Oz project, and it is well-documented. Ken McLellan's 1938 project, not so much. See recently created clips that bring to life the pitch book for McLellan's never produced film. Lee Speth has generously allowed Nate Barlow to create proof-of-concept animations from this truly unique Oz treasure. What might have been if this film, for which McLellan obtained the full permissions of Maud Gage Baum, had ever been completed?
8:45 PM
Break
9:00 PM
History of Animation & Oz
Listen in and ask a panel of Oz experts as they weigh in on the history of animation and how The Wizard of Oz has been told through this medium. Panelists include Freddy Fogarty, Atticus Gannaway, Eric Gjovaag, and Erica Olivera.
10:00 PM
Closing Statements
Join us for a drink at the OzCon after-party (complete with cash bar).
Saturday, July 29th
9:00 AM
Registration Opens – Wizard’s Lounge
Welcome from the OzCon organizers and opening statement – Emerald City Room
Baum’s Bazaar – Dealer’s Room Open for business.
9:30 AM
Costume Contest – Emerald City Room
See fellow Ozians parade on stage in their Ozzy outfits and vote for your favorites. Prizes awarded to the best children’s, adult, and group costumes.
10:00 AM
Oz Animation: The Rare, The Bad, and The Oddities – Rainbow Room.
Animation has allowed Oz to be envisioned in many forms, some good, some bad, some just head-scratching. How well do they represent the Oz canon? That's up to you.
11:00 AM
Adults Who Love and Care—The Ultimate Fairy Tale? Em, Henry, and Dorothy – Emerald City Room
College professor, Oz expert and all-around powerhouse, Dina Massachi explores how animated versions of Oz, in contrast to the longstanding literary tradition of killing the protagonist’s parents, tend to keep Dorothy from experiencing any sort of terrible orphan-related trauma by introducing competent adult figures within her Wonderful Wizard of Oz world. Oz animations change the role of Henry, Em, and the general vibe of Kansas in order to remove the potential of trauma. Instead of creating a dichotomy where the orphan is either victimized or granted pure freedom, modern, animated versions of Oz have found a way to create adults who love, care and do not hover in ways that restrict the child — and really, isn’t that the ultimate fairy tale?
Collector’s Show & Tell – Rainbow Room
Freddy Fogarty hosts a gathering of Oz collectors sharing their unusual finds and favorites. Bring your latest Oz discoveries and questions.
Quiz Time – Wizard’s Lounge
Test your knowledge of Ozzy trivia by taking one of the annual quizzes. There are separate quizzes, and prizes for novices, fans of the fourteen Baum books, and trivia masters who know all forty books in the series.
12:00 PM
Lunch Break – Dining Rooms
Join us in the dining room for a catered meal.
1:00 PM
OzCon Auction – Emerald City Room
Join in the bidding for Oz collectibles of all kinds! Conventions are a great place to find bargains and never-before-seen items to round out your collection. Proceeds benefit the International Wizard of Oz Club. (The auction will last until 4:30.)
Children’s Activities – Wizard’s Lounge
Margaret Koontz leads a series of children’s activities for our younger attendees to participate in. (Activities will last until 4:30)
Oz and the Musical: Animating the American Fairy Tale in Song and Dance – Rainbow Room
Ryan Bunch talks about his book on the history of how The Wizard of Oz has been told through the medium of the musical. From MGM, to The Wiz, to Wicked, and beyond, Ryan Bunch will explore all the aspects of Oz on stage and in music and how the Great American Fairy Tale has been given life in another way.
Author Signings – Baum’s Bazaar
If listening to our authors has gotten you curious about what else they have to say, come pick up a copy of their books at the Bazaar and have them sign it while you’re at it. Autographed books make great convention souvenirs! Sessions will occur throughout the afternoon.
2:00 PM
The Remarkable Research of Oz – Rainbow Room
Eric Shanower's new book, All Wound Up, tells the complete story of L. Frank Baum's 1913 musical extravaganza The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Researching a forgotten stage work more than one hundred years old can be a challenge. Come hear about some of the surprising twists and turns in Shanower's path to uncovering the creation and production of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.
3:00 PM
The MGM Wizard of Oz Film as You’ve Never Seen It Before – Rainbow Room
Neil Cuadra will introduce a discovered film project, done on a dare, to recut the famous film with the dialog in alphabetical order. The editing process was clever but tedious, and the results were interesting, amusing, and sometimes hilarious.
4:00 PM
Courageous Cowards – Rainbow Room
Written by Ruth Plumly Thompson and published in 1923, The Cowardly Lion of Oz celebrates its 100th anniversary this year! Peter Hanff talks about Ruth Plumly Thompson's early development as Royal Historian of Oz, this book, its influence on the Oz series, and what it contributed to the lore and world of Oz.
Last hour to shop in Baum’s Bazaar for the day!
Auction Settlement – Wizard’s Lounge
5:00 PM
Break
5:30 PM
OzCon Saturday Royal Awards Banquet – Dining Rooms
Join us in the dining room for the Royal Banquet. It’s an OzCon tradition that we try to dress up a bit for this dinner. During the meal, we will toast the 50th Anniversary of The Annotated Wizard of Oz and the winners of both convention and annual awards will be announced.
Saturday Evening Program
Emerald City Room
7:00 PM
Dorothy & The Wizard of Oz
Writer and television showrunner Brad Birch takes you into the world of the 2017-2020 animated series Dorothy & The Wizard of Oz, which combines elements from both the Oz books and the MGM movie. Brad wrote several episodes of the series, as well as the Dorothy’s Christmas in Oz special. Hear his tales about the making of this recent addition to the animated Oz canon.
8:00 PM
Oz and the Supernatural
Angelica Carpenter, Gita Morena, John Bell, and Dina Massachi talk about the supernatural and Oz. This panel digs into the magical universe, and universal magic, of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. How do his fairies and other creatures, their magical implements, and the rules of life in Oz differ from other fantasy series and traditional beliefs? What can we learn from viewing the supernatural through an Ozian lens?
9:00 PM
Break
9:15 PM
School Days in the Land of Oz
We end the night with a fun revival of a rare Oz play. Originally written as a puppet play in 1927 and later purchased by Reilly & lee for promotional purposes, a group of players will put on a performance about a regular school day in Oz, featuring H.M. Wogglebug T.E. as the teacher and many beloved characters like the Scarecrow, Dorothy, and the Patchwork Girl as students. Hijinks and puns will ensue!
10:15 PM
Finish off the night with Ozzy fellowship and karaoke (complete with a cash bar).
Sunday, July 30th
9:00 AM
Animated Oz Film – Emerald City Room
Last chance to shop at Baum’s Bazaar! Closes 12:00 PM
10:30 AM
The Little Studio That Nearly Could: Filmation's Attempted Journeys Back to Oz – Emerald City Room
Sarah K. Crotzer explores Filmation Associates' many Oz- and Baum-related projects across three decades, most of which were never produced. Special emphasis is given to The Yellow Brixx Road, a proposed syndicated series that would have brought Dorothy and the Wizard into American homes five days a week in the early 1980s.
11:30 AM
Oz Parodies – Emerald City Room
Sam Milazzo talks about Wizard of Oz references and parodies across the world of animation.
12:30 PM
Lunch Break
Join us in the dining room for a catered meal.
1:30 PM
Preview and Farewell – Emerald City Room
Hear about plans for OzCon 2024, get involved, and say goodbye to old and new Ozzy friends.
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