WInkie Con Approaches!

It's time to send in your registration for the 2012 Winkie Convention! The deadline to guarantee your accommodations on-grounds at Asilomar is May 20, 2012 - after that date we will need to handle each request for on-grounds lodging on a case-by-case basis. So here's a PDF of the information sheet and registration form. Make your decision to join us and send in your registration today! Oz about it! You may also e-mail our registrar, Peter Hanff, to reserve your room. His e-mail address can be found on the registration form.

Download REGISTRATION FORMS here:
http://hungrytigerpress.com/winkie_con_registration_2012.pdf

 

Winkie Con 2012

 The 48th Annual Wizard of Oz Convention

Celebrating the World of Oz and L. Frank Baum

Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, California

Chaired by David Maxine & Judy Bieber

Come west for the 48th Annual WINKIE CON where you can join Polychrome the Rainbow's daughter, and Kabumpo the Elegant Elephant as they journey over the rainbow to the best Oz convention ever! Registration is now open for the 2012 Winkie Convention to be held July 27-29, 2012, in Pacific Grove, California. We are proud to be the longest-running Wizard of Oz Convention in the world! You may download registration materials by clicking here.

Hold tight to your Magic Umbrella! Fly next July to the lovely Pacific coast of California where the annual Winkie Convention celebrates Oz and its creator, L. Frank Baum, at the Asilomar Conference Grounds, nestled among the redwoods and pines. 

The theme for 2012 is Sky Island, the book L. Frank Baum thought his personal best. This borderland of Oz book, starring Trot, Cap’n Bill, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow’s daughter, is the favorite of many Oz fans, too. The tribes of Sky Island, the Blues and the Pinks, will lend their colors to the rainbow of events awaiting you.

We’ll also celebrate Oz-author Ruth Plumly Thompson’s 121st birthday—July 27—and the royal Pumperdink purple of her beloved books: Kabumpo in Oz, which turns ninety, and The Purple Prince of Oz, which turns eighty. It’s sure to be the most colorful Winkie Con ever!

Double Dorothy!

We’re delighted to announce we have two real-life “Dorothys” joining us this year as our special guests.  

Susan Morse was twelve years old when she provided the singing voice for Dorothy in the 1964 Rankin-Bass animated feature Return to Oz where she sang "Moon Beams" and "Oz Just Can't Continue Without Me."  Susan’s fascinating acting and singing career includes the role of Brigitta in the first National Tour of The Sound of Music and appearing in the original Roxy cast of The Rocky Horror Show.

And the Winkie Con is being honored with a visit from the wonderful Caren Marsh-Doll who was Judy Garland’s stand-in during the filming of the MGM classic The Wizard of Oz. Come hear Caren’s memories of being on set, hanging out with Judy at the commissary, and going through MGM’s wig, make-up, and wardrobe departments. Her other credits include appearing as an extra in Gone with the Wind and dancing and acting in a plethora of films such as Rosalie, Best Foot Forward, and The Adventures of Don Juan with Errol Flynn.

Other convention features include a presentation by Oz-cartoonist Eric Shanower, a talk on Ruth Plumly Thompson's Land of Oz by Jared Davis, Peter Hanff will tell us about the Book Club of California's stunning Oz publication this year, John Bell will lead a discussion on Oz blogs, and we'll debut a new Oz game show called It's the Baum! 

Of course we will have our traditional Winkie Costume Contest, Treasure Hunt, and Winkie Quizzes—not to mention the fabulous Winkie Auction of rare Oz and Baum material. All attendees receive the Winkie Con Program Book, over 130 pages of Oz essays, artwork, interviews, and everything you need to help you have a great Winkie Con. We’re sure to have a few surprises, too!

The Winkie Research Table is back! Submit your Fiction, Non-fiction, and Works of Art to the 2012 Winkie Research Table. The Fred Otto Award for Oz Fiction gives a $100 First Prize and a $50 Second Prize for Oz Fiction. Submission guidelines for Oz fiction are here.

A Few Words About Our Convention Site

We meet each year at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in beautiful Pacific Grove, California. It is located a few minutes from Monterey, about five hours north of Los Angeles, and two-and-a-half hours south of San Francisco. The Asilomar grounds are heavily wooded, beautiful and atmospheric, situated directly on the Pacific coast. Please note that our base convention rates are per person in a shared room with two beds. We do have a few single rooms available. The rates cover all programming costs, your lodging at Asilomar, and dinner Friday, three meals on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday, and all taxes and gratuities. All this is included in one price! The food is better than ever, the rooms are great, and many have fireplaces.

The Winkie Convention has a Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, come check us out at www.facebook.winkies.org

We also issue a monthly WINKIE CON e-mail newsletter, featuring news, updates,

and cool stuff about the convention. You may subscribe by using the URL below:
http://winkies.oogaboo.org/news.html