Cosplay in Oz

A terrific Hammerhead from 1990.

This summer, August 8-10, 2014, the Winkie Con will be holding its 50th annual convention celebrating L. Frank Baum and the magical Land of Oz. One of the favorite pastimes of Winkie Con has always been dressing up for the Costume Contest on Saturday morning - maybe this year you should make a costume and join in the Ozzy fun! This year's Costume Contest will take place on Saturday morning of the CON, August 9, 2014.

People do superb work on very elaborate costumes, such as this fine Hammerhead from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, built and worn by Oz fan Dick Rutter. But many people make very simple and very effective costumes, too; Dorothy, the Shaggy Man, and the Scarecrow aren't nearly as difficult - and it's just as much fun participating! 

You can click on any of the pictures to see them enlarged.

The earliest photo I've found of a Winkie Con costume contest is from Winkie Con 5 in 1968 when we were so small we met at the home of Warren Hollister in Santa Barbara. Leading the parade is charter Oz Club member Ruth Berman as Princess Isa Poso from Ojo in Oz.

Winkie Con Costume Contest in 1968.

Oz fans dress up as characters from both the Oz books and Oz movies. In 1989, for the 50th anniversary of the classic MGM Wizard of Oz film, we got a veritable "gale" of Dorothys! Did you know that a large group of Dorothys was called a gale?

A "gale" of Dorothys at the 1989 Winkie Con.

Here's a cool grouping from 1978 showing General Jinjur, Gureeda from Speedy in Oz, the Tin Woodman, and Tip.

Winkie Con in 1978.

Use your imagination! You still have over five months until this summer's gala Winkie Con 50 - and it is so much fun! And you can reuse your costume for next Halloween!

In 1986 we saw a wonderfully effective Woozy Costume! One might think the Woozy would be hard to do, but look how great this basic construction from cardboard, paper, and paint turned out! The Woozy is being followed by Gloma the Black Witch from The Wishing Horse of Oz and Clocker from Pirates in Oz - both simple yet effective costumes.

Costume Parade at the 1986 Winkie Con.

This year at Winkie Con we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of L. Frank Baum's Tik-Tok of Oz. Tik-Tok, created in 1907 in Ozma of Oz, is arguably one of the first sentient robots! Indeed, our "theme" this summer is "Clockwork in Oz" - there's a $50 cash prize for the costume best reflecting that theme - so why not get a little steampunk on and make a Tik-Tok costume? Or even come dressed up as Mr. Smith or Mr. Tinker, the two men who  manufactured Tik-Tok in the first place! Below is a great Tik-Tok costume from 1982, this one designed and worn by Dick Rutter. He was really into paper-mache - which, by the way, is inexpensive and effective!

Fred Meyer greets Tik-Tok at the 1982 Winkie Con.

Some costumes are very unexpected - such as this awesome Kabumpo the Elegant Elephant from Kabumpo in Oz, worn by a teenage Eric Shanower and his sister Elizabeth. Yes, that's future Oz author, illustrator, and award-winning comics creator Eric Shanower!

Winkie Con 1980.

Also seen (left to right) are authentic costumes for Ozga the Rose Princess, Queen Ann of Oogaboo, and Private Files. These three are also characters from Tik-Tok of Oz and would be great costumes for this summer!

So look at all the fun you could have! Get started, make it a project, have some crafty fun! Look how excited these three Patchwork folk were at last summer's Winkie Con! Heck, you might even win one of the costume prizes! These prizes include Best Adult Costume and Best Child Costume, as well as the above-mentioned Best Theme Costume which includes a $50 cash prize.

Winkie Con in 2013.

My all time favorite Oz costume was Dick Rutter as Quox the Dragon, from Tik-Tok of Oz (seen below). Quox was about 12' long. He could crawl about (I think there was a skateboard under his abdomen to help him along)  and there was a fire extinguisher built into his snout and he belched smoke a couple times! Quox was pretty amazing! In this photo he is surrounded by a couple Winged Monkeys, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ozga the Rose Princess.

Winkie Con in 1983.

Join us for this year's Winkie Con 50, August 8-10, 2014 at the Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center in beautiful San Diego. Click here for the Winkie Con website. The 2014 Costume Contest will take place on Saturday morning, August 9, 2014 - though you are welcome to wear you costumes as much as you like!

Let it Snow!

Grave of Jack Snow (1907-1956) in Piqua, Ohio

This past Christmas Eric and I took a three week road trip to Ohio to visit Eric's family. We both did a fair amount of genealogical research, too - visiting with assorted cousins and taking pictures in cemeteries.

But on the way home we took a little detour so we could visit the grave of Royal Historian of Oz, Jack Snow - author of The Magical Mimics in Oz, The Shaggy Man of Oz, and Who's Who in Oz.  We arrived in Piqua, Ohio (where Snow is buried) after dark. We stopped by the Forest Hill Cemetery briefly so we'd know exactly where it was when we returned in the morning to find the grave and take a few photos.

Well we woke up to find that it had snowed about six inches during the night! Hunting for a specific gravestone in a cemetery can be hard enough when the weather is good - but when you have to brush the snow off grave stones (and you're freezing!) it can seem almost impossible.

Luckily, we found a grounds keeper who knew exactly where Snow's grave was and knew he was the author of some Oz books. I need to add that we had actually been looking for Snow's father's grave as Jack Snow's grave is unmarked. But we knew that Jack was buried to the right of his father. There are in fact a fair number of Snow graves in the same area as well as other family names such as Genslinger and Hyde.

Grave of John Alonzo Snow (Jack's Snow's father)

It has always bothered me greatly that Snow's grave is unmarked. Parts of the Snow family were very distressed by Jack's homosexuality - and this may well be the reason there is no marker.

But as you can see in the photo up top - I have at least temporarily remedied the situation!

Merry Christmas, Jack!

Kayaking with Trot and Cap'n Bill

As most Oz fans know, L. Frank Baum had a close connection to San Diego from 1903 until his death in 1919. He vacationed at the lovely Hotel Del Coronado for many years, he boated in the area, and he used the greater San Diego area in some of his best children's books—ever more wonderfully than when he made La Jolla the home of Trot and Cap'n Bill.

They live on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and it is in one of the La Jolla sea caves that Trot and Cap'n Bill encounter the mermaids in The Sea Fairies (1911) and off the La Jolla coast that the twosome start their journey to Oz in The Scarecrow of Oz (1915).

La Jolla Sea Caves as Baum would have seen them circa 1905.

So what could be more fun than to relive Trot and Cap'n Bill's experiences and take a kayak tour of the very sea caves they explored a hundred years ago?

Now - I'm guessing that most of your reactions are kinda like mine was when my partner Eric Shanower suggested that we do this very thing about a year ago. I thought "Cool! Neato!" followed by "Uhm ... me? In a kayak? On the ocean? Eric, I think I might be allergic to kayaks."

But it looked like fun, and I didn't want to seem too wimpy, so I did it. I'm forever glad I did, too, and I've now gone back and done it a second time. It was so easy and so much fun that I decided to offer it as an "optional" activity at the 50th annual Winkie Con in August 2014.

So I want to show you all the fun you can have and to alleviate any fears or concerns. First off, most anyone can do it. I've seen kids on the tour as well as elderly and somewhat chubby grandmas. So let's take a virtual kayak trip! Come on, it's gonna be great!

Me - Ready to go!

After you check in at La Jolla Kayak you can change into clothes you won't mind getting wet - shorts and a lightweight shirt. Also take the time to put on a good sun screen. There are lockers to stow your clothes, valuables, and shoes. You'll choose a life vest and safety helmet, and then it's a three-minute walk to the beach with the helpful tour guide.

Most people choose to row in a double, so there are two people in each kayak. The kayaks are hollow, molded plastic. I don't think you could make one sink if you wanted to! Once at the beach you'll get a quick and easy lesson in how to maneuver your kayak.

One of the ever-so-helpful Tour Guides!

And we're off! Eric brought along some sunglasses. If you wear glasses you should bring along a cord so there's no danger of them falling off. You can also bring along a water-proof camera!

Eric and David head out! If they can do it, so can you!

In general the water is incredibly smooth. Often it's really clear, too, enabling you to see a lot of incredible wildlife, including this large orange fish. Queen Aquareine and the mermaids generally try to stay out of sight. But on really clear summer days you can sometimes catch a glimpse!

There are also many birds: brown pelicans, seagulls, and cormorants, though I have yet to spot any Orks on this tour. But there are always a lot of sea lions! Seeing them in the wild sure beats seeing them at the zoo!

A nice selection of Sea Lions napping on the rocks.

There are seven main sea caves. One of them, the Sunny Jim Cave, was (according to local legend) named by L. Frank Baum! I'll post another blog soon on all that!

Almost always you'll be able to row into one of the sea caves and really see where Trot and Cap'n Bill found their way to Oz! No sign of a gateway to Oz, but the cave does smell a bit like Ork!

Watch our for Orks when you go inside the cave!

And then it's time to row back to the shore! The whole tour takes about ninety minutes to two hours. It's lots of fun - and despite my initial worries about kayaking, it was fun and easy - and most importantly we had an Ozsome time!

So come on and sign up for the kayak tour! It's loads of Ozzy fun!

 Click here to register for Winkie Con 50

and to buy a ticket for Trot and Cap'n Bill's Sea Cave Tour!

The kayak tour will be led by La Jolla Kayak, but tickets must be purchased through the Winkie Con either online or by post. The tour will take place on Friday morning (probably around 9:00AM) and will run about ninety minutes. We will probably carpool to get to LaJolla from the convention hotel. Specifics will be sent to the attendees as we get closer to the convention.

Munchkins by Marriage

What do you think the chances are that David Maxine and Eric Shanower are both related to a Munchkin actor from the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz? If you answered 100%, then you're right. Click here to read the full story of this surprising and heretofore unknown relationship:

The Over-the-Rainbow Connection

Robin Brown - the Original "Brony"

I must admit that I had heard of "Bronys," the male fans of My Little Pony. But, that said, I must now admit that I had no real conception of the expanse of Bronydom. Before we proceed further, and I somehow tie this into Oz, here's a look at the trailer for a new documentary called Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony.

Gosh! Who knew? Now clearly we kid's book collectors, Judy fans, and Friends of Dorothy, are in no position to make fun of the boys in the next corral. So perhaps we should look for some common ground? The best way I can think is to for us Oz folk to embrace our inner-pony and let young Robin Brown, from Merry Go Round in Oz, come out as the one of the very first Bronys.

In celebration of this Brony/Oz connection I'm happy to announce that Merry Go Round herself will be making a special guest appearance to the Winkie Con this summer! Why not canter out west and join us for the Ozziest weekend of the year - June 21-23, 2013 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California.

You may download the WINKIE CON Registration and Info Packet Here

http://hungrytigerpress.com/winkiecon_registration_2013.pdf

If by chance you think the Robin Brown/Brony connection is a stretch you can at least be grateful I decided against tying it all into Equus.

Another Hungry Tiger in Oz

Oz and Beyond by Michael O. Riley, 1997.

How are Oz and The Prince of Tides connected? No, this isn't another game of Oz Connection--I'm going to tell you the answer. Although, if you read this online article about Carol Conroy, sister of The Prince of Tides author, you might be able to figure it out.

If you zeroed in on the names Pamami Press and Mike Riley in that article, you're on the right track. Of course, in Oz circles Michael O. Riley is known primarily for two things--as the author of Oz and Beyond, a seminal study of Baum's fantasies, and as the face of specialty publisher Pamami Press, which issues high-quality art editions of short works by L. Frank Baum.

In addition to works by Baum, Pamami Press also published the first book collection of Carol Conroy's poetry, The Jewish Furrier. Carol's brother Pat Conroy, the novelist, based the character of Savannah Wingo in his 1986 best-selling novel The Prince of Tides on Carol. Pat planned to include Carol's poem "The Jewish Furrier" in the book, but Carol objected, so Pat wrote a new version for The Prince of Tides.

Michael O. Riley of Pamami Press.

Meanwhile, Pamami Press is still producing new publications for Oz and Baum fans everywhere. The most recent book publication was L. Frank Baum's essay Fairy Tales on the Stage. And in its series of exclusive keepsakes for Winkie Con attendees, Pamami Press issued a booklet of Baum's "The Rainbow's Daughter" at the 2012 Winkie Con

Here's another article about Michael Riley and Pamami Press, which goes into detail about the painstaking process each publication takes. And if you ever wondered how to pronounce Pamami, it's like your parents--"Pa" and "Mommy." Put 'em together and you've got it!

Drink Your Juice!

Happy February! We have an especially attractive TIGER TALE this month over on the main website - it's  Duffy's Apple Juice Imp, by W. W. Denslow - a rollicking poem with a half dozen fine drawings by Denslow in color! Come check it out!

I also wanted to share the news that the incredible and extremely over-sized edition of Eric Shanower's Forgotten Forest of Oz is now out of print. We shared the news on our Facebook page last week and every copy we had left sold in a couple hours.  We do still have copies of the two Little Adventures in Oz Volumes though - and Forgotten Forest is available in Volume two. Click here to order a copy

Lastly, I know a good many of you are still planning on coming to this summer's Winkie Convention and I urge you to get your registrations in as soon as possible - especially if you want to stay on-grounds at Asilomar. We have a lot of new people coming this year and we have a limited opportunity to request more rooms for Winkies. You can learn more about this year's con from our WINKIE page and you can download info and registrations forms via the link below.

Click here for downloadable registration forms.