Clicked Away from Oz-Stravangaza 2019

About a week ago, I clicked back to my version of Kansas, Barnwell, S.C., after having been in Oz, Chittenango, New York, for one of many times as an invited, participating author at Oz-Stravaganza over the past decade. 

Spending some time with the great grand-son of L. Frank Baum and prolific Oz author, Roger Baum, and his wife, Charlene, was great as was spending time with John Fricke and other Oz celebrities there. I was able to see Roger and his wife receive Honorary Lifetime Memberships to the International L. Frank Baum and All Things Oz Foundation during the after party. I think they had received them before but greatly deserved to be recognized again. I was very honored and humbled to receive this same award in 2016. Many deserving individuals have received it through the years, including many volunteers with the organization that runs the All Things Oz Museum and the festival (visit my Facebook page and their Facebook page for museum pictures, which I did not include in this posting). By the way, thank you to all involved with Oz-Stravaganza for the incredible work that you do to continue the legacy of original Oz author L. Frank Baum in his birthplace of Chittenango, New York! 

 Also, seeing the splendor of the Oz Park and the Oz-Stravaganza Parade as well as participating in the latter were amazing as always.

Being alongside my Oz creative colleagues, Vincent Myrand, James and Amanda Wallace, Allison Lehr, and Tom Hutchison, was a wonderful experience as was meeting and greeting Oz fans and signing books for them. 

A dear friend and Oz fan Sally Vitorrio made some special hand-sewn gifts for me this year. 

Artist Vincent Myrand paints wonderful scenes from Oz films on canvas and also illustrated my graphic novel, Ziggy Zig-Zags the Light and Dark Fantastic, Volume 1. He was an invited artist with his own separate table just as I was an invited author in the Authors and Artists Alley area of Oz-Stravaganza. 

Invited authors and artists and local residents even shared a pancake breakfast sponsored by the local Presbyterian Church at one point. Marc Baum, who heads up the Authors and Artists Alley and many other facets of Oz-Stravaganza, and his son Colton, who volunteers with the organization, are shown to the right of a group of artists and authors at the breakfast.

By the way, I sold nearly all of the copies of my Southern literature meets Wizard of Oz trade paperback, O.Z. Diggs Himself Out (YBR Publishing) there. Also, I sold half of the commemorative editions of YBR Publishing’s fantasy Corgi graphic novel, Ziggy Zig-zags the Light and Dark Fantastic, Vol. 1 (with story and scripting by me and art by Vincent) and have now gifted to family or have nearly sold out of the rest of them (just a few left for the next Oz festival I am attending). I have plenty of regular, non-commemorative editions of the graphic novel for future events.

In fact, I am now gearing up for my special guest appearance at the Michigan Oz Festival June 21-22 in Ionia, Michigan. I hope to see you there!