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Follow on Google News | Wizard of Oz Convention to Meet in PortlandAttendees of all ages join in to discuss Oz books and movies, swap Oz collectibles, display Oz crafts, listen to guest speakers, and share their love for all things Oz. Many attendees have been making the pilgrimage to OzCon for years. A highlight of OzCon will be a live performance re-creating the 1933-34 Wizard of Oz radio program originally sponsored by Jell-O. Actors drawn from the Pacific Northwest will help to transport the audience back to NBC radio studios in the 1930s to record episodes of the radio show complete with music and sound effects. OzCon will include an Oz Masquerade. Cash prizes will be awarded for the best costumes. The Oz auction will feature rare books and collectibles to the highest bidders. New and unique Oz items will be for sale in the dealers room. Oz quizzes, Oz treasure hunt, presentations, and performances will fill out the weekend of Ozzy fun. The convention opens each day at 9 am. A Columbia River cruise will close the activities on Sunday afternoon. Doug Aberle, a Washington-based director/animator, will be a special guest at OzCon this year. Aberle will share his experiences working on the 1985 Disney motion picture Return to Oz as part of Will Vinton Productions. Using cutting-edge clay animation techniques, Aberle helped bring to life the villain of the story, the Nome King. Aberle's other projects include music videos, theme park projects, Emmy award-winning TV specials, and numerous television commercials, including the California Raisins. His personal films, Wire We Here (1994) and Fluffy (1995), won awards world-wide. Currently he directs CG features for Aberle Films. New York City-based John Fricke is another special guest. He is widely regarded as the preeminent Judy Garland and historian of the 1939 MGM motion picture The Wizard of Oz. Fricke will speak about the history of Oz on radio and be available to sign his books. He has written seven books and won Emmy Awards for co-producing television documentaries on those topics. Seven Judy Garland movie video releases feature his commentary tracks. He regularly speaks about Oz and Judy Garland on television and radio, as well as in person. Portland, Oregon's Inanna McGraw is the sole surviving author from the original Oz series. She co-authored the book Merry Go Round in Oz with her mother Eloise Jarvis McGraw. On Saturday afternoon, July 1, Inanna will be on hand at OzCon to sign autographs and meet Oz fans. For more information and to register for OzCon, see the website at http://www.ozconinternational.com OzCon International was founded in 1964 as The West Coast Oz Convention by four southern Californians: End
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