Way back in 1900, L. Frank Baum first published his children’s novel entitled, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It’s a story we’re all familiar with about a young girl named Dorothy Gale who was whisked away by the whirling winds of a tornado that swept her house off to a distant land before plummeting on top of one of the community’s archenemies.

 It’s a story, and a movie, we all grew up with.

I have many memories of “The Wizard of Oz,” most of which include the anticipation of the one night a year when the movie would play on network television; back before endless movie channels, blu-rays, and Netflix were at our every disposal.  

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” inspired Baum to continue the saga, writing thirteen additional books, and making Oz a beloved series for well over one-hundred years. 

Something that most people don’t know is that long before Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced “The Wizard of Oz” on the big screen, Baum actually lifted the story off its pages and brought Oz to life in music form as early as 1902. 

 His love for the theater inspired Baum to produce a musical adaptation in an operetta-style libretto where it showcased in Chicago before being revised again and debuting on Broadway the following year. Thirty-six years later is when Dorothy, then, took us by the hand and led us on her Technicolor journey to the wonderful world, where it continues to be one of the most watched films in movie history.

The face of Dorothy will forever be remembered as that of Judy Garland.

 From the moment she first introduced us to the possibility of venturing off into a faraway land, making unforgettable friends, triumphing over everything evil, and, all while sharing with us her innermost thoughts with a voice so angelic it could have melted an army of witches – who hasn’t ever dreamed of traveling over the rainbow?

The wonderful world we call Oz, complete with its wicked witches and flying monkeys (you gotta take the bad with the good), might be a lot closer than you think…

Atop of Beech Mountain, in North Carolina, sits an old white farm house adjacent to a full working farm. 

As word has it, the one-and-only Kansan, Dorothy Gale, resides in these parts- along with her aunt, uncle, and “her little dog too!”

I decided to investigate this hearsay myself. 

As I approached the modest yet well-ordered white farm house, along with a group of other inquisitive folks, (much of whom were dressed in trendy blue gingham ensembles) it wasn’t Dorothy Gale that we encountered at all; it was that of the Gale’s less–than-pleasant neighbor, Almira Gulch. 

Well, she was just a’ whooping and hollering, something about Dorothy’s sweet little terrier, before she stormed off and headed back to whatever burrow she had risen from. That’s right about the time when Dorothy showed up.

 Feeling like most young people do, Dorothy shared with us her dreams of traveling somewhere where she, and her dear little “Toto,” wouldn’t be quite so misunderstood…

‘Round about that time, there came a storm a’brewin… (Seriously folks! The skies grew dark and the rain came pouring down instantaneously!) 

Dorothy quickly ushered us all inside her house where mass chaos occurred! As she led us down into the cellar, we learned that the storm had evolved into a twister!!! 

We made our way back up the stairs afterwards, and found the rooms quiet with furniture askew. 

As we carefully managed to walk out of the tilted house and onto the outside porch, we were in awe. The resilient sky was now a beautiful blue and the birds were singing and the sun shining.

The unbelievable transformation of the weather we experienced when exiting the house and entering Oz was uncanny, but, only added to the overall experience of the journey that awaited us.

Dorothy stood among the picturesque flowers on a very yellow, very vivid, road made entirely out of bricks! 

And so began our own personal “Journey with Dorothy” into the Land of Oz. 

The “Journey with Dorothy” tour, which is different from the fall experience held in September, is more of an interactive expedition in which guests actually become part of the cast and help Dorothy as she finds her way to the Wizard’s emerald gates. 

Along the way, the scenery is beautiful, the views stunning, and the cast exceptional!

Apart from Baum’s creative imagination, The Land of Oz has existed in its physical form on top of Beech Mountain since 1970. 

Sean Barrett, Artistic Director for The Land of Oz, shared with me the fabulous story and history of this one-of-a-kind beloved attraction.

“So the park broke ground in 1968 and opened in June of 1970. It stayed in operation until October of 1980.”

“A fire in 1975 destroyed part of The Emerald City and a new management company came and took over. Between 1975-1980 there wasn’t enough attention given to the park as it wasn’t maintained well, and it just kind of deteriorated. At the end of 1980, they were trying to come back in and figure out if they could reopen. They brought back the original designer Jack Pentes, and he said it would cost in the upwards of about three million dollars to bring it back to par in 1980.”

Jack Pentes, a Charlotte artist and inventor, was said to have worked on his knees while designing The Land of Oz so he could see it from a child’s perspective.

Efforts were made to attempt to reopen The Land of Oz and continued until 1983 with the final verdict deciding against it.

In 1987, new homes were being built around Oz and a gated community was started. 

In 1988, The Land of Oz held their first reunion of past cast members. This reunion continued yearly until they opened this event to the public in July of 1991. In 1993 the “Autumn in Oz” festival was born. 

“We’re in our 26th year of the annual festival that started as a one day event. In the early 2000’s it expanded into a full three-day weekend. This year, for the 80th anniversary of the film, Autumn in Oz will be running two consecutive weekends. This will be the first time we have done two weekends for the event.”

Unlike the “Journey with Dorothy” tour, “Autumn in Oz” has all the characters and allows guests to visit scenes along the yellow brick road at their own pace.

Barrett explains.

“As you walk into Kansas or on any part of the yellow brick road, there’s action happening all around you. Dorothy is singing, the farmhands are dancing, Aunt Em is fighting with her neighbor.  And, at the end, we have a whole Emerald City set-up which was started two years ago. Last year we added an Emerald City finale show for the first time since 1980.”

Sean shares that several of the original cast members from the 1970’s are still a part of Oz; for example, our “Wizard” Andy Harkins, played “The Tinman” in 1971, and our “Miss Gulch,” who is actually Andy’s wife Cay Harkins, portrayed “Dorothy” in the 1970’s.

“We’re expanding upon the Emerald City show a little bit this fall, too. We’re also going to have craft vendors, food vendors and a few very well-known Wizard of Oz authors that are coming in through the weekends so it’s gonna be a big deal! We’re pretty excited for it!”

I asked Sean about The Land of Oz occasionally hosting private events. 

“We’re working towards that. Ideally, it’s gonna be like an event rental space with characters. This is in the works and we don’t have a timeline on that quite yet.”

Sean travels back and forth from New York for both events in June and September. His duties as Oz’s artistic director include the overall look of the park including the design and layout. Sean hires the actors and actresses, finds costume designers and works with them to design the costumes, writes the shows and configures the whole aesthetics of the Oz experience.

But Sean emphasizes he’s not alone. 

“It takes right around one hundred and sixty behind-the-scenes staff to make Autumn in Oz possible.

“Autumn in Oz is very popular and we get dozens and dozens of emails a day asking about tickets. We anticipate somewhere between 20,000 to 25,000 visitors between the two weekend events.”

“We’re very proud of Autumn in Oz,” Sean states, “and with the 80^th anniversary of the film, this is the year to come!”

I explained to Sean the bizarre weather events of the day that occurred when we first arrived in “Kansas” and how they ironically mimicked the opening scene of the movie as we stepped out of Dorothy’s tornado-stricken house and onto the yellow brick road.  

Sean jokingly says, “Well, we planned that just for you guys!” 

But seriously, we all know that anything is possible in,

The Land of Oz.

“Journey with Dorothy” tours continue in June every Thursday and Friday, as well as July 5^th.

Check specific show time availability

“Autumn in Oz” will run September 6^th-8^th and September 13^th-15^th
Tickets for Autumn in Oz go on sale mid June 2019.

Click here for ticket information