Wizard of Oz Festival in Grand Rapids, Minnesota Debuts "The Slippers" Film

Highlighting the Wizard of Oz Festival will be the Minnesota premiere of the new Tricon Film and Television documentary, The Slippers, a ninety minute film about the legendary ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. The special screening will take place at the Sawmill Inn in Grand Rapids, on Saturday, June 11^th at 6:00 p.m. It will include a live music reception, 3-course meal, and an introduction by the film's director, Morgan White. The Slippers will be shown a second time that night, outdoors on a Jumbo Screen on the Evergreen Terrace Lawn, adjacent to the Judy Garland Museum. This screening, at 9:30 p.m., will be free and open to the public.

Friday, June 10^th, the Museum will present its annual free outdoor screening of "The Wizard of Oz" on a Jumbo screen.  Due to the Museum's plans to present the rare 3D version of the film, the show will not begin until dusk at 10:00 p.m. on the Evergreen Terrace Lawn. Food will be available for purchase.

The Wizard of Oz Festival opens Thursday, June 9^th, at 4:00 p.m. with a High Tea and Style Show in the Judy Garland House.  At 7:00 p.m. that evening, the Judy Garland Museum will celebrate the 80^th anniversary of Judy's film debut with a piano jazz tribute performed by Josh Gallagher, a talented musician who studied at the Dave Brubeck Institute. Directly following the concert, there will be a screening of the 1938 film, Everybody Sing, starring fifteen year-old Judy Garland, Billie Burke, and the legendary Fanny Brice. Tickets are $15.00.

Friday, June 10^th and Saturday, June 11^th, Emmy Award-winning producer/writer John Fricke returns to Grand Rapids to give several presentations. Widely regarded as the preeminent Oz and Judy Garland historian, Fricke will present three talks on Garland: "They Remember Judy," with never-before seen interviews with people who knew the star, "Judy Remembers Dorothy," and "The Best of Judy – 1965-1968," which includes film clips. In addition, Saturday, June 11^th, Fricke will present a short, free kid-friendly talk, "Fun Facts and Lessons from Oz."

Saturday, June 11^th, there will be two free events for children: the Emerald City Fest (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) in downtown Grand Rapids at the Old Central School House. The Fest includes Oz characters, carriage rides with "a horse of a different color," face painting, hair braiding, Oz dress-up, an instrument petting zoo, along with games and many other fun things to do. From 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., "Dorothy's Farm Animals" in the Judy Garland Memorial Garden is a fun walk-thru with rabbits, chickens, ducks, goats, and more.

Tickets may be purchased online. For the times and locations of all events, and for further information, please visit the website: http://www.judygarlandmuseum.com; and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judygarlandmuseum/

Judy Garland Museum, 2727 Pokegama Avenue South, Grand Rapids, MN 55744; Phone: 218-327-9276 or 1-800-664-JUDY (5839)

Contact: John Kelsch
Phone: (218) 256-5839
E-mail:  [email protected]

Photo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160601/374464

SOURCE Judy Garland Museum

Related Links

http://www.judygarlandmuseum.com