L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and many other novels set in Oz, often referred to himself as the Royal Historian of Oz. Well, I consider myself to be the Royal Historian of CharlOz, the upcoming Oz-themed literary and arts festival that will take place in Charlotte from September 26 through September 29. The wizard who created this festival and spent more than a year organizing it is Dina Schiff Massachi, and I watched her work her magic throughout the entire process.
Dina initially envisioned CharlOz as a book-launch event for her book The Characters of Oz: Essays on Their Adaptation and Transformation (McFarland, 2023), but then she started imagining a larger, more community-oriented event. However, achieving this goal required substantial funding, so we applied for a grant from North Carolina Humanities. When we received the grant, Dina went to work. Dina and I would meet frequently about CharlOz, but she was the one who reached out to representatives from across the university as well as from various cultural and educational organizations in Charlotte and invited them to participate. Often, after meeting with Dina over a cup of coffee, they signed on. She also arranged for a group of student interns from UNC Charlotte to help with the preparations. The result is a collaborative festival involving numerous organizations from Charlotte and beyond.
I recently reached out to Dina and asked her for more information about the plans for CharlOz. Here is what she sent to me:
CharlOz, as I’ve titled this Oz themed literary/arts festival, is a four-day event with a variety of ways to interact and explore Oz, the vast majority of which are free and accessible through Charlotte’s light rail system.
When I first began talking about CharlOz, most people had no frame of reference to understand my vision for this event. I explained that CharlOz is more than a celebration of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; it is also a celebration of how the humanities can create communities around stories. As people began to understand my larger vision for CharlOz, they began throwing their support behind this event. Now, with thanks to our sponsors–North Carolina Humanities, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Blumenthal (both the performing arts organization and the foundation), ImaginOn, the Lori and Eric Sklut Charitable Foundation, and many others, my vision is turning into an even better reality than I expected.
CharlOz will run from the evening of September 26 through the evening of September 29. Highlights include:
- A kickoff presentation by Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked, at the Knight Theater on September 26.
- An exhibit about the Land of Oz theme park at the Projective Eye Gallery in The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City.
- An exhibit of student art that reimagines Oz’s characters at the Popp Martin Student Union on UNC Charlotte’s main campus.
- A full day of events on Friday, September 27, at UNC Charlotte’s J. Murrey Atkins Library that include discussions led by Oz experts from around the country, gaming, a virtual reality experience of the Tom John sets from Broadway’s first run of The Wiz, and hands-on creative opportunities including a puppet workshop from James Ortiz (who designed the puppets for the recent run of Into the Woods) and a drawing workshop from Marvel comic artist Janet K. Lee.
- A full day of events on Saturday, September 28, at ImaginOn, including author talks, character appearances and many family activities.
- The Charlotte Symphony will provide a sweeping orchestral backing of the beloved 1939 film The Wizard of Oz in Belk Theatre on both Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28.
- Vendors at The Market at 7th Street on Saturday and Sunday.
- A full day of events on Sunday, September 29, at The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City, including the premiere of a new restoration of L. Frank Baum’s silent film, His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz, with music provided by Ethan Uslan, and a presentation by Gita Dorothy Morena—L. Frank Baum’s granddaughter!
- Opportunities throughout the festival to meet authors who write about Oz and Baum, including Gregory Maguire (Wicked), Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die), Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee (Sea Sirens & Sky Island), Angelica Shirley Carpenter (Born Criminal), Eric Shanower (Marvel’s Oz comics), Virginia Kantra (The Fairy Tale Life of Dorothy Gale), Gita Dorothy Morena (The Wisdom of Oz), Ryan Bunch (Oz and the Musical), Heather Greene (Lights, Camera, Witchcraft), Dina Massachi (The Characters of Oz & the Broadview edition of Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and Mark West (Before Oz & the Broadview edition of Wonderful Wizard of Oz).
I hope CharlOz can be a vehicle through which everyone can have an enjoyable time reexperiencing the magic of story and childhood while finding common ground that bridges the imagined divides the grownup world creates.
Because of fire codes, almost all CharlOz events will have tickets. I recommend getting tickets to anything that interests you ASAP. They are on a first come basis.
For more information, including registration, please see https://charloz.charlotte.edu
As the self-proclaimed Royal Historian of CharlOz, I congratulate and thank Dina and all the many people who have worked so hard to bring this festival to Storied Charlotte.