oz fest beech mt nc

[strollingbones]

held the first saturday in october on beech mtn...the land of oz reopens...

it was 41 degrees at the house...not bad...

driving along the ridge:

it was 41 at the base of the mtn...i am not sure how the wind factored in:

i work for the face painters...who do the staff...so i have to get there before anyone else....it does seem...but i enjoy places that are empty or off their norm..

auntie em's house:

ruby slippers:

 

[strollingbones]

the cast begins to arrive:

 

[strollingbones]

one of the talented face painters does custom clothes....she did this vest for me...

with buddy holly glasses:

without:

 

[strollingbones]

i feel very lucky to work with these talented people...they put on a hell of a show....no matter what goes wrong...as you can tell...it was cold...very very cold...note the fingerless gloves and the layers of clothes

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

one of the talented face painters does custom clothes....she did this vest for me...

with buddy holly glasses:

without:

Beautiful

 

[strollingbones]

thank you

 

[k2skier]

never mind found it

was that a ski area in the first pic? where is it and whats the name?

 

[strollingbones]

beech mtn nc....we have several slopes here...beech, sugar, appalachian,

seven devils or hawksnest has closed.

of the 3 open...i rate them sugar, app, beech...

i am not objective..lol...

 

[Big Black Dog]

I'm melting. Melting!!! Nice face paint job. Kinda interesting.

 

[strollingbones]

my face was done by mama clown...a world famous painter:

Mama Clown's Home Page

 

[strollingbones]

mama clown doesnt like dark painting....we kept telling her the tin man was an anguished soul..in torment....they all looked so happy....she really loves kids and loves what she is doing...as they all do....the lady in yellow has rods in her back yet she does this standing all day....i could go on and on about the combined talent of these ladies.

 

[Dreamy]

Wonderful talents! What exactly is the Land of Oz? A one day thing or longer? One of my favorite movies.

 

[random3434]

Very cool bones. What does everyone do at the festival?

 

[strollingbones]

land of oz was a theme park on beech mt from 1970 to 1980.. the property and park fell into private hands who open it..the first weekend in october...you pay 15 bucks a head to get in...you can tour the museaum and go thru auntie em's house...and down the yellow brick road...along the way you meet dorothy, toto, the tin man, scare crow and lion. you also will meet auntie em...mrs gulch...winky's...flying monkeys...the mayor of muchkin land...the professor, the wizard..glenda the good witch and of course the wicked witch. i dont think i left anyone out...to be honest i have never done any of it...with the full cast...i did it in the 70's...when it was open...i have been thru it all while its closed or before cast arrives...this year i didnt have time to take the pics i wanted...it is a really fun event for families ( i think its costly but its a unique experience) the face painters paint the kids in land of oz characters ...that includes munckins...lollipop kids, lullaby girls...on and on it goes...i dont know how much face painting is elsewhere but it runs min of 12 dollars a face...these artists are well known and do great work...

i love hearing the cast get ready..."where's my nose, who has my nose" wicked witch...it takes a good hour to get the tin man dressed and in full make up...what is funny if the cast and vendors work no matter the weather and until the crowds are done...the damn little totos are limited to a couple of hours...all the petting and kids wears them out...adults and kids dress in homemade costumes...its fun to see. everyone gets into it..this was the 70 th anniversary i think....this year both days were cold.

 

[Fatality]

wow, when you said oz fest i was thinking something completly different = ozzfest