2024: Another Fantastic Illinois Oz Festival!

    So, once more Amanda and I found ourselves on our yearly pilgrimage to the Illinois Oz Festive in Mapleton, Illinois, although we were unable to attend last year due to Amanda having the flu. Nonetheless, we were looking forward to this year's festival, especially sionce the weather was looking incredible.We were not disappointed as the skies were clear, temps in the mid-70's and a light breeze, which did pick up later in the day.

 We knew as soon as we arrived that we had made it to Oz.

 

The opening ceremonies were very well attended.

 And it would seem that the Spirit of Oz characters were have a wonderful time.

 

Afterwards, Amanda and I set up for a day of books, authors and Oz... oh my!

Before all the fun could begin, I made a walk around the grounds to check out the Land of Oz. There were plenty of Wizard of Oz vendors...

 

 

... as well as other vendors.

 

In addition, there were bounce houses, including the biggest ear of corn I've ever seen.

As well as a petting zoo, which was very popular.

 There were also plenty of food vendors to serve a wide variety of tastes.

And then there's the park itself.

For those of you who have never attended this Oz festival, you're missing the most amazing Land of Oz park I've seen anywhere. The town of Mapleton actually built a Yellow Brick Road/Land of Oz/Gale Farm House park in Butler Haynes Park... and it's quite amazing and a perfect backdrop for a Wizard of Oz festival.

There's the Gale farm...

and Professor Marvel's wagon.

 Then it's a quick hop over, (or in this case) under the rainbow.

Then the entrance into Munchkin City and a lovely spot where you can "follow the yellow brick road..."

 

... and into the Lollipop League's headquarters.

 Soon, a grove of apple trees appear...

... and then it's off along the yellow brick road.

 

 There were loads of children's activities along the way, including a scavenger hunt.

...And of course, an occasional Tin Man or Cowardly Lion to chat with.

What's this? A dark path off the road of yellow brick? I wonder where it leads to?

Looks like a wicked place to me.

Well, whad'ya know... It's the Castle of the Wicked Witch of the West.

After a quick tour of the castle, I decided to make haste back to the Yellow Brick Road.

Oh joy! It's the Emerald City. "You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night..."

Whew! What an adventure that was! Now, it's back to books and the lovely wife. The rest of the day was spent introducing folks to our very kid-friendly vision of Oz. Book sales were good and we got to see lots of folks dressed up for the costume contests throughout the day.

 

 

 

Looks like adults enjoy dressing up in Oz costumes as much as the kids. I do believe the future is looking very bright.

During the day, Stephan's Puppets, hosted by Mack Raynor,  performed a classic marionette version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Kids were just rapt with attention.

 

This was from the first show, but by the second show, the floor and the bleachers were just packed and I couldn't get anywhere near enough to get a picture. This show is always the highlight of every Oz festival I've seen them perform at. I'm convinced kids need more entertainment like this. Notice there are no kids looking at phones during the show. It's that good! Mack, the puppeteer is always somewhat zany, just like his predecessor Bob Walls from years ago. I guess puppets do that to a person. Every time I see this show, all I can think of is..."Thunderbirds Are Go!!!" Those of you my age or older get that joke.

By the end of the day, we were exhausted, but had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We got one very nice group photo of the Spirit of Oz Troupe at the gates of Emerald City...

Before I finish this post, I wanna thank Jim Robertson of Butler Haynes Park District for allowing Amanda and I to be the festival's Guest Authors for all these years. His support has been very uplifting for us and we are most grateful. I also wanna thank all the volunteers for their tireless efforts, especially those in what I have deemed "The Gang of Goons".

These folks are the backbone of a very successful festival, year after year. Amanda and I send our love to you and all at the festival for all you do. Without your efforts, we would not have done anywhere near as well as we have all these years in attendance. Per ardua ad alta!

The Heavenlee Howl of the New Moon

     The Wabash Valley of Indiana cordially invites everyone within the path of totality during the Total Solar Eclipse of 2024, from Mexico, across America and into Canada, to participate in a celebration of the lives of our children and grandchildren who have passed beyond the veil and joined with Heaven by becoming a part of The Heavenlee Howl Of The New Moon.
    In times past, Mankind has marveled at the beauty of the heavens and has often found voice in their admiration by howling at the full moon.     Like the wolves of Mother Nature, who often howl at the full moon as a celebration of their wolfness, people across time and distance have chosen to celebrate their connection with the heavens by giving voice to their feelings of joy, worship and even sadness and sending it skyward towards our celestial neighbor Luna, or the moon, as it commonly known.
    On April 8th, 2024, the moon will pass in front of the sun, causing a shadow to pass across the surface of the earth. For those within the path of the moon's shadow, or Luna Umbra, (as it is known in Latin), it can be a life-changing experience.
    It is also a time, when the moon is directly in front of the sun, that the moon will be in its New Moon phase. Normally, the moon cannot be seen during the New Moon phase, but during a total solar eclipse, the New Moon can be seen, although the human eye can only percieve it as a black disc.
    Now, the Wabash Valley of Indiana invites everyone along the path of the moon's shadow to participate in The Heavenlee Howl Of The New Moon by remembering a beloved child or grandchild who has passed away far sooner than they were meant to by turning your gaze skyward during totality.
    At this time of darkness, we encourage you to howl in memory of that child, and for all children who have left us too soon. Celebrate the Love you still feel for them with a long and vigorous howl. Pierce the darkness with your voice and summon the light with your howl. Gather your friends together and share your howl with them, or even total strangers and encourage all to join with you in the howling.
    This is a singular time to celebrate the memories of our beloved children and grandchildren who are no longer with us. We won't get another opportunity like this for nearly four hundred years, so don't let the Luna Umbra pass you by in silence. Let your Love howl across the skies so that our loved ones in Heaven can hear us.
Any and all inquiries may be directed to heavenleehowl@hotmail.com
Per ardua ad alta!

 

Camera Lens Solar Filter Tutorial

 In preparing for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse on April 8th, 2024, I found it necessary to construct a solar filter for my 650-1300mm telephoto/zoom lens. What follows here is a simple tutorial for making one using easily avail;able materials and tools.

First thing you'll need are some supplies, including a sheet of Mylar solar filter material (I recommend Thousand Oaks Optical), an empty Quaker Oats container, duct tape, a razor knife, scissors (not pictured), a black and silver Sharpie, a small piece of cardboard and an Olive Garden soup-to-go container (not pictured).

Begin by placing the camera lens you wanna filter onto the Mylar sheet and mark out a circle using a black Sharpie.

Next, remove the plastic lid from the Quaker Oats container.

Invert the lid and place it onto the small sheet of cardboard. Then, using the razor knife, carefully cut about 1/4" inside the black circle until you have cut out a complete circle.

Discard the plastic circle and retain the ring you have now created.

Using the black Sharpie, mark short black lines extending from the black circle inwards until you have the following example.

Now, use your razor knife to cut along those line, making sure not to extend your cut beyond the black line. 

Replace the plastic ring back onto the Quaker Oats container and tape the ring to the container using the duct tape (I didn't have the classic gray tape, so I used this odd cactus design duct tape). Be certain to insure that the tape does not extend above the top of the ring. Make sure the tape goes all the way around the container. This is important for the next step and for a later surprise.

Now, place the container on its side and, using the razor knife, cut through the paper container along the tape line. Go slowly and carefully, insuring you have a clean, straight cut. When completed, you should have a ring with attached lid roughly the width of the tape.

 Place the ring, lid side down, onto a corner of the sheet of Mylar filter material, making sure to give yourself about 1/2" an inch gap between the ring and the edge of the sheet.

Using the black Sharpie, mark out the outline of the ring onto the Mylar sheet.

Using a pair of scissors (be certain not to run with them), cut out a square about 1/2" an inch beyond the black circle. Store the remaining Mylar material for later use.

Now, make sure the Mylar sheet's silvery side is face up, towards you. Using the scissors once more, cut small lengths of duct tape and attach them to the sheet as shown below.

Turn the taped sheet over so the black side is facing you and the sticky side of tape is also facing you (very important). Now, place the Quaker Oats ring/lid assembly down onto the black side and, using the silver Sharpie, mark the outline of the assembly onto the sheet, making sure to leave a 1/2" gap between the ring assembly and the edge of the sheet. This will serve as a guide as you secure the taped edges to the paper ring assembly.

Now, holding the ring assembly in place with the palm of your hand, lift one taped edge up onto the paper ring until it sticks.

Repeat with the other side.

Now, do the same with the remaining sides until you have something resembling the photo below. Don't worry if there is a wrinkle or two. It won't matter.

Fold each corner into itself, much like wrapping a Christmas present and tape each folded corner down until it looks like this.

You now have a completed solar filter assembly.

Time to attach it to your camera lens. 

Grasping the filter assembly by the side (try not to touch the Mylar sheet in order to avoid scratches), slowly slide onto the lens about halfway down the length of the filter assembly.

Once done, your camera set-up should look like this.

Once completed, you're gonna wanna store the filter assembly in a container until eclipse time. I found that an Olive Garden soup-to-go bowl was an ideal container to use for this purpose. This is why I suggested not cutting the paper container longer than the length of the duct tape.

Congratulations! You now have a solar eclipse filter for your camera lens that can also be used later for other solar work. Good luck!!!