Other than the Fan Fest scrimmage, its been kind of a slow day for App State News. So I figured I’d start a new segment on weird/interesting things to do on your weekend visits to Boone during football season.
Those that know me, know that movies are my other passion. For my money, the Wizard of Oz is the best fantasy movie ever made. It may surprise you to learn that Oz is actually located just outside of Boone on top of Beech Mountain.
Don’t hop in your car just yet, it’s only open once a year. This year it will be open on Oct 6th & 7th (Homecoming/Elon game weekend). Buy your tickets early because they will likely sell out.
The “Land of Oz” theme park was founded in 1970 by Grover Robbins & Jack Pentes. Robbins was the guy who built Tweetsie Railroad. There used to be an exhibit on it at Appalachian State’s cultural museum before that got shut down.
This is what it looked like when it first opened, at the beginning they copied images from the books. Later on they started matching the look of the film:
Here is a more recent picture of the Witch’s castle:
Obviously we’re not talking big budgets here. It’s the kind of weird/quirky thing that kids just love. You definitely need to bring your imagination with you, but where else can you ACTUALLY follow the yellow brick road?
A lot of people come dressed up, they have face paintings, a mini-museum, food, shows, hay-rides, and yes the horse of a different color you’ve heard tell about.
So if you’re in town for the homecoming game, make sure to bring the kids to the Land of Oz. You’ll be glad you did.
If you’d like more info on the Land of Oz, here are some links:
Land of Oz
