Join us for our 2025 convention! This year’s event promises an unforgettable experience in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where the Baum family once lived. Our opening reception is set in a gallery filled with original Oz art. The K.O. Lee Public Library’s L. Frank Baum Collection includes treasures to be found nowhere else. We’ll enjoy a private tour of area Baum sites with a visit to the Land of Oz during the annual Storybook Festival together with presentations by leading Baum authorities, a concert of Baum songs, a gala Saturday dinner, and so much more. Whether you’re a lifelong Oz enthusiast or discovering Oz for the first time, you’ll find friendship, fun, and fascinating insights at every turn. Don’t miss this chance to connect with fellow fans, explore Oz history, and celebrate Baum’s enduring legacy. Sign up today and follow the Yellow Brick Road to Aberdeen.
Don’t delay, the first 25 registrants get a free copy of the Oz in Aberdeen catalog of the library’s L. Frank Baum Collection, and the first 40 registrants get a copy of the special Aberdeen edition Mother Goose in Prose.
Hotel information:
- Our Quality Inn Aberdeen group rate is $129/night.
- For reservations call (605) 226-0097 and mention the Oz Club.
- Or reserve online: https://www.choicehotels.com/south-dakota/aberdeen/quality-inn-hotels/sd02
- Address: 2923 6th Ave SE Aberdeen, SD 57401-5403
Thursday, July 17
- 5:30 pm: We open with a reception in the Aberdeen Recreation and Cultural Center (ARC) Gallery, featuring “Eclectic Oz,” an exhibit of original artwork from the collection of convention chairman Jane Albright. Note that the Oz Club Board of Directors annual meeting, will be held this day.
- Enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure with Oz friends and check out some dining options in downtown Aberdeen.
Friday, July 18
Join the Club and our partners at the K.O. Lee Library for a day focused on Baum’s time in Aberdeen.
• First up are noted scholars Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner and Michael Patrick Hearn sharing their personal memories and stories of life-long Aberdeen resident (and niece of Frank and Maud), Matilda Jewell Gage. Matilda, who lived to be 99, was a tremendous source of primary research material to both Wagner and Hearn.
• Next, learn about the library’s L. Frank Baum Collection, as presented by Assistant Library Director Cara Perrion. Afterwards, we’ll be able to break off into small groups to view the collection more closely.
We have some fabulous presentations to follow that afternoon:
- Michael Patrick Hearn returns to the podium presenting “Baum’s Aberdeen Years.”
- Oz Club President Ryan Bunch presents Baum’s controversial Wounded Knee editorials from his newspaper The Saturday Evening Pioneer
- A discussion with Nancy Tystad Koupal and Rob Lauer on Baum’s “Our Landlady” columns follows.
- We’ll end the afternoon with a 1970 episode from the old “Death Valley Days” television series that fictionalized Baum’s time there in “The Wizard of Aberdeen.”
Friday evening, we cross the street to the ARC ballroom for dinner and our evening program.
- Club members will perform Rob Lauer’s dramatic adaptation of “Our Landlady.”
- Wrapping up our evening, noted performer Robert Lamont will take the stage with a concert of Baum songs, “On to the Next One: L. Frank Baum’s Musical Travels.”
Saturday, July 19
- We’ll hop on a bus and explore Aberdeen with local historian Troy McQuillen, who will guide us through a tour of sites associated with Baum’s Dakota year — including a visit to Easton Castle.
- Next, we’ll follow the Yellow Brick Road through Wylie Park’s Land of Oz—during their annual Storybook Land Festival—where we’ll add a few stories from Baum’s Mother Goose in Prose to our afternoon.
- Our evening will be spent at a glorious Emerald City Masquerade at the ARC ballroom. In addition to the opportunity to feast with all our Ozzy friends, there will be a fundraising auction, Oz Club contests and L. Frank Baum Memorial Award announcements, and some additional programming (keep your eyes open for how you can contribute!).
Sunday, July 20
- Our final day in Aberdeen! Pending its scheduled international release, we’ll watch the new Russian live-action film of The Wizard of the Emerald City at the K. O. Lee Library.
- After lunch, Sally Roesch Wagner presents Matilda Joslyn Gage, “The Wonderful Mother of Oz.”
- Fans of The Patchwork Girl of Oz (and who isn’t?) welcome Otis Frampton (The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Image Comics, 2025) for a presentation about his work on the delightful new graphic novel.
- We’ll also hear from biographer Don Billie about the life of wonderful character actress and most memorable of Wicked Witches, Margaret Hamilton From Cleveland, Ohio, to the Land of Oz (2024)
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As always, plans are subject to change. Additional presentations have been proposed and, as they are finalized, we’ll make every effort to include them. Follow OzClub.org and our Facebook page for updates.