Fantastic Fun: A Family Trip Through the Land of Oz

There’s nothing like following The Yellow Brick Road for a fun weekend with the family.

Marah and I recently took Bennett to the Autumn at Oz Festival in Beech Mountain, N.C., an annual event that immerses kids and their parents deep into a Wizard of Oz experience. It was a blast to watch Bennett get his face painted like a lion and roar his way through the magical Land of Oz, threatening the Wicked Witch and her flying monkeys.

The Land of Oz festival opens for only three weekends in the fall, and passes always sell out. The events occur on the former site of a highly successful Land of Oz theme park. Bennett is fascinated by “The Wizard of Oz.” He has watched the movie countless times, and we had a great time watching him make his way through a re-creation of that fantastic setting.

Visitors take a ski lift or tour bus to the top of Beech Mountain, disembark on Dorothy’s farm in Kansas, and enjoy a brief stage show by professional actors enacting part of the story. Then, Bennett, Marah, and I followed The Yellow Brick Road, where we met the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. After an exciting encounter with the Wicked Witch of the East, we arrived at Emerald City, where we watched a stage show and enjoyed the shops and food vendors there. All the actors were polished performers, and the quality of the setting was incredible. Dorothy looked like Dorothy from the movie. I was impressed.

Bennett had a fantastic time. His face was painted as the Cowardly Lion — except he was more of a brave lion. He was so pleased with his face painting and how much he looked like a lion. He kept trying to scare the Wicked Witch of the East. He loves being a lion, and he loves to roar. Marah and I loved seeing him use his imagination that way.

Muhammed Ali once said, “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” Any time you use your imagination, I believe you increase your ability to solve ever more difficult problems. All the cool inventions we see today were once just somebody’s dream. When taking off in an airplane, did you ever wonder how the hell anybody ever could have imagined something that big and heavy rising into the sky, staying aloft, and flying for thousands of miles? No one believed the Wright brothers could get a heavier-than-air flying machine off the ground, but they imagined it and did it.

I was never into “The Wizard of Oz” as a kid. I was more interested in “The Legend of the Lone Ranger.” That was my childhood movie. I watched the VHS version so often that my dad finally bought it for me. I would literally rewind it to the part where the Lone Ranger puts his mask on, the music starts playing, and he sets out to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of the bad guys. I would dress up as the Lone Ranger to go to the store with my mom. My parents didn’t let me have guns, but my uncle was in the military, and he would always buy me cap guns that were like the Lone Ranger’s.

My wanting to be the Lone Ranger was probably a little like Bennett’s wanting to be the brave lion, imagining himself going out in the world, being courageous, and helping others. Maybe he’ll take the heart of that brave lion into his adult life, going out into the world to defeat the bad guys and offer help to those who need it. If he does, I’ll be backing him all the way.