(Tribune photos by Dana Gilbertson)

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Welcome to Munchkinland: Sisters Kaitlyn and Taylor Pentecost stand ready at the start of this year’s Oz Fantasy Parade. While wearing a Dorothy and Cowardly Lion costume the girls prompted many smiles while walking the parade route. The girls are daughters of Mark and Michelle of Chesterton. The festival marked its 23rd year and drew wonderful crowds on a beautiful weekend.

-- Friends dressed in Oz costumes are Yost Elementary students Braclyn Molenda, Madi Surber, Brianna Hoover and Dylann Chitwood.

 --The Chesterton High School snare drum line, left to right, Ed Vargas, Jeremy Ness and John Marciniak, keep in time while playing an Oz tune.

-- Marching along the parade route are James Defrain, as the Tinman and wife Nancy, as the Cowardly Lion, of the Centier Bank group.

-- Representing the Duneland YMCA, dressed as the Cowardly Lion are Vicki Stevers and son AJ, dressed as the Tinman.

-- The Mom’s Club of Duneland dressed up with many of their children. Pictured, left to right, are Dylan Reichard, Olivia Romano, Anne and Madison Prokuski, Rita and Eddie Young, all dressed up on top of their float.

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 Merry Old Land of Oz: Chesterton was turned into the Land of Oz this weekend, at the 23rd Annual Wizard of Oz Festival. Crowds gathered, filling the streets of Chesterton, to celebrate the 1939 classic movie. The weekend saw wonderful weather and drew huge crowds of people from all over the country.

-- Munchkin soldier Lewis Croft rides in the front of the parade as this year’s Grand Marshal.

-- Also, Munchkins Mary Ellen St. Aubin and Margaret Pellegrini join in the festivities.

-- Myrna Swenson and toy soldier Clarence Swenson wave on top of the Munchkin float.

-- Matt Mullin, representing WiseWay Foods, dressed as the Scarecrow waved to onlookers from atop stilts.

By ALEXANDRA NEWMAN

The weather was perfect for the 23rd annual Wizard of Oz Festival in downtown Chesterton.

While some attended events on Friday, most followed the yellow brick road into town Saturday for the parade that did not fail to please the hundreds of Dorothys, Lions, Tin Men and Scarecrows that lined the streets.

While waiting for the parade to begin, Shannon Harrington, of South Bend, took her four-year old daughter Lindsay down the street to find a Dorothy dress for Lindsay and her doll. Lindsay was already wearing a pair of ruby red slippers.

Mission was accomplished and Lindsay was transformed into Dorothy and then sat down on a blanket with her sister, Katie, age 2, her dad Matt and Grandma Terry Harrington of Valparaiso.

“This is our first year to attend the Oz Festival,” said Terry, who added that she was glad she was able to be there with her family.

“This parade is for children,” she said later. “That’s what makes it special.”

The Salisberry family from Elkhart, attended the parade with very special interest. Both Stephen and Stephanie have appeared in productions of the Wizard of Oz at the Elkhart Civic Theater in 2001 and 2003. Stephen plays the Cowardly Lion and Stephanie plays the Good Witch, Glinda and Auntie Em. According to Stephen, the Civic gives the show every other year.

“I really got a passion for acting when I played Lion,” Stephen said, who added that the Civic Theater Elkhart presents the Royal Shakespeare version, which is almost verbatim of the movie.

“We put the Jitterbug Scene back in,” he said.

Stephanie said her mother was watching “The Wizard of Oz” when she gave birth to her.

Their children, Zachary, 11, Michael, 10 and Aria, 7 enjoyed all the candy (mostly tootsie rolls) that parade participants handed out.

Chesterton High School Trojan Guard played Oz tunes and Drum Major, Katie Hughes, was dressed as an unsmiling Dorothy.

Many Glindas marched or rode on floats, but one Glinda chose to ride sidesaddle on horseback in her pink gown.

This year Chesterton High School Show Choir members singing Oz songs as they rode on a float, got the spectators to clap their hands and tap their feet.

Several parade units gave special performances at the reviewing stand, and all the celebrities made it a point to wave and say hi to Samantha Keyser, of Laughlin, Nev., who was on the reviewing stand. Samantha was a guest at the Festival thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The festival continued with special events and the traditional booths on Sunday. As usual, Munchkins and Celebrities sang “Over The Rainbow” at the bandstand in Thomas Park at the close of the festival.

Posted 9/20/2004