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Just down the (yellow brick) road

CHESTERTON: Oz festival will gather at larger, central location in 2006

BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
bwilliams@nwitimes.com
219.462.5151

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, September 8, 2005 12:51 AM
CDT

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CHESTERTON | There's no place like home. New home, that is.

That's the hope organizers have for the venerable Wizard of Oz Festival,
which will open next weekend for the last time in Chesterton.

Festival organizers announced Tuesday that the event will move to the
Porter County Expo Center south of Valparaiso for its 25th anniversary
incarnation in 2006.

Dee Spargur, vice president of Lakeshore Festival & Events and director
of the festival, said it was time for the festival to grow and
Chesterton just didn't allow that.

With its indoor and outdoor exhibition space, central location where all
events can be held together and parking to accommodate the estimated
60,000 to 80,000 annual visitors, the expo center could accommodate that
growth, Spargur said.

Organizers had considered alternatives in the past 18 months, including
Chesterton's Dogwood Park and Sunset Hill Park in Liberty Township,
Spargur said.

Reaction to the announcement has ranged from sadness to high hopes for
the new location.

Laurie Franke-Polz, former director of the Duneland Chamber of Commerce
and now chairwoman of several Oz planning committees, said the move
would be very positive. The size and versatility of the expo center
would allow new opportunities, she said.

Former events President Marilyn Zengler, who co-owns the Yellow Brick
Road Shop, said she had "very mixed emotions" about the move. While she
understands the need for improved logistics, a certain feel will be
lost, she said.

"The charm of Chesterton is surely going to be missed," Zengler said.
"Chesterton has been wonderful."

The move would also leave a void downtown, Zengler said.

But former Town Council member Frank Sessa doesn't think so. He called
the decision "a good move for everyone concerned."

Sessa was on the council at the time of a pivotal January 2004 meeting
when members decried what they called the increasing commercialism,
sprawl and expense of the festival. At that time, Sessa said the
festival's quality was declining.

Sessa, who owns a downtown shoe repair store, said downtown merchants
have benefited from an increase in events in Thomas Park and from the
weekly European Market and would not be adversely affected by the move.

Despite what may be lost in Chesterton, organizers are planning ways to
bring an Emerald City-like feel to the festival's new digs. Backdrops
and props could recreate the spires of Oz, and the expo center would be
a natural for capturing the flavor of Dorothy's Kansas farm, Franke-Polz
said. She also hinted that the new location may allow organizers to
create something they've always wanted: a yellow brick road.

Retaining the special feel that has made the Chesterton location so
attractive to so many visitors may be the biggest challenge.

"Chesterton has an ambiance," Spargur said. " We need to create that. We
think we can do that."

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