ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those interested in seeing Liberal’s Land of Oz in a bit of a different light will soon have just that chance.
The Coronado Museum and Dorothy’s House/Land of Oz will be hosting a Haunted Oz event from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 on the grounds of the Coronado Museum at 567 E. Cedar Street. Entry is $5 per person, and there will be games, Oz Train rides, free popcorn and candy, and a haunted tour of our Land of Oz.
“The centerpiece of everything is us transforming our Land of Oz into a haunted house, so it’s going to be very dark and creepy, and there’s going to be a lot of weird noises and effects and people in costume, so it’s not going to be Oz as people typically see it,” Coronado Museum Director Nathan Dowell said. “Though if you’re unsure whether or not you’ll be able to handle all the spookiness, you’re more than welcome to hang out on our front lawn and take everything in from there.”
Dowell added planning for Haunted Oz has been going on since last year.
“The museum had done a Haunted Oz event a few years before I was hired as the director, and I’ve been hearing questions about whether or not we’d be bringing the event back basically ever since I was hired – in fact, the Haunted Oz event is one of the first big things I’d been asked about,” Dowell said. “We’d had the loose idea of bringing Haunted Oz back for a while, but we’d decided to make it a reality for this year when we were planning our OzFest stuff in 2023 after we decided we wanted to alternate the two events. This year’s Haunted Oz planning REALLY kicked into gear, though, when we received our Arts Everywhere Grant from the State of Kansas, and that grant is designed to help the Dorothy program in a lot of different ways, including Haunted Oz. We’ve been thinking about Haunted Oz for what seems like forever, we’ve been planning for it since OzFest last year, and things kicked into gear in a more serious way when we got that grant funding and actually had a way to pursue what we wanted to do.”
Ultimately, Dowell said, everything fell into place to make Haunted Oz possible.
“There were a lot of factors that came together, and getting that grant funding was what really pushed us over the edge and made us realize ‘We have the money now, we have the state’s support, let’s go for it!’” Dowell said. “Last year’s OzFest also played a part because we knew we wanted to keep doing big community events on the grounds, but not necessarily by repeating the same thing year after year, and that’s what sparked the idea for alternating OzFest and Haunted Oz. We wanted to bring people out here and maybe attract people that OzFest didn’t. We want to have the community out here, whether it’s with a big event or smaller event, a spooky/non-spooky event, whatever the situation calls for. We love having the community out here and want to keep bringing them here to see what we’re up to.”
With this year being Dowell’s inaugural Haunted Oz event, he said there is a lot to be excited about.
“We’re excited for people to see Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz in a way they wouldn’t normally see it. It’s fun because a lot of times, haunted houses are built from scratch, but with the Land of Oz, we’re doing something a bit different to where we already have a big, elaborate ‘set,’ so to speak, so we’re playing around not so much with how to build something entirely new, but how to invoke spookiness with what we already have,” Dowell said. “We had to think about how do we take what we already have and show people what we’re capable of turning it into and putting things in a different light. There’s so much that can be done, and our main intention is to make everything spooky and fun at the same time, so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s reaction to what we’re able to come up with. I’m also looking forward to seeing everyone out here again, OzFest was a lot of fun and brought out a lot of people, so I’m excited to have the community out at Dorothy’s House again and putting a Halloween twist on everything. If you love spooky stuff and Halloween and haunted houses, or even if you’re just curious about how we can make the grounds scary, come check us out. We have a lot of unique opportunities and a lot of unique ideas of what we can do to the Land of Oz that haven’t been seen before out here. I’m excited for everyone to see what we’re able to come up with. But, if you’re not the biggest fan of Halloween but would like to support the museum and have a free evening, just come and stop by and see what’s going on and have a good time.”
With this being his inaugural Haunted Oz, Dowell said he has high expectations.
“This year’s Haunted Oz is my second major event as the director, after last year’s OzFest. And if I learned anything from that, it’s the key to event planning isn’t necessarily putting everything perfectly together and in place, but it’s to get everything close enough that if something goes awry, everything will still work out,” Dowell said. “Our community is great, our volunteers are great, but when with any event, there’s always SOMETHING that happens that doesn’t quite go according to plan, but I think our volunteers are dedicated to making this event a success. So I expect at least a few things to be slightly different than what we planned, but it should ultimately end up being a really cool and unique event for everyone to enjoy. I’m excited to see how everything turns out, because this will also technically be my first Haunted Oz as well, so I’m looking forward to experiencing it with everyone else.”
Overall, Dowell said, he and his staff are ready to make the Land of Oz the spookiest spot in town that night.
“There’s some nerves, but there’s also a lot of excitement. We’ve been running around and talking about how certain parts of the trail will work and planning what will happen where, and there comes a point where everything just clicks and you can basically see it in your mind how it’s all going to come together,” Dowell said. “We’ve got a lot of plans already, and there are still some details being worked out, but ultimately, I think everyone will have a great time and will love what everything looks like. Come check us out that evening, and if there’s anyone, anywhere, who has an idea for a community event we can put on, please let us know, and we’ll see what we can do. We are a community organization and depend on the community’s support, so if there’s any idea anyone has that could be big in the community, we’d love to hear it and possibly bring it to life.”
