HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — The Wizard of Oz “living” book is officially installed at Centennial Park, at the edge of the yellow brick road that leads visitors to Herrick District Library.
The 10-foot-by-12-foot art installation, finished Wednesday, June 5, 2019, despite a bit of rain, depicts an open book and the words “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum,” and an image — created with living sedum, succulents and other greenery — of a yellow brick road winding toward Emerald City.
The Oz Project, started by the Holland Area Visitors Bureau, includes partners Holland in Bloom, Herrick District Library, the City of Holland, and Hope College, among others, to bring a uniquely Canadian style of art to Michigan for the first time.
Sally Laukitis, Holland Ara Convention and Visitors Bureau’s executive director, expressed delight with the project’s progress, which she said will cost less than $400,000. The cost may seem high, but the draw is infinitely higher. The Internatinal Wizard of Oz Club held its 2012 convention in Holland, thanks to the Tulip City’s proximity to Castle Park, where Baum once lived with his family — and was inspired by the small castle that still stands in that neighborhood.
Some donations are in-kind, such as help from Elzinga Volkers to move the four large metal pieces safely into place.
The project won’t be totally complete until six life-sized bronze statues of the book’s characters are installed near the library in August.
Still, it’s intended to draw to fans of the books and films; from the 2019 Michigan Wizard of Oz Festival, set for June 21 and 22 in Ionia, to those who may be passing through Holland or those who specfiically will make a day trip to Holland to see it and take a few selfies. Even as the installation proceeded, people dropped by the park to check out the action.
“If it’s a place that little kids love to go to, I think it’s a very good place,” said Beth DuMez, who grew up in Holland, near Centennial Park and recently moved jsut a block away, after several years living in Washington D.C.
Jan Goins of Goins Landscape & Design, said the surrounding land will be filled with perennials and annuals.
“If they haven’t known about the Wizard of Oz before, when they’re passing through Holland, they’ll see it, experience it, and never, ever forget it,” he said.
See the photo gallery.
Francois Gravel, who helped bring the plant-hosting sculpture to Holland from Montreal, Quebec, said it’s the first such installation in Michigan for his company, Kadriform.
Fundraising continues for this project, which is viewed by organizers as an investment in the city’s attractions. People may make outright donations or purchase bricks for the yellow brick road that will be engraved. Learn more at hollandozproject.com.
