Editing Chittenango, New York (section)

==Culture==
Chittenango holds a three-day annual festival called [http://www.oz-stravaganza.com Oz-Stravaganza!], formerly called OzFest, to celebrate the literary works of author [[L. Frank Baum]], who was born in Chittenango on May 15, 1856. The children's novel ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'' was published on May 17, 1900.<ref>Rogers, Katharine M. L. ''Frank Baum: Creator of Oz''. New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-312-30174-X}} pp. 73-94</ref> The weekend-long festival, usually held during the first Friday/Saturday of June and the weekend thereof, includes [[amusement rides]], and a [[parade]], which features many community groups. The parade has also featured actors and actresses who played [[Munchkin]]s in the 1939 film [[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]], including [[Jerry Maren]], [[Karl Slover]], [[Meinhardt Raabe]], and [[Margaret Pellegrini|Margaret Williams Pellegrini]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://oz-stravaganza.com/content/2010-oz-stravaganza-guests | title = Oz-Stravaganza Guests | access-date = June 27, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100704011400/http://oz-stravaganza.com/content/2010-oz-stravaganza-guests | archive-date = July 4, 2010 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Oz-Stravaganza! was cancelled during 2020 and 2021 due to health concerns over [[COVID-19 pandemic|Covid-19]]. As Covid restrictions were gradually lifted, the festival came back in 2022, though on a smaller scale, with a lower amount of vendors than previous festival years.

The Wizard of Oz theme continues beyond the annual festival. The village is the home of the International L. Frank Baum & All Things Oz Historical Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allthingsoz.org/|title=All Things Oz Museum -|website=www.allthingsoz.org|access-date=December 12, 2018}}</ref> The group is a 501(c)3 non-profit, and is 100% volunteer run. It is Chartered by the NY State Board of Regents. The organization coordinates the annual Oz-Stravaganza festival and also the [http://www.allthingsoz.org All Things Oz Museum] located in the historic village downtown. The museum features a collection of original costumes and props from the OZ universe, as well as collectibles and Baum family heirlooms. The foundation collection is nearly 15,000 items, and 1,200 - 1,400 are on exhibit at any time.

In 1982, the village installed a brick sidewalk on either side of the downtown portion of [[New York State Route 5#Syracuse to Utica|Genesee Street]] which was painted yellow as an homage to the [[yellow brick road]] from the novels and film. The sidewalk required regular upkeep as the color would fade over time and the bricks would chip and crack due to the freeze-thaw cycles in the colder months and regular use throughout the year. As part of a downtown Chittenango revitalization project in 2007, the sidewalks were replaced with concrete which was then stamped and colored to replicate the yellow brick road.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.dot.ny.gov/news/press-releases/2007/2007-06-011 | title = NYSDOT and Village of Chittenango Celebrate Project Completion | date = June 1, 2007}}</ref> The old bricks have been made available to purchase at the All Things Oz museum and during the festival to raise money for the town's festival.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03EED81731F937A35755C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&&scp=2&sq=chittenango%20journal&st=cse | title = Chittenango Journal; Scrub the Yellow Bricks! And Polish That Tin! | date = June 4, 2006 | work=The New York Times}}</ref> In 2017, the village also added a yellow brick road sidewalk to Dr. West memorial park where the annual Oz-stravaganza festival is held.

Chittenango and its yellow brick road featured in episode 6 of [[Michael Portillo]]'s ''[[Great American Railroad Journeys]]'' shown on the BBC. [http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dzdjrk/great-american-railroad-journeys--series-1---6-schenectady-to-rochester]
Chittenango also features a new Wizard of Oz-themed casino that opened on June 2, 2015, called the Yellow Brick Road Casino, operated by the Oneida Indian tribe that also operates the much larger [[Turning Stone Resort Casino|Turning Stone Casino and Resort]] located near [[Verona, New York]].