ROCKLAND — The Wizard of Oz is coming to Rockland in a way you’ve never seen before.

The exhibition,The Wonderful World of Oz: Selections from the Willard Carroll/Tom Wilhite Collection, opens at the Farnsworth Art Museum Saturday, Oct. 12, and runs through March 2014.  A private party and screening will be held for Farnsworth Members Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. celebrating the opening of the exhibition. On Sunday, Oct. 13, The Farnsworth will offer a free lecture at 1 p.m. to give insight into the origins of the collection.

The Midcoast is home to two of the movie’s greatest collectors. Willard Carroll was only 4-years-old when he began collecting pieces from The Wizard of Oz. An American film producer, writer and director, he has amassed close to 170,000 objects of memorabilia and is recognized as having the largest privately held collection in the world. Several books, including The Wizard of Oz Collectors' Treasury and All Things Oz have been published displaying parts of his collection, which includes the Wicked Witch of the West's hourglass. He also wrote and produced the video series, The Oz Kids. He established Hyperion Pictures with Thomas L. Wilhite, a former Disney executive who greenlighted Return to Oz. 

Carroll and Wilhite approached The Farnsworth Art Museum about establishing an exhibit.

“Our director, Chris, was just over the moon about the idea,” said Farsnworth Communications Officer David Troup. “It’s just a real fun, family-friendly exhibition that engages new audiences. The thing that’s really going to make this different is that it’s not just the movie, it’s the books, the 1904 play, the materials and memorabilia. They culled some vital pieces from their collection, for instance, not just original costumes and props from the movie, like the fabulous hourglass and models of the flying monkeys, but also puzzles, games and books and marketing elements like posters from the movie and original play.”

“When you start a collection like this, the collection starts to take on a life of its own,” said Troup, who said that Carroll and Wilhite may be entertaining the idea of opening their own museum at some point.

And it doesn’t stop there. On Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. the Strand Theatre will screen the original 1939 35mm classic, The Wizard of Oz.

“We’re doing tons of programming around this,” said Troup. “The 35mm version is not the kind that just anybody can get. It’s called a library copy and only a museum can request it, so we made the request and we’re presenting it in partnership with the Strand.”

The price for The Strand matinee is $7.50 for all seats. Tickets are available at the box office, day-of-show, 30 minutes prior to the screening. For more information visit farnsworthmuseum.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com