Disney Legends, Music and Collectibles Drive Upcoming Chapter Events

Several NFFC Chapters have recently announced forthcoming events. The events will explore Disney history, raise funds for charity and offer Disney fans the chance to meet and share their passion. In some cases, Chapters are hosting the events, and in others spreading the word about exciting Disney events in their area. Either way, the events are open to all members who may be in the area or want to plan a Disney escape. Here's what's on the horizon:

The Yosemite-Oakhurst-Sierra 49EARS Chapter is pleased to announce the 7th Annual Disney Daze fundraiser on August 12, 2006.  The event is held at the Masonic Lodge in Oakhurst from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a Mickey pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

This year we have a special dinner with Disney and NFFC Legend Bob Gurr and other Disney guests from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.  You'll find lots of Disney vendors and family fun with raffles, silent auctions and a children's area supported by The Children's museum of the Sierras.  There is an admission charge.

For more information, please email goofy49r@sti.net or call  559/683-1928.

The OceanEars Chapter of Rhode Island has announced plans to host a Disneyana show and sale this fall.

The event will be held on Friday, November 17, at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The MountainEars Chapter announces that in Seattle, in November, a display of Disney musical materials (the likes of which the public has never seen in one place) will be unveiled at Experience Musical Project (EMP). The exhibit – Disney: The Music Behind the Magic -- will run for a year, but a lightning rod of excitement is focused on the first weekend.

Marni Nixon, Tony Baxter, Leonard Maltin, Stacia Martin and scores of others are expected to be on hand to kick off this one-of-a-kind event. Such Disney music legends as Richard Sherman, Phil Collins and Alan Menken will appear in taped presentations. As many as 50 Disney representatives, to help celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Disney Records, are due. More about that in a moment.

The centerpiece of all the excitement will be the exhibits, and the exhibits will be breathtaking. They are being supplied by the Disney Archives, present and former Imagineers, and collectors.

"As far as I know," said EMP archivist Jasen Emmons, this "is the first museum exhibit to explore how music has been the foundation of Disney's success in everything from animation, live-action film and television to Broadway and the Billboard charts."

In addition to numerous videos of interviews prepared just for this show by EMP's Emmons, here is a small sample of the exhibits:

• Numerous items related to Annette Funicello's musical career, including the record jacket for her debut album, Annette, plus a record review of "Tall Paul" and the robe she wore in Babes in Toyland.
• Similar treasures related to Davy Crockett, including Fess Parker's personal copy of the original song music, the 45-rpm single of "Ballad of Davy Crockett," and appropriate snapshots of kids in their Davy Crockett outfits.
• The score and theater program for "Steamboat Willie," along with materials from "The Gallopin' Gaucho" and "Karnival Kid."
• Original soundtrack, notebook and lobby card from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• Sound-effects items used in Snow White, Bambi, The Rescuers and to make the sound of Mickey's car. (The latter is four connected glass bottles.)
• A bevy of goodies from the Broadway version of The Lion King, including costumes and headdresses.

Most of Disney's other epics and big stars will be represented. The list is a fraction of the artifacts included. As November approaches, more details may be available at EMP's Web site, http://www.emplive.org/ .

For those able to take a fall weekend off and get to Seattle Nov. 3-4-5, Emmons has scheduled at least nine separate events for the weekend. Lest anyone question Emmons' credentials, he has mounted EMP exhibits for Bob Dylan and The Beatles, among others.

At an April meeting of the MountainEars (Washington state's chapter in the National Fantasy Fan Club), Emmons created enormous excitement in discussing his plans. He showed part of an interview with legendary songwriter Richard Sherman that will be one of a score or more that will be included at EMP. In addition to interactive exhibits, visitors will get an audio-visual walk through Disney music history.

Weekend highlights:

• Friday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m.: Emmons will share excerpts of great artists talking about how their Disney music came to life.
• Saturday, Nov. 4, 3:15 p.m.: Disney music trivia contest; 4 p.m., being an  Imagineer, by Imagineer Joe Herrington; 5 p.m., sound-effects game; 5:30 p.m., Greg Ehrbar, author of the new and acclaimed book MouseTracks, moderates a panel featuring Disney Records producer Randy Thornton, Disney historian/artist Stacia Martin, and Disney voice artist Ginny Tyler; 7 p.m., live Disney songfest.
• Sunday, Nov. 5, 11 a.m.: Emmons moderates a panel of producers Randy Thornton and Les Perkins, Disney historian Paula Sigman Lowery, and Jeff Kurtti, author and creative director of the Walt Disney Museum; 1 p.m., Marni Nixon (who was the singing voice for such stars as Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn) talks about her Disney recordings and autographs her new memoir, I Could Have Sung All Night.

The Seattle show will be a homecoming for some presenters. Marni Nixon, now a New York dweller, was raised in the Seattle area. Jeff Kurtti, a resident of the Los Angeles area, grew up in Seattle. Ginny Tyler, long-time Disney voice, resides in the Seattle area.

As spring turned into summer, Emmons was still working to enhance the exhibits and expand the weekend lineup. His hopes included filling a star-studded program with even more big names. Stay tuned.

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