Earlier this week the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove announced the date of their planned Little House on the Prairie TV show reunion. Cast members will return for the 45th anniversary of the first airing of the NBC TV show, September 11, 1974. Walnut Grove started telling people about the reunion a few months ago, but it took them awhile to negoiate with actors to find out which weekend they could get the most. Now they’ve decided.
45th Anniversary Event July 11-14, 2019
It’s come out in their brochure for this year and in some of their advertising, but now it’s time to help get the word out so this event is a big success.
Probable Schedule
If it follows the pattern that their event in honor of the 40th Anniversary, they will have similar schedules for the first 3 days. This information is based on what they did last time, I haven’t heard details for this year, but I assume they’ll be similar.
They divided up the cast members into 3 groups of about 4 actors. Each batch had one line to wait in. The people running the lines were very open to what you could bring into sign, but they did have photos that you could buy in the museum.
During the day you could do all the normal tourism things or stand in line for autographs. They had blocks of time when the performers were signing and built in breaks. Most of the attendees waited in line throughout the breaks, until they started signing again.
Pageant
The Walnut Grove pageant, Fragments of a Dream, is always on Friday and Saturday nights. Last time they had an onstage conversation with the cast with questions taken from the audience. You need pageant tickets to attend it. The earlier you order the better view you get. Reserved seats are folding chairs. Then the fantastic outdoor play about the Ingalls family life in Walnut Grove.
Photos
Last time you could only take photos in passing, no running around the tables. However, on Sunday they have the cast set up and you can go through and get your photo taken with all the cast from the reunion in a posed photo for a fee.
Details
These details are from what happened last time. Watch this blog (subscribe and connect on social media) to give you more information as it’s released and helpful advice.
Remembering Last Time
So stick around here and watch for upcoming posts with information, including videos on what it was like last time. Get started with this nice set of photos from the 40th Anniversary.
CNN Where Are They Now? (with photos) – Some nice before and after photos from the 40th anniversary year. Not convinced that’s Jonathan Gilbert in the after shot since his eyes were blue in the photo from the series and are brown in the now photo and I just can’t believe they’d go to the trouble that colored contacted were in the 1970s for something that didn’t matter like that or that he’d wear that good of brown contacts now.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/08/showbiz/little-house-prairie-cast-where-are-they-now/index.html
Sarah S. Uthoff is a nationally known Laura Ingalls Wilder authority and has presented at five of the Wilder homesites, many times at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, many conferences and numerous libraries, museums, and events around the Midwest. She is the main force behind Trundlebed Tales fighting to bring the History, Mystery, Magic, and Imagination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and other greats of children’s literature and history to life for a new generation. How can you help? Attend one of her programs, schedule one yourself, watch her videos, listen to her podcast, look at her photos, and find her on Facebook , Twitter , Google+, LinkedIn , SlideShare, and Academia.edu . Professionally she is a reference librarian at Kirkwood Community College and former director of the Oxford (Iowa) Public Library.
Sarah's Notebook 
Glad we have the dates. Thanks for spreading the word. (Oh, and I’ve been told by one who should know, that’s NOT Jonathan Gilbert. At least not “our” J.G.)
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