Happy Friday dear friends! It is hard to believe that it has been two weeks since the 50th anniversary of Little House on the Prairie was celebrated in Simi Valley, California. This post, Big Sky Movie Ranch Little House Festival, is the fourth post in a series of six. You can find the links to all the previous celebration posts at the bottom of the page.
Big Sky Movie Ranch Little House Festival
Big Sky Movie Ranch is a 7000+ acre ranch located in Simi Valley. It features lovely grass meadows, beautiful trees, rolling hills, and much more.
Many of the outdoor scenes of Little House were filmed at this location.
Who remembers the famous fight between Laura and Nellie over Almanzo in Season 6, Episode 2 Back To School part two? The pond in the scene was actually a watering spot for cattle and famously filled with cow pies. Some of which inadvertantly ended up in Alison Arngrim’s mouth while filming the fight. Thankfully, she lived to tell the hilarious tale.
Creating The Facades
When the series ended the land needed to be returned to its natural state. A controversial decision was made to blow up all of the sets. This was captured on film for the made for tv movie, The Last Farewell, which is considered to be the series finale.
When planning for the 50th anniversary celebration began a few years ago talented artist Olan Paz proposed that facades of the iconic buildings be created. The facades were assembled and beautifully painted at a warehouse in Anaheim. Paz and his fabulous team, Lisa Kavarian Hiatt, Monica Bagnara, and Dana R. Amann, worked tirelessly from November 2023 until March 2024 to create some of the most memorable structures associated with Little House. My dear friend graciously shared this journey on his facebook page.
Welcome To Walnut Grove
The facades were then moved from the warehouse and positioned in place at Big Sky about a week before the 50th anniversary celebration began.
Guests were brought by bus to the site.
Photo courtesty of Michael Scott Alexander Smith.
Our group’s amazing guide was the dazzling Jenna. (I had admired her true vintage Gunne Sax skirt and lovely cameo necklace featuring The Three Graces.)
My eyes filled with tears when seeing the Walnut Grove sign.
I am so thankful to my friend Kevin Tison for graciously sharing his close up images of the facades.
Kevin ran all of the amazing panels at the festival.
Side note: Kevin dressed up in the Almanzo costume for his wonderful performance at the Palm Sunday Service which you can view on my Instagram. You don’t want to miss Miss Ketty Lester (Hester Sue Terhune) singing accompanied by Kevin on the keyboard.
Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls Wilder) and Kevin Tison living his best life as Almanzo Wilder.
I almost felt like I could walk right up the steps of the church/schoolhouse.
Other Structures
Other facades included the Harriet Oleson Institute, also known as the school for the blind.
The Little House
Of course the most iconic facade was that of the Little House.
Glorious photo courtesty of Kevin Tison.
Top Of The Hill
The famous opening scene was recreated at the top of the hill.
I hope you have enjoyed taking a closer look at the fabulous facades at Big Sky Movie Ranch.
You are welcome to use the images taken by me in the post. Please credit either myself, Laura Ingalls Gunn, or my website www.decortoadore.net
Other Posts You May Enjoy
You can view numerous reels on my Instagram page.
There is also a video on my YouTube channel.
Coming Soon!
Panels, Vendors and More Oh My!
What a labor of love that must have been. It would have been so cool to see in person. I’m glad you got to! Thanks for sharing it with us.
so cool and thanks for sharing. It makes me remember those days of watching the show and loving every minute. So glad you were a part of the festivities.
How fun to visit Walnut Grove again with its’ fabulous facades! I thought the way they ended the series on the last show with blowing up the town was very disturbing. They could have ended it in a way that left the audience with a good feeling.
Laura, the link to the Costume and Exhibit Area goes to the schoolhouse post. I scrolled through your last few posts and don’t see the costume one, though I am sure I saw it earlier. Was it taken down?
This definitely looks like they went all out for a really complete experience!