Harry Potter Extravaganza!

My case of Potter-itis has been cured!

I'm all Pottered out.

I'm still tired... but so happy!!  The Harry Potter Release Party Extravaganza was a hit!!!  It was spectacular, it was... CROWDED!!!! (o.k. I'll stop with the exclamation points just read everything from this point on with lots of excited enthusiasm).

As I volunteered to run the Potions class and had 3 different things the participants could choose from, I had no time to take pictures.  Therefore I am shamelessly borrowing from my partner-in-crime for this (and future because we haven't learned our lesson, yet) event.  Ami, the Youth Services librarian you've heard me mention before has a spectacular blog post on this that you won't want to miss.  She managed to collect pictures from every area we had activities. You can also click the link to her blog from the top right corner here (A Mom's Spare Time) any time to read or follow her.

So, back to Potions class.  I wanted the kids (I say kids throughout but it was also for adults--anyone who wanted to participate--and I did have a few of those) to mix something and be able to take it home to use/play with later. We had Slug Slime made with powdered newt bone and pixie essence (a.k.a. corn starch and dish soap) and Lethargio Crystals (a.k.a. scented epsom salts) to soothe tired hands after a long day of wand work.  I also had ink to mix up, with parental permission.  The reason for the regulation was that the base was rubbing alcohol and the ink was permanent.  Although, I did have one parent concerned that when I said "permanent ink" I was talking about tattoos.  No, tattooing is not a service provided by this library.

Miniature ink bottle with corks along with small parchment papers and a quill!

The table got very messy, very fast.  Powdered newt bone gets everywhere!

This is my assistant Potions Master.  He was an excellent asset to the Potions class and took his job very seriously.

He was also selected as the costume contest winner for his handmade wand and explanation of his "generic Ravenclaw Student" costume. He gets his sense of character from me, I've got strong genes ;)

Everyone went home with a potion of their choice!

Beyond Potions class, there were more than a dozen other activities and areas to visit.  There were other Hogwarts classes and friendly shops from Diagon Alley.  Ollivander's was fun and we did what I wasn't sure would happen and that's give out all 150 wands my crafting crew (conscripted effort from my kids, nieces and nephews) started building.  We hot glued what seemed like a million pencils, and got some blisters to remind us that hot glue is hot.  Then Ami finished up and painted them brown to create the stock for Ollivander's Shop: "The Wand Chooses the Wizard"!

Participants were then able to practice their wand work with spells, charms, hexes and curses!

For those of an athletic nature, there was a water quidditch match on the front lawn.  In the words of Mrs. Weasley (my counterpart at the reference desk) who was refereeing the game, "It all kind of disintegrated into chaos but everyone had a good time".  That's all we can ever ask.

Party goers were able to refresh themselves with Butter Beer and then visit Honeydukes.

Here is the awesome Ms. Ami and life-saving library assistant Mr. Cliff!

I was excited to get some cool spots to visit in other rooms of the library, as well.  I put together a Horcrux Hunt with clues to lead you to various areas of the collection to gather stickers.  We had visitors to the lovely Mirror of Erised (made by yours truly--too bad I didn't have more time but it turned out well enough).

I love this picture!

But the mirror looks more rocking in this black and white photo by Lucid Dreams Photography

The Pensieve was a popular station for people to jot down their favorite book or scene or even their favorite part of the library! (Bring on the compliments!)

I had fun with concrete to make the Pensieve.

My baby was the Weasley clock in the Burrow.  My sous-crafters (if chefs can have assistants with cool titles and still take credit for the work, I can, too.) helped with the base work and decoupaging and I added the details.

Here's a closer picture.  It's so cool!!!

We also had the memorabilia on display so people could buy last-minute raffle tickets.

We sold raffle tickets to pay for the party and future programs.

And if displays weren't enough, we had some fun interactive stations... you could interact with a Dementor!

Scary, huh?  I guess I kinda made this display, too, since it's my oldest son :D

But not so scary that people ran away.

Although it appears that I was the one in imminent danger of getting my soul sucked out while I interpreted at the costume contest. (no we weren't dancing and he dipped me, although that could be a cool new show, "Dancing with Dementors"!

Even if we didn't everything done that we wanted (our to-do/to-want list was actually pretty intimidating), it was a wonderful, fun, exhilarating and exhausting day.  We celebrated the world-wide, generation-crossing, best-selling world of Harry Potter!!

I still need a nap.