Oak Park gears up for Harry Potter release
One last time, Oak Park will countdown the release of a Harry Potter book with a daylong festival next month.
The Countdown to Midnight Book Release Festival begins at mid-day July 20 and culminates with release of the seventh Potter book, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, at 12:01 a.m. the next morning.
The final release party is bittersweet for Rose Joseph, owner of The Magic Tree Bookstore, which started the Harry Potter party phenomenon in Oak Park four years ago.
"I feel like it's defined our whole existence here, the last 10 years," Joseph said. "Some things are before Harry Potter, others are after Harry Potter. It's like the whole industry changed after that."
The day's events include a Quidditch World Cup tournament at Mills Park. Quidditch is a lacrosse-type game played by wizards on broomsticks.
There's also a divination tea at Pleasant Home, 217 Home Ave., a Harry Potter-based debate by the Brooks Middle School debate club, a speaking engagement by author Emerson Sparks of the Potter fan Web site mugglenet.com, and the wizard prison Azkaban at First United Church, 848 Lake St., Joseph said.
"Kids can walk through the prison, so there will be some dementors there to scare people and maybe ... Malfoy in some corner or something, whimpering away," Joseph said.
Wizard Chess is planned at Scoville Park, run by the Royal Knights, a north suburban chess club, Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Rich Carollo said.
Wonder Works Children's Museum will have Muggle Golf at Scoville Park, Carollo said, and then a Harry Potter sleep over at the museum, 6445 North Ave.
The Lake Theater, 1020 Lake St., will have a costume contest and will show the latest Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," Carollo said.
Also scheduled during the day are herbology classes, Diagon Alley and the Slytherin Reptile House, all features of the Potter series.
The Oak Park Public Library also plans to stay open until midnight, Carollo said, and will host activities throughout the day.
Volunteers are needed to help with the day's activities, Carollo said. Work can range from manning the information booth to assisting at events, such as Quidditch.
"Many tasks need to get done over the course of the day, depending on their time commitment and what they're able to do," Carollo said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call Michelle Dirks at the visitors center, (708) 524-7800, or can send an e-mail to michelle@visitoakpark.com.
With the Potter series ending, Joseph said people probably hope there will be another phenomenon like it on the horizon. But she's not sure another will come along.
People like stories where children overcome great obstacles, Joseph said, but the magical part of Harry Potter was appealing.
"Every kid could relate to it, too," Joseph said. "The whole school scene, the rivalries ... some typical stuff kids go through. That was apparent there, too."