Area stores offer 'last shot' at Potter parties
When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the grand finale of J.K. Rowling's mega-selling series, goes on sale at the stroke of midnight on Friday (12:01 a.m. Saturday, actually), Chicago area bookstores are preparing for the largest onslaught of Potter fans yet.
Dozens of stores are planning Harry Potter parties, most starting between 6 and 10 p.m. Friday, complete with Potter trivia games, Potter spelling bees, Potter costume contests and other manifestations of Pottermania.
In many neighborhoods and municipalities, nearby restaurants, bars and other businesses are getting into the act, offering food and drink specials, performances and other Potter-themed promotions.
"This is the last shot to be part of this kind of party," says Kris Nugent, manager of Anderson's Bookshop at 123 W. Jefferson in Naperville, which will open its "Party That Shall Not Be Named" at 6 p.m.
The party -- which takes its moniker from the evil Lord Voldemort, also known as He Who Must Not Be Named -- will feature a celebration of raptors (especially owls) and a chess match in which participants will function as living chess pieces.
"We had thousands of people for the last book [The Half-Blood Prince]," Nugent says, "and I think we'll have even more this time."
Angelique Grandone of Andersonville's Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, expects a similarly gratifying turnout, noting that the store has already pre-sold more than 400 copies of Deathly Hallows.
And the major book chains aren't missing out on the fun.
Most area Borders and Barnes & Noble stores will be burning the midnight oil as well, expecting to move thousands of copies, most of them pre-sold, before shutting down between 1 and 2 a.m. Saturday.
Once the buying frenzy begins, lines are expected to be long, but many stores have plans to keep things orderly and efficient.
"We're going to be giving out color-coded wristbands," says Nicole Hermon, operations manager at Borders at 150 N. State. "We'll be taking groups of about 250 up to the register."
The book's cover price is $34.99, but most stores will be offering deep discounts, bringing the price to around $20.