Visitors to the Swan Hills Municipal Library on the afternoon of May 6 got a taste of stepping into the Wizarding World of J. K. Rowling’s ever-popular Harry Potter books.
The first detail one noticed on stepping through the library doors was a set of footprints on the floor leading deeper into the building, reminiscent of the Marauder’s Map (a magical document that detailed every location in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including the locations of the castle’s occupants) introduced in the third installment of the series, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” On continuing further into the building, the library was brimming with Harry Potter decorations and memorabilia, with the first movie of the series, “Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone,” playing in the background on the big screen TV.
Participants could choose a button pin at the library desk with the crest of one of Hogwarts’ four “houses” (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin) to be their house for the day before joining in on the Harry Potter-themed crafts. The crafts included colouring their favourite house crest and paper neckties in their house colours. Hogwarts-themed paper fortune-tellers were available for those eager to glimpse into their magical futures.
The library’s meeting room was decorated with floating candles, a platform 9 ¾ backdrop (the magical location where students board the “Hogwarts Express” train to take them to the school) for photos and a photo frame to take “wanted” pictures for The Daily Prophet, the newspaper of the Wizarding World.
As the afternoon continued, attendees were invited into the Town Council chambers, which had been reconfigured to look like the famous magical school’s Great Hall, where gatherings and feasts are regularly held in the books and movies. Once seated, the young wizards and witches were treated to cups of butterbeer (a favourite treat for the story’s characters) and cupcakes decorated in the four house colours, complete with golden snitch decorations.
It was a successful event, complete with the wonder and whimsy of the Wizarding World created in the Harry Potter books and brought to life in the franchise’s movies. Thank you to the hard-working Swan Hills Library staff for planning this incredible experience and bringing it to life.
By Dean LaBerge, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on May 23, 2023
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