The city of Aurora did an excellent job pulling off their first ever Harry Potter Festival!…read more
Tickets:
This was a ticketed event ($3 cash per ticket - max 5 per person) and required in-person purchase several months prior to the actual event. Even though I arrived a few hours after the ticket purchase start time, I only stood in line for about an hour to get mine. A lot of people had complaints, but it honestly wasn't bad, especially given all of the publicity!
The festival itself:
They planned it out very well and had multiple events and activities, most kid-focused and friendly, but good for older fans too. Activities included a quidditch workshop, spell book creation, Ollivander's wands (x2), a potions lab, mocktail creations, Herbology, how to plant a Whomping Willow, Care of Magical Creatures, a self-guided Horcrux Hunt, Quiddich playing a, costume parade, a ride on the Hogwarts Express. Finally, there were multiple vendors in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade! Many of the activities required online preregistration, though many crafting events were free and just required you to stand in the queue. It was spaced out enough that the crowds were manageable and the lines weren't too long.
Goods vendors in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade included bath bombs (including a House Reveal version - cool!), jewelry, bags, paintings, plants, wall decor, and much more! Everything was really cute and went along with the Harry Potter/Hogwarts theme. There were a few food and butter beer vendors, including 4-packs of bottled butter beer.
A lot of the local businesses also got into the spirit of the festival and decorated their storefronts. I spied Wayne and Garth (20th anniversary of Wayne's World!) sporting Hogwars hats - cute! The local Paramount theatre offered four Harry Potter movie showings for $1 apiece, had Harry Potter-themed drinks and candy, and had an awesome 9 3/4 platform in their lobby!
Security (and Aurora PD) was posted throughout the event and were friendly and helpful. Port-o-Johns were plentiful and stocked with hand sanitizer. By 2pm, garbage cans were overflowing.. so that's something they can keep an eye on next time.
Great job on a really well thought out and organized event, Aurora!