Calling All Muggles: The Harry Potter Festival Is This Weekend

Photo by Darryl Moran

It’s been almost 20 years since we were introduced to the world of wizards, muggles and He Who Must Not Be Named in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and the obsession is not dying down. Every fall thousands of wand-wielding fans flock to Chestnut Hill to manage some mischief during the two-day Harry Potter Festival.

The festivities start on Friday, October 21st, with the Harry Potter Conference at Chestnut Hill College during the day, followed in the evening by the popular Potter Pub Crawl, with the organizers reporting a record 1,000 tickets snapped up in under eight minutes. Both are already sold out.

On Saturday, for the first time, six blocks of Germantown Avenue will be closed to cars for the festival, so you can cast your spells in the street. Here’s your chance to sip Butterbeer and snack on Bertie Bott’s jelly beans while listening to the Muggles Read-a-thon (a reading of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), get lost in the Triwizard straw maze, and snap photos at an Instagram-ready Hedwig’s Hollow. Characters from the books will be wandering about, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons and uncovering your true nature with Sorting Hat demonstrations.

Photo courtesy of Visit Philadelphia

Coinciding with the fest is the seventh annual Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup Quidditch Tournament, taking place on the Chestnut Hill College campus.

All the details for the Harry Potter Festival are here. Parking is going to be a pain in the horcrux, so take SEPTA if you can.

Follow @RachelVigoda on twitter.