An estimated 15,000 people crowded The Avenue last Friday for the “Countdown to Midnight” celebration of the release of the seventh and final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
Merchants decked their shops with Harry Potter-themed offerings, while restaurants offered Butter Beer and other magical confections. Oak Park Avenue north and south of Lake Street became Diagon Alley for the day, centered around events at The Magic Tree bookstore, the shop that originated the idea for a Harry Potter book release event in 2000 that made national news.
Many who thronged the area wore wizard and witch costumes inspired by the Harry Potter series. Families walked together, enthusiastically discussing the books and their favorite characters.
Wizards Chess with living chess pieces got people’s attention in Scoville Park; Quidditch matches were held at Mills Park all afternoon. Another favorite event was the Prison of Azkaban (underground passages at the First United Church). One participant said, “Azkaban was awesome. We got charged, put on the wall of shame, sentenced; we got to get involved.”
Divination Teas were offered both at Pleasant House and at The Whomping Tree (Magic Tree Bookstore). The Oak Park Library had numerous Potter-themed events, including a class in potion making. Children swarmed each event, delighted to see the world they’d been reading about come to life.
Crowds swelled as the afternoon ended. The most popular event started at 8:30. Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen of Mugglenet.com (the most popular Harry Potter Web site) spoke to thousands in Scoville Park about their bestselling book “What Will Happen in Book 7?”
Finally, at 11:30, numerous boxes of the new book were delivered to the Library Plaza to enthusiastic cheers and long lines. Magic Tree sold 850 preordered copies. A giant video screen counted down the minutes and secondsto midnight as the crowd looked on.
As if it were New Year’s Eve, everyone counted down the final 20 seconds. As midnight struck, the crowd cheered wildly, and groups of eager readers walked up to tables as volunteers cut open the boxes and handed the Potter books to their new owners. As people got their books they screamed and laughed and held them up in the air for the benefit of the crowd and the cameras and the live TV broadcasts.
After the climatic countdown, the festival was over, but the reading had only begun, with many there promising to start right away.