Wizards and Potterheads rejoice! On July 31, fans were transported once again into the magical world of Harry Potter and company with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a script edition of the play by the same name. To celebrate, us Fangirls and our friends attended the midnight release party at Hicklebees book store. You can watch our video at the end that includes a selfie station, exploring this unique book store, and a fangirl's initial reaction upon getting her hands on the book. That night was magical and if you want to see the top 5 highlights of the night, grab your wands, put on your Hogwarts robes, and welcome back into one of the world's most beloved series.
1. Selfie Station
Since midnight release parties are rare these days, Hicklebees created a selfie station complete with a giant cover of The Cursed Child along with various props such as the Sorting Hat and giant faces of the actors from the movies. Not included: Colin Creevey taking your photos a la Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
2. Cosplayers
Even though the event was late, we saw quite a number of people dressed in cosplay, from Hogwarts students to characters from portraits. Some of them were so good that we wondered if they read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and succeeded in making a Polyjuice Potion.
3. Teen Advisory Board
Hicklebee's Teen Advisory Board, or TAB for short, is their version of San Jose Public Library's Teensreach program. In addition to roles such as crowd control and introducing authors, they also treated guests to an initial reading of the first scene of The Cursed Child. Almost as exciting as reciting “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good” with the Marauder’s Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
4. Harry Potter Muggle Wall
Scholastic sent Hicklebee's a huge sign titled “What does Harry Potter mean to you?” It's a touching tribute to the series and the responses below ranged from “ Harry Potter taught me to believe in myself” to “Thank you Harry Potter, for making my childhood magical”. It's a much happier way of using a wall than the bloody warning in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
5. Owning The Cursed Child in our hands
It's not a midnight release party until we have The Cursed Child in our hands! As we looked at the people in line to receive their books, they all have the same look of complete bliss on receiving one of the most highly anticipated books of the year. Alyssa got her hands on the very last copy of the book that night, and as you can see, it's almost as exciting as winning the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (minus all the horrific events).
As you can see, every single person enjoyed themselves at the event and it's great to see that the magic is still going strong almost 10 years later. We're curious, what are some of your favorite Harry Potter moments from the books? Comment below to spread the magic. If you would like a sneak peek of our next adventure, you can follow us on our social media accounts below. Until next time, mischief managed.
We would like to give a huge THANK YOU to Hicklebees for allowing us to film inside the store for the event. If the name Hicklebees sounds familiar, it may be because you were a few of our lucky winners from participating in San Jose Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge. Hicklebees was one of the local businesses who graciously donated prizes for one of our most popular programs.
Fun Fact: We actually bumped into Dolores, who is one of the Friends of the Library Volunteers at Bascom Library. Each Library Branch has their own group of Friends who do amazing work from organize book sales to sponsoring library events, such as the very popular Happy Birds. If you want to join this amazing group, you're just a few steps away. Begin at the sjpl.org website and click on the Your Library menu. Next, click Volunteer in the "Get Involved" column. From there you have a wealth of choices to pick, from becoming a Friend to becoming a Tech Mentor. Can we also take a minute to obsess over her daughter Rebeca's shirt? It says My Patronus is a Bookworm. We'll raise our butterbeer to that!
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This blog has been a collaboration between Adilene Rogers and Alyssa Mendoza.
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