October 21st and 22nd, thousands of people gathered at Chestnut Hill for the annual Harry Potter Festival, a self-explanatory gathering to celebrate J.K. Rowling's literary child. Not only did the college have Harry Potter-themed tents, but the town was decked out as well. Although the Festival started on Friday night with a Pub Crawl featuring the main beverage of the night, Butterbeer, my friends and I opted to not pay a lot of money and went on Saturday instead. Since there was much more advertising this year compared to when it was held in 2015, Chestnut Hill was overrun with Muggles and Wizards alike. Despite the fact that it was much colder than usual, and it was raining, we still managed to have a decent time. Parking was an absolute nightmare, but besides that, getting to see nearly everyone dressed up with some sort of Harry Potter costume or attire on, was definitely worth all the driving.
When we first arrived in the morning, we went to the college and watched a Quidditch match--Kutztown vs. F&M. As this was going on, music from the films was playing in the background, putting everyone in a festive mood and making the Quidditch match seem even more magical. For most of the time Kutztown was in the lead, thanks to their fabulous player who scored nearly every time. For the longest time it looked as though they were going to win, but then the Snitch was released. Both Seekers, wearing bright sweat bands on their heads, avidly flew after it, but it put up a good fight. Ultimately, F&M won due to its lucky Seeker. While this was happening, and my friends and I were huddled together in the freezing cold, the announcer commentated during the game, and although his remarks weren't quite as good as Lee Jordan's, he had just as much enthusiasm. After the match was over, my friends and I walked around and looked at the magical booths on campus.
The first booth we came to sold Time Turners, though they were all gone by the time we got there. They also had Chocolate Frog soap, actual chocolate Chocolate Frogs, miniature wands, candles that smelled of various characters and places, and Bubble Potion, though I'm not sure what that actually was. The next booth we came to was called 'SISTERCRAFT' which sold broomsticks. Some were normal wooden brooms, while others had dyed tails the color of each House. Next door was a booth called 'Frosted Wand Creations' where people could make their own wands. I didn't get a good look at that booth as it was crowded, but it seemed as though there was an assortment of colorful wands available for purchase and to create. Once we were done looking at the booths we decided to get food and then walk to town, as the line for the buses was Riddikulus-ly long and walking warmed us up.
The town was even more crowded than the college, so walking was incredibly slow and there were barely any opportunities to look at what various merchants were selling. One tent we arrived at sold "Potter for President" buttons and posters, but by the time we'd reached it, they were out of buttons. Although the posters were cheap, I'd really wanted to buy a button, so that was disappointing. As we continued walking around it was difficult to see what the shops looked like, as there were thousands of people milling about, so instead we focused on what was in front of us: puppies! There were puppies everywhere! Some were short-haired and others were shaggy, some were with couples while others were with whole groups of people. Still others dressed up. One dog wore a cape while another wore a shark costume. A Golden Retriever even had a lion mane around its neck! My favorite puppies; however, were two large and poofy white dogs that flaunted their House pride. One wore a Gryffindor tie while the other sported Emerald Green. Obviously I took a photo with the latter. Out of all the costumes that day that one was my favorite by far. Of course, since the animals were dressed up people obviously were too.
Throughout the day my friends and I spotted a child wearing a Dobby mask, multiple Draco Malfoys, at least two Trelawneys, a father dressed as Hagrid carrying his baby dressed as Harry, a child in a Hedwig onesie, and Gilderoy Lockhart, and Rita Skeeter (both in character, posing for pictures and acting obnoxiously, Lockhart telling people to take pictures of him while Skeeter's notepad and quill were at the ready).
Overall, although it was freezing and the weather was by no means ideal, my friends and I had a pretty magical time. I'd definitely go back, and if it's not so cold in the future, probably dress as a Slytherin student...maybe Pansy Parkinson.
If you're interested in reading more about the Harry Potter Festival you can check it out here!
