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Quidditch, Butterbeer, Owls, and Ghost Eggs

I was Googling around for an inexpensive treat we could look forward to for the fall, and I found out that there was going to be a Harry Potter festival in Chestertown, Maryland.  Where is Chestertown?  Good question.  I didn’t know either.  But I went with the fact that it was in state and trusted that it couldn’t be longer than a three hour drive.

So we grabbed our robes and wands and headed out last weekend to the Eastern Shore to a small, collegiate river town.

Where we played Quidditch.

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At least until a werewolf ran onto the field and several Aurors had to subdue him.

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And attended potions class.

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We walked around the town for about three hours on a scavenger hunt, going in and out of every store which had been switched over to magical businesses.  The town bookstore became Flourish and Blotts.  The natural food store became the apothecary.  One bank completely converted itself into Honeydukes and gave out FREE CANDY!

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Though some of the stuff was only on display.

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Like the jelly slugs.

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They had decorated every inch of the town with wizarding artifacts.

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And lots of owls.

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The vast majority of the participants were college age since it is a college town. And their costumes were awesome including a Moaning Myrtle that carried around part of a toilet.

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And yes, I wore my robes too.

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And, of course, there was a lot of butterbeer to sample.  And a dueling club to attend.  And wizard bands playing in the park.  And ghost eggs.

There was a table in the park where a school had set up an enormous container of water that looked empty.  But kids could stick their hand in and pull out a little clear egg.

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The ChickieNob promptly squished hers to bits because she is very much the explore-first-cuddle-later sort.  She lives a wonderful, messy life.  Her twin brother held his carefully, refusing to do anything else except nurture his little egg.  Josh finally had to get him a cup so he could take it home.

That night, before bed, he asked me if it was real.  Did he really have a ghost egg?  Would it hatch and would he have his own little ghost?  I had to break his heart and tell him it was a fake.  A polymer bead.  He was a very sad boy that night.

He kept it anyway.

It’s still on his dresser top.

I mean, you never know when your mother is wrong and you’ll get your very own ghost.

16 comments

1 TasIVFer { 10.02.14 at 7:53 am }

Wow – that’s over the top but awesome.

2 Suzanna Catherine { 10.02.14 at 8:04 am }

What an amazing (and quite magical!) afternoon. Thanks for sharing that story. 🙂

3 Suzanna Catherine { 10.02.14 at 8:13 am }

What an amazing (and quite magical!) afternoon. I can’t think of another family who would appreciate all that Harry Potter-ness more than you folks. Thanks for sharing!

4 Rebecca { 10.02.14 at 8:25 am }

Sounds like you had a wonderful day with the kids. Alas I never got my letter to Hogwarts.

5 Suzanna Catherine { 10.02.14 at 8:30 am }

Grrr. Sorry for the double posting. Just when I think I’ve figured out commenting from my phone, well, this happens. Please excuse my newbie mistake.

6 a { 10.02.14 at 9:09 am }

What fun! I can’t imagine a whole town participating in something like that – must be a great place!

7 tigger62077 { 10.02.14 at 9:53 am }

Oh that sounds absolutely magical! What a fabulous outing for you and the whole family!

8 Sharon { 10.02.14 at 12:25 pm }

That sounds so fun! I love that you are as “into” the Harry Potter series as your kids, and I’ll bet they love it, too.

9 Tiara { 10.02.14 at 12:46 pm }

What a town! To do such an elaborate set up. Sounds like great fun

10 knottedfingers { 10.02.14 at 1:12 pm }

Holy Cow! I want a ghost egg! I think I would have been crushed too!

It looks like a great time! I’m a bit jealous that I’m too far away to go! I’m attending a convention tomorrow though so I think that will make up for my sads

11 earthandink { 10.02.14 at 1:39 pm }

In my secret heart of hearts, I hope I write something that makes people want to cos play and throw festivals.

In my secret heart.

12 Northern Star { 10.02.14 at 10:16 pm }

That is the sweetest story I’ve heard all day! Thanks for sharing Mel!

13 Justine { 10.02.14 at 11:53 pm }

WHOA. Awesome. 🙂 There is talk of another Harry Potter festival at P’ton this year, in our residential college. Which might as well be Gryffindor.

14 Battynurse { 10.05.14 at 10:45 pm }

How fabulous! I would love to go to something like that!

15 Sarah { 10.06.14 at 3:00 pm }

This is amazing!!

16 Kasey { 10.13.14 at 1:28 pm }

This is amazing and I can only hope these kinds of events are still happening when my kids are big enough.

(c) 2006 Melissa S. Ford
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