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How muggles can celebrate the next Harry Potter story

Naperville is about to find out whether the magic has stayed with Harry Potter.

For the third time, the city's downtown is throwing a Harry Potter-themed party on Saturday, July 30. Each of the first two Potter parties, in 2005 and 2007, drew crowds estimated in the tens of thousands and heralded the release of one of J.K. Rowling's seven books about the fictional wizard's adventures.

This party, dubbed The Party That Shall Not Be Named in a reference to the story's arch-villain, precedes the midnight release of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I and II,” a play script based on a Rowling story.

Organizers say they are uncertain about how many fans will materialize but are optimistic the party will be a big hit like its predecessors.

“Who knows? It is nine years later,” said Katie Wood, executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance, which is coordinating the event's presentation. “People love it. Businesses are crazy excited about it.”

  Organizers believe Harry Potter still has a magical hold on readers' imaginations and are planning a party in downtown Naperville in anticipation of the latest installment in the saga. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com, JULY 2005

Partygoers will gather at the city's core to participate in costume and trivia contests, take wand-making, potion-making and spell-making classes, watch movie screenings and visit about 50 downtown businesses masquerading as locales referenced in the Potter tales. Several merchants will offer giveaways, contests, raffles and discounts; some will give shoppers an opportunity to donate to local charities.

Wood said booksellers in town plan to stay open for the book-release moment, when the calendar rolls over to July 31.

Naperville Public Library patrons who put the new book on hold will receive their copies at midnight at Nichols Library, which is staying open seven hours past its usual Saturday closing time, said Anne Bultman, adult and teen services supervisor. Eighty copies were ordered, she said.

“That's just to fulfill the holds,” she said. Additional copies will be available through the library's Popular Picks program.

Bultman said Nichols will be decorated to appear like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the fictional boarding school in the Potter series.

The library will host a free movie marathon beginning at 9 a.m., a wizard training camp for young children, a trivia contest, raffle drawings, craft classes, photo-taking sessions and, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., a special presentation for children ages 10 and older called “Hidden Harry Potter.”

“A presenter will give behind-the-scenes facts about the movies,” said Mary Rogers, library multimedia associate.

Bultman said library staff is welcoming the event with enthusiasm.

“People are volunteering to come in,” she said.

  After a day of Potter-inspired activities, fans will be able to pick up their copies of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I and II" at downtown Naperville bookstores staying open for the midnight release. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com, JULY 2005

She expects the same level of passion from other rabid fans.

“Of course, people love (Harry Potter) and they're going to come to this,” she said. “I don't know that people are as excited about the book as they are about celebrating Harry Potter. The Downtown Naperville Alliance has been so great about getting this organized.”

Wood said Jefferson Avenue will be closed between Main and Webster streets. The main stage at the corner of Jefferson and Webster will feature dancers, costume contests, bagpipers, raptor shows and theater presentations.

“We participated in this at the first event. It was the most amazing thing in Naperville,” said Kandiss Hernandez, executive director of Center Stage Theater and Kidz Kabaret. Members of both theater troupes will be on hand for the event, she said.

“No one anticipated the 2007 Harry Potter party to be what it was,” she said.

Hernandez said actors will perform scenes from Harry Potter books and movies. Actors also will create mannequin-like living portraits that occasionally move, like the magical portraits in the Potter books, in store windows throughout downtown.

  Actors will re-create scenes from Harry Potter movies and pose as living portraits in the windows of downtown Naperville shops during the party leading to the release of the newest wizard story. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com, JULY 2005

“The people I have in charge of this are definite Potter people,” Hernandez said. “They are super passionate about that book series.”

Hernandez said the party likely will draw both new and old fans.

“It's been a part of their childhood,” she said of veteran fans. “They grew up with Harry Potter.”

The party also will feature trolley rides, carillon music, Quidditch demonstrations in Central Park, and special events at the DuPage Children's Museum.

The new book and the play, which will be presented on stage in London's West End Theatre, pick up Harry's story years after the last book's conclusion, Bultman said.

Wood said curiosity about this next chapter in Harry Potter's story is building.

“People are eager to find out,” she said. “The love of the Harry Potter book series is real.”

Naperville library to celebrate Harry Potter book release

If you go

What: Harry Potter Party aka The Party That Shall Not Be Named

When: 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday, July 30; some events begin as early as 7 a.m.

Where: Downtown Naperville

Info: downtownnaperville.com

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