October 13, 2011
Our Guide To Chestnut Hill’s Epic Harry Potter Weekend, October 14-16, Featuring Quidditch, Defense Against The Dark Arts Classes, A Costume Contest, A Pub Crawl, Wizards Chess Tournament And Much More
Harry Potter fans have one place to be this weekend and one place only: Chestnut Hill. The neighborhood is pulling all the stops for a fun-filled Harry Potter Weekend with Quidditch, magic, Butterbeer, costume contests, a parade and so much more. (Top left photo courtesy Warner Bros.; other photos courtesy Chestnut Hill Business Association)
This is going to be amazing.
Chestnut Hill is transforming into Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley for a full-blown Harry Potter Weekend, October 14-16.
All weekend long, spellbinding parades, butterbeer, wizards chess games and much, much more will hypnotize you into a Hogwarts oblivion.
If you’re all out of floo powder, and without a broomstick, catch the complimentary Hogwarts Express (minus, sadly, platform nine and three-quarters) to travel to each event!
The festivities kick off Friday, October 14 at 6 p.m. with the ceremonial releasing of Hedwig the Owl by Hogwarts’ headmaster Dumbledore, along with a parade of Quidditch teams at the Top of the Hill Plaza.
After that, here’s all you need to know, before you don your Gryffindor robes and head over to Chestnut Hill, wand in tow:
Quidditch Tournament
Harry Potter Weekend coincides with the free, open-to-the-public 2nd Annual Philadelphia Brotherly Love Quidditch Cup Tournament at Chestnut Hill College, Saturday, October 15, noon-6 p.m.
Free and open to the public, the tournament includes 12 college and community Quidditch teams from the Philadelphia area and beyond and will feature two Quidditch pitches with games played simultaneously for spectators to view. The best three colleges will compete for the Cup.
Cheer on your favorite team, whether it’s Vassar, Penn State, John Hopkins, University of Maryland, Stonybrook, Jetpack Ninja Dinosaurs or the State College Area High School Quidditch Club.
Shopping
All weekend long, shops and restaurants will magically change into places right off J.K. Rowling’s pages. Robertson’s Flowers blossoms into the Greenhouse at Hogwarts, complete with Professor Sprout teaching herbology; McNally’s Tavern becomes the Leaky Cauldron; the Night Kitchen Bakery transforms into Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop; and O’Doodles Toy Store will be transformed to Weasley’s Wizarding Wheeezes. There’s a full list below.
Pub Crawl
On Friday night, there will be a Harry Potter-themed pub crawl from 7-9 p.m., at five popular participating locales along Germantown Avenue including Tavern on the Hill (aka Hog’s Head Tavern), McNally’s (aka the Leaky Cauldron), Campbell’s, Chestnut Grill (aka Hogmeade Grill) and Chestnut 7. It will be followed by a spooky ghost tour.
Parade
The First Annual Hogsmeade Village Harry Potter Costume Contest and Parade will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 16. Join the procession through Hogsmeade and win prizes for the best costumes.
Other Events
Stagecrafters Theater will host Defense against the Dark Arts classes 12:30 and 2:30 on Saturday and Valley Green-gotts Bank challenges you to face the goblin, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. Even Morris Arboretum’s Scarecrow Contest gets caught in the spell, featuring a category devoted to Harry Potter.
Place yourself in the Tri Wizards Tournament as you wind your way through the Woodmere Art Museum’s Owl’s Eye Hay Maze. Take a Potions Class at Spa Elysium or Apothecary Gardens at 2 p.m. on Sunday, or decorating wizarding cookies at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Bredenbeck’s. There’s a full event schedule, below.
We’ve included a full schedule of events during the weekend, as well as a legend that tells you which shops and restaurants have been transformed into which Hogsmeade locales, below.
First one to the Philosopher’s Stone wins. See you there!
Harry Potter Weekend in Chestnut Hill
When: October 14-16
Where: Throughout Chestnut Hill
Cost: Free
More info: www.chestnuthillpa.com
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