Ithaca’s Wizarding Weekend: Welcome to the World of Magic
When J.K.Rowling started writing Harry Potter, she didn’t know how popular it would be and how many people would be deeply into the magic world she created. Similarly, before attending Ithaca’s “Wizarding Weekend,” I couldn’t have imagined how fantastic this event would be and how realistic this event was.
My friends and I were all fans of Harry Potter, so when we heard about the event, we didn’t hesitate to decide the we’d be spending the weekend in Ithaca. When we arrived at the event, we caught up with the Adult Costume Contest. People were dressed up like Harry Potter characters, and I bet all the characters from the books were there. We saw Harry Potter, Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Severus Snape, Rubeus Hagrid and even a dragon!
All of the participants showed off their costumes on a stage and the presenter selected the best costume based on the applause from the audience. Among all the participants in the costume contest, cute little Harry and Malfoy were my favorite. They looked just like the characters coming from the magic world Rowling writes about.
After watching the costume contest, we walked onto the main street of the activity. When I saw all of the different activities set up, it gave me an unbelievable feeling that I walked into the world of magic! People wearing conjurers’ costumes would grab you while you were walking past you and magic creatures were running on the road. People were standing in line waiting for being sorted by sorting hat.
I never thought I would ever see Quidditch in person when I read Harry Potter, But at the Wizarding Weekend, I saw a got to see a live Quidditch match. This was definitely the best wizard activity I experienced at the event. Although the Quidditch there was much more simple compared to the one in a book — no flying broomsticks here — I have to admit that it was quite an interesting experience watching six young players riding a bikes and trying to throw the ball to the goal.
It’s nice to step away from Newhouse every once in a while, and explore everything that Central New York has to offer. Syracuse and the surrounding cities are constantly having fun and interesting events, making a year in upstate New York anything but boring.
