Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

Countdown to Midnight

Book Release Festival

Friday, July 20, 2007

Oak Park , Illinois

The Harry Potter Book Release event will be a day-long community-wide celebration of magic, imagination, youth and literature around the theme of Harry Potter. Events will start early in the afternoon and continue through the midnight release of the book. Activities will be distributed among several locations in central Oak Park, giving visitors an opportunity to explore a number of shops, restaurants and attractions, which will feature special wizard-themed wares, offer magical menus, and present several performances. 

Thanks to our sponsors:

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Muggle Support from:

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

As of 7.10.07

Please note that all events & times are subject to change.

No rain date.

Download an MSExcel Spreadsheet of Schedule

Download the PDF Marauder's Map

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THE AVENUE

Diagon Alley on The Avenue (2 pm – 12 midnight)

Most stores open until 10 pm or later!

Local Oak Park businesses will transform their shops into the wizard world’s center of commerce. In keeping with the magical theme, shops will showcase special wizarding wares.

*The Magic Tree Bookstore  *Fly Bird   *Geppetto’s Toy Box  *Botanica  *The Irish Shoppe 

Knockturn Alley
Explore a secret side alley off of the Diagon.  It’s still under double secret construction. 

*Whole Foods Vitamin Water  *The Buzz  * Madly Pop’n  *Tarot by Tonya

Butter Beer and other Magical Concessions
(2 pm – 12midnight; hours vary by location)

Local cafes and restaurants will create their own micro-brew of the most popular beverage at wizard restaurants and pubs, Butter Beer among many other tasty treats to satisfy hungry visitors. Special vendor stands will be located off the Avenue to help meet the needs of visitors. While food will not be sold in the parks, families will be allowed to enjoy picnics in the parks while watching events like Quidditch or local music. Visit restaurant websites to make reservations and view special menus as they become available!

*Great Harvest *Fuego Loco *Winberies *The Buzz   *Madly Pop’n  

*Flat Top Grill   *Papaspiros Greek Taverna 
 
Honey Dukes (Madly Pop’n)
(Oak Park Avenue, north of Lake Street)

Featuring some of your favorites like: Blueberry, Booger, Buttered Popcorn, Dirt,  Ear Wax, Grass, Green Apple, Lemon Drop, Sardine, Soap, Bacon, Rotten Egg, Toasted Marshmallow,  Tutti-Fruitti, Very Cherry. Based on availability, not all flavors may be available during the Festival. 

Gringotts Bank Vault Tours
(7 pm-9 pm; US Bank Building)

See where the wizarding world keeps their gold! The bank will open its above ground vault for tours in the evening. Visitors will have to pick up tickets designating a tour time. Tickets will be available at the information booth in Scoville Park beginning at 2:00 pm. The caverns under the bank will remain closed to humans and wizards at this time.

Sponsored by: US Bank

Hogwarts School Library
(11am – 12:01 am – OPPL Main Library and Plaza)
Events are open to all ages 

11 am   Aulviona Magical Strings: Magical music favorites on Violin

4-6 pm  Slytherin’s World of Reptiles

6-8 pm  Transformation of Muggles (Face Painting, Wizard Wear)

6-9 pm  Madame Pince’s Preparatory Academy for Wizard Librarians

The restricted section of the library is open to train underage wizards in the ancient and esteemed career of librarianship.  Courses include: 

• Mirror of Erised -Gaze into the mirror to determine your future qualities for librarianship.

• Ancient Runes -Translate ancient runes into English and test your researching skills in a Harry Potter Scavenger hunt.

• Potion Making - Make fantastic potions for the care and protection of library books.

• Arithmancy - This magical study of numbers includes puzzles to ponder and tests of your sorting abilities.

• Charms - Book balancing, quill skills, and other essential spells for librarians.

 

9:00 pm  Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince #6 Read-a-Thon
Wizards and witches—sign up to take turns reading aloud in the Gryffindor Common Room! 

HP 7 Books that have been placed on hold ahead of time will be available at 12:01 am for checkout.

Sponsor: Oak Park Library, Chicago Herpatalogical Society

Wee Wizard Emporium (Geppetto’s Toy Box)
Lake Street, just East of OP Avenue

Potions for First Years
Time: 3 pm, 4:30 pm, and 6 pm

Geppetto’s Toy Box will be transfigured into Professor Snape’s potions classroom!  Stop by and see Professors Snape and McGonnagal demonstrate some of the fun potions you can create at home!  For curious wizards and muggles alike, this is a chance to dabble in the wonders of science!  During these live window demonstrations, children will be asked to interact with our guest Professors during three different sessions that can be viewed from outside or inside the shop. 
 
Great Hogwarts Bread Company ~ Staffed by the House Elves
(Great Harvest Bread Co.)
Lake Street @ Oak Park Avenue

The house elves can make Hufflepuff Pizza and other treats for you! PLUS - From July 5 through July 20, you can donate a pair of new socks to "Free a House Elf."  In gratitude for their freedom, the House Elves of Great Harvest will give you a coupon for a free loaf of bread.  The socks will be delivered to Hebzibah.

Wheeesley’s Wacky Shack (Fly Bird)
Lake Street, just East of OP Avenue

If it’s wacky, you’ll find it here! 

Botanica Brooms and Bubotubers (Botanica)
Botanical Artistry Classes
Oak Park Avenue @ Knockturn Alley

Come join an award-winning mandrake artist and learn the art of botanical drawing. If you like to color, you will love this activity. Sessions will be held on the hour at 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00 pm. at Botanica Brooms & Bubotubers, Knockturn Alley's newest shop. Sessions are open to pre-Hogwarts through 1st years (7-11 year-olds). Art supplies will be provided. No pre-registration required. 

The Whomping Tree (Magic Tree Bookstore - open until Midnight)
Oak Park Avenue, Scoville Square

Whomping Tree's own Prof. Trelawney will gaze into your future between the hours of 3pm to 5pm. First come first served, no registration required.  See Dumbledore's portrait come alive in our window periodically throughout the day; hear McGonagall's voice emanating from a teacup!

The Weasley family will have a discussion of "Muggle Artifacts" in front of the store at 7pm. There will be a table set up with some choice muggle items and people are invited to bring their own, too. Arthur Weasley will enlighten all wizards as to the purposes and uses of these oddities.

Other various activities planned for the front of, in the window, in the hall, etc at various times during Countdown to Midnight:
Face Painting
Bookmark making and free raffle
Gilderoy Lockhart autographing and posing for pix
Terminus 2008 info on Harry Potter Conference held in Chicago

Magical Drama
Unity Temple (Lake Street @ Kenilworth)
(5pm and 7 pm)

Relive the magic! the drama and intrigue that started it all! Local professional wizards, witches and Hogwarts students will delight you with magical interpretations of the early history of Harry Potter, as chronicled in the first two books of his life. Selections have been adapted by Headmaster Kevin Bry, President of Our “Wizard” Village Productions, and are directed by Professor Diane Pingle. This free event will have two performances at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple at 5pm and 7pm.

Sponsored by: Our Village Productions

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SCOVILLE PARK

Wizard Chess
(Scoville Park; 2:30 pm and 5 pm)

Back by popular demand! Renaissance Knights will host a tournament of life-size chess games. Children will act as chess pieces while others direct their “men” from the Scoville stage. International Master Stan Smiatankin and National Master William Aramil will direct the matches and provide commentary to the teams.  The Scoville Park location will allow ample room for players and on-lookers. Plus, a chess tent will be set up for matches during the afternoon.  Register on line at www.RKnights.org

Sponsor:Renaissance Knights, a nonprofit organization which operates chess programs to work with youths in creating the desire to succeed both in school and in life.

*** Volunteers Needed ***

Muggle Golf hosted by the WonderWorks Children’s Museum.
(2 pm – 7 pm; Scoville Park, Plaza Side)

You’d never believe the games that muggles play! Back by popular demand, a funny little game based on hitting a little white ball with a long, slender club toward holes in the ground will be sure to provide hours of entertainment for kids of all ages. Each of the “holes” as they call them, will be decorated in authentic muggle “putt-putt” style. (A nominal donation will help raise funds to support WonderWorks.)

Sponsors: WonderWorks Children’s Museum

 

Debates: The Nature of Snape!
 Scoville Park Stage, 4 pm

The students of Hogwarts are up to something, and will debate the true nature of Snape.  Is he good? Is he evil? What is his relationship to Dumbledore and the Malfoy Family??  Be at Scoville Park for this special edition DA debate.

Sponsored by: Magic Tree Bookstore, Oak Park River Forest High School and Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School Debate Club

Filius Flitwick and Magical Charms  (TBD)
(4 pm – 8 pm, Peter Grant, MD)

The Hogwarts Charms Professor and his assistants will be on hand to remedy any hexes and ensure your safety in the Muggle park.  He may demonstrate his great magical abilities to deter Dementors! Young wizards will receive a good health charm to ward off rogue spells. Madame Pomfrey may even stop by to assist.

Sponsored by: Peter Grant, MD 

PRISON OF AZ  
In the Secret Tunnels Under First United Church, Lake Street and Kenilworth

Tours on the quarter hour, from 6pm – 8pm . 

Enter at your own risk in the North parking lot off Kenilworth. Start in the WIZENGAMOT, the Court of the Ministry of Magic with a trial and conviction . Then enter through a special portkey that will allow you to experience Az  for one night only.  Be sure to bring your cloak of invisibility along on this daring and dangerous trip.

Sponsored by: Magic Tree Bookstore, Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau 

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SCOVILLE PARK STAGE

Joel Frankel  Musical Merriment 
(6:30-7:15pm) 

Joel's highly interactive fun-filled program features a bag of musical tricks. Combining original songs and familiar sing-alongs, Joel uses instruments from around the world, zany props, storytelling, puppets, juggling, and a touch of magic in a highly participatory musical adventure that always leaves his audiences smiling. 

MUGGLENET.com
(8:30-10pm)

Emerson Spartz, founder of MuggleNet.com, hosts an interactive discussion along with MuggleNet staffers Ben Schoen, Laura Thompson, Micah Tannenbaum and the audience about their Potter experiences, and what will happen in Book 7. Spartz and Schoen are co-authors of the (#2) New York Times Bestselling Children's Book, MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7. Thompson and Tannenbaum host MuggleNet's extremely popular (70,000 weekly listeners) podcast, MuggleCast.

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MILLS PARK AND PLEASANT HOME

Quidditch World Cup Tournament at Oak Park’s Premier Quidditch Arena
(Mills Park; 1 pm – 6 pm,
World Cup Match 5 pm – times subject to change, based on number of players/teams)

Click here for information on how to register a team in the tournament!

Through pre-registration, Quidditch teams will have the opportunity to play the land-bound version of the wizards’ favorite sport in Mills Park. Volunteers will coordinate and officiate this fun, physical, team game which will involve up to 150 young people ages 6 through 12 as part up to 12 teams. The World Cup game will be scheduled as the main event of the early evening hours. Following the game, a victory parade will journey to the Scoville Park stage for the awarding of the World Cup. Register at www.quidditch-worldcup.com

*** Volunteers needed! ***

Divination Tea
Open to pre-Hogwarts through 2^nd years (7-12 year olds)
Seatings at 2pm and 4pm
Pleasant Home, 217 Home Av. in Oak Park (on the Mills Park grounds)

Aspiring wizards will enjoy refreshing tea and treats from local merchants while receiving Divination instruction from Hogwarts faculty member, Professor Sibyll Trewalney. Reservations will secure a seat at one of two scheduled “seatings” in the exquisitely Hogwarts-esque and historical Pleasant Home.

Register here for Divination Tea and Herbology

*** Volunteers needed! *** 

Sponsored by: Pleasant Home, Park District of Oak Park

Herbology: Plant-based wizardry through the ages
Open to pre-Hogwarts through 2^nd years (8-12 year olds) 
On the porch of Pleasant Home, Classes are at 3 pm and 5 pm.

Professor Sprout and her assistants will lead a hands-on exploration into the world of magical plants. Young wizards will learn to identify some unique species, sample edible plants, and take home a little pot to cultivate in their home greenhouses.  Space is limited to 25 students per class.

Register here for Divination Tea and Herbology

*** Volunteers needed! *** 

Sponsored by:  Pleasant Home, Oak Park Conservatory, Park District of Oak Park

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DOWNTOWN OAK PARK

Lake Theatre – Downtown Oak Park
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is now playing!

Showtimes:

Cool off at The Lake and enjoy Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, playing on two screens!  PLUS, receive a limited edition full size movie studio issued poster of “Order of The Phoenix” when you make a $10.00 purchase from any participating DTOP business or restaurant. (While supplies last, one poster per receipt, other restrictions may apply)

Sponsor: Downtown Oak Park and Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre

I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good:   
The Heroic Renegades Harry Potter and Robin Hood 
Austin Gardens, Forest Avenue, one half block north of Lake Street
Performance Time: 6-6:30pm

Bad guys break the law, right?  Well, sometimes good guys have to throw away the rule book as well when justice is at stake.  Join educators Beth Lynch and Scott Lynch-Giddings to explore the fascinating folk tradition of heroic rule-breakers from Robin Hood to Harry Potter, prior to a performance of Lynch-Giddings' play A Fancyfull Historie of Robin Hood by the Oak Park Festival Theatre in beautiful Austin Gardens (separate paid ticket required for 8pm play) . Be sure to bring your picnic dinner from Marion Street Cheese Market or a participating DTOP restaurant and dine in the Gardens.

Sponsored by:  Festival Theatre 

Marion Street Cheese Market 
Transforms into X with English beer, cheeses and box lunches and dinners.

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GETTING AROUND

The Marauders’ Map will serve as a dual-purpose schedule of events and guide to getting around town during the Festival. The map will be posted on the Internet by early July and will be distributed at information posts to visitors for free throughout the day. The maps will also feature mention of our key sponsors and will serve as great souvenirs. (The Marauders’ Map is named after the magical maps used by Harry and his friends in the books.) 

Download a pdf of the Marauders' Map

The map includes:

Event and activity locations
Food vendor location
Participating businesses
Permanent and temporary toilets
Parking lots
Local hotels
All locations selling the book at midnight
Public transportation lines/stops

Knight Bus

Visitors are encouraged to take public transportation to the event and to stay at one of several centrally-located hotels and inns in Oak Park and surrounding suburbs. The Oak Park Avenue stop of the CTA Green Line ‘L’ Train will be located in the middle of the action. The Metra commuter rail stops in Oak Park, just a few blocks west of the center of activity. Several Pace bus lines serve the area and surrounding suburbs, as well.  

For visitors who must drive, several parking lots are available in central Oak Park and maps will be available shortly.