Muggles and Wizards Converge on Lenoir-Rhyne University

Lenoir-Rhyne University is pleased to announce the second annual Harry Potter Fest on Friday, Oct. 28 on campus. A variety of activities are scheduled throughout the day and are open to the community.

Harry Potter Fest will kick off at 10:00 a.m. with a presentation by Travis Prinzi, Harry Potter scholar and researcher. Prinzi runs a popular website and podcast called, “The Hog’s Head,” named after a pub in the Harry Potter series. The event will take place in the Belk Centrum on campus. Tickets are not required but seating is limited. A Q&A with Prinzi will follow later in the day at 12:00 p.m. in the Bear’s Lair on campus.

All Harry Potter fans are invited to participate in the “Insufferable Know-It-Alls” Harry Potter trivia contest beginning at 1:00 p.m. Assemble a team of up to three people and prepare to earn your O.W.L.s. Enjoy some butterbeer and cauldron cakes while you play the game. Preregistration is required at library.lr.edu/hptrivia.

Today’s students don’t have to bring their pet owl to school with them but in the spirit of Harry Potter, the Carolina Raptor Center will have live owls on hand. Learn about these beautiful creatures from 2-5 p.m. on Shaw Plaza.

LRU students and the public alike are invited to attend the quidditch match to be held 3:30-5:30 p.m. on the Russell House lawn. Quidditch is a sport that was developed by Rowling for the Harry Potter book series. Whether you are a Seeker, Snitch, or just an observer, you are sure to have a great time watching and participating in this fun sport.

At 6:30 p.m. a community costume contest for school age children K-12 will be held. Students can come dressed in their best Hermione, Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore or Hagrid costumes, just to name a few, to wow and impress the judges. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes.

The evening will wrap up with a Wizard Rock concert with “Hawthorn & Holly” from 7-8:30 p.m. at Shaw Plaza. Hawthorn & Holly are the wands of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter in the books, but in this band they stand for the joining of light and dark to create music that appeals to the Slytherin in us all, but also shows that nothing is greater than the power of friendship!