It was The Return Of The Party That Shall Not Be Named as Downtown Naperville transformed into the wizarding world celebrating all things Harry Potter.
There was plenty of fantastic fun to be had, with potion making, Butterbeer, and costume contests.
“Our role today first was just to come down here and have fun. And then we were put to work and now we’re costume contest judges for several different age groups,” said Pam Gallahue, the Director of the City Clerk’s Office and dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange.
“And we had a blast last year and are having a blast this year. Last year we dressed up as good guys and this year we’re dressed up as bad guys,” said Councilman John Krummen, who dressed as Lucius Malfoy.
A magical hair salon was at Artistic Creations, the sorting hat was at Two Bostons, and windows came to life at Anderson’s Bookshop.
“Harry Potter has been the classic thing for our generation,” said Jenna Jeffirs, playing Hermoine Granger with Center Stage Players. “Everybody knows it, everybody loves it, and I don’t think I’ve met anybody who doesn’t like it. So to celebrate something that everybody kind of knows since they were little, especially with my age group and growing up and seeing it we’ve grown with the characters so I think that’s really cool to grow with them.”
At the main stage there were special dance performances, and the Center Stage Players performed scenes from the movies.
Those young and old dressed up as their favorite characters from the franchise they’ve grown up with.
“Now with the first book coming out 20 years ago those initial readers are maybe in their 30s now,” said Katie Wood, the Executive Director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance. “So it just appeals to a broad range of ages, in addition to the new readers who are just opening up the first book. So there’s such a popularity with these books there’s no wonder why they’ve been on the best seller list.”
The Return of the Party That Shall Not be Named casted its spell over downtown, making for an enchanting time.
Naperville News 17’s Christine Lena reports.
