By Mai Do
Elm Staff Writer
Wizard enthusiasts from near and far flocked to downtown Chestertown on Oct. 5 and 6 for the fifth annual HP Festival.
The Chestertown HP Festival is an annual, volunteer-run, nonprofit event that was created to celebrate the “spirit and theme” of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter universe and promote the historic neighborhood and community art scene of Chestertown, according to the festival website.
All the money raised from the festival goes to local charitable causes such as the Mid-Shore Community Foundation Kent County Fund and the Kent County Public Library, according to the website.
This year’s HP Festival kicked off on Friday evening with a party at the Garfield Center for the Arts. The Chestertown Police Department closed High Street from North Queen Street to Spring Avenue to ensure attendee safety.
By Saturday afternoon, downtown Chestertown was transformed by the magic of the festival. The Kent County News became the Kent Prophet, Bookplate was Flourish and Blotts, and The Bank Venue became Gringott’s Wizarding Bank.
The streets were soon crowded with festival attendees of all ages dressed up for the event. Some wore wizard robes, while others opted to dress as characters or creatures from Rowling’s series. Dumbledores, Dobbys, and Luna Lovegoods could be found sipping butter beer or listening to wizard-themed musical performances in Fountain Park.
For attendees that forgot their wizard robes or wanted to add to their collection of Harry Potter memorabilia, Chestertown’s shops stocked magic-themed clothes and wares for the festival weekend. The festival organizers encouraged attendees to stop by local shops and restaurants by adding many of the businesses to the scavenger hunt location list.
The scavenger hunt was one of the most popular events of the day, leading attendees throughout downtown Chestertown.
Mimi’s Closet was one of the scavenger hunt locations. The store kept a rack filled with scarves knitted with Harry Potter house colors outside to attract festival attendees.
“With the children coming in, it’s been flowing continuously,” Mimi’s Closet sales associate Debbie Yoder said before turning around to assist a scavenger hunt participant. “I think it’s fun with all the children in the community coming in, and we’ve been selling, too.”
Other events included a potion jars workshop at RiverArts Clay Studio, a costume contest at Fountain Park, and a Quidditch tournament in Wilmer Park, where college and club teams from across the Delmarva region competed to win the coveted Chestertown Quidditch Cup.
The events took place across downtown Chestertown. Most were within walking distance of each other, and many were concentrated on High Street and in Fountain Park.
Like many attendees, Arnold, Maryland resident Navie Bower spent the morning working on completing the festival scavenger hunt. “I went here last year and it was so much fun, and it’s nice to see a lot of people coming together to have fun together,” Bower said. “It’s nice to see all the people get dressed up for it.”
Baltimore resident Joyce Johnson has brought her friends across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Chestertown for HP Fest for several years in a row.
“It’s just fun to come out and dress up and act silly and be with our people,” Johnson said.