Muggles and wizards to gather Saturday in Smithfield

By Shauna Leavitt

July 28, 2005 | Muggles & Wizards will meet in Smithfield for Harry Potter's Birthday Bash at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Mack Park in the Central Bowery (middle pavilion).

Mack Park runs along Smithfield's Canyon Road and 50 North Street.

The Smithfield Library will host the fifth annual festivity as part of its summer reading program. Children are invited to come dressed as their favorite Harry Potter character.

"Several members of the Hogwarts staff will be traveling to attend the event," said Karen Bowling, the children's librarian. Participants are welcome to mingle with the staff and ask questions about life at Hogwarts.

Professor Snape (Brian Joy) will hide a golden snitch somewhere in the park. The child who finds the snitch will be awarded a copy of the new book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the end of the party.

As the event begins, children will be divided into four groups according to their age. Each group will participate in the Hogwarts events set up around the park and enjoy popcorn and drinks.

One group will begin by FIGHTING DRAGON PINATAS. They will have to fight one of the following dragons to free the candy: a Chinese Fireball, a Common Welsh Green, a Hungarian Horntail or a Norwegian Ridgeback.

The GRINDYLOW FISHPOND will be the next event. The group will get to fish among the grindylows for fun prizes.

"A grindylow is a pale green creature that lives in the weed beds on the bottom of lakes in Britain. It is also known as a water demon. Grindylows have long, brittle fingers which they use to grip their prey, sharp little horns, and green teeth," said Bowling.

The last event will be FORTUNE TELLING where each child will have their fortunes told by either Madame Trelawany (Loralee Choate) or Madame Sinestra (Sherry Joy).

The children will choose the method used to tell their fortunes.

"They can pick to have their palms read (glitter gets sprinkled onto their hand), a magic 8 ball answers questions, or a crystal ball named Edwin," said Bowling.

By the end of the event, all the children will have a chance to try on the sorting hat to discover which house they belong to Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

For additional information, call the Smithfield Library at 563-3555.