The weekend before Halloween our sweet, sleepy little town of Swedesboro was transformed into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a day and these muggles were not disappointed! The Inaugural Harry Potter Festival was a hit.
Will in his school robes. Gryffindor House, of course!
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and are a resident of South Jersey I have great news for you! The town of Swedesboro, our home town, has had an inaugural Harry Potter inspired festival and it was nothing short of amazing.
As a Mom of two little ones I am always looking for fun things for us to do as a family. We are fortunate to live in a little town that plans lots of fun family events. When I heard Swedesboro was hosting their very own Harry Potter inspired festival I knew this was something I wanted to check out. Wondering if this is an event you’ll want to check out next year? Read on about our experience below and decide for yourself!
Purchasing Tickets
Wristbands were purchased online for 15 dollars and were only required for the child/children participating in the events. With the purchase of our wristband we received:
- An official letter of acceptance by mail
- A child size wand at Ollivanders
- A Sorting Hat Experience with house lanyard
- A short potions interactive experience
- Marauder’s Map
- Portkey Scavenger Hunt
- Trivia Stamp Page
- Photo Booth access
- A Parking Pass
- Lots of photo ops on Kings Highway
The Official Hogwarts Letter
To begin the Harry Potter Festival experience, each child received their official letter from the Swedesboro Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Will’s face lit up with excitement as I read him his letter.
Later on in the evening he informed us that he was nervous about going to school at Hogwarts. I had to explain to him that mommy and daddy would be with him the whole time and that he wasn’t moving to Hogwarts, only attending for a day.
The letter arrived just a few days before the event. It mentioned that children were welcome to wear their Hogwarts school robes. This was something I had not thought of prior. We didn’t own a Harry Potter Costume which was a bit of a problem. Will, on the younger side, believed this was actually Hogwarts. In the spirit of Halloween we searched the local Halloween stores but this was days before Halloween and all we could find were a wand, glasses, hat, and tie.
As a result, I became rather frustrated so I took the old sewing machine out of the basement and sewed for the first time in over 10 years. I ended up having to stay up all night to sew this thing but in the end it was totally worth it. If you’re looking for a great Harry Potter inspired robe pattern the one I purchased from SewingPatternPixie was great. It was an instant download and came with an easy to follow tutorial.
Nothing like sewing all night long.
I’m so glad he loved it!
Arrival
I purchased our tickets a couple of weeks before the event. I chose an experience time of 12:30 with an arrival time of 12:15. The week of the event we picked the wristband up from town hall. Upon arrival, we checked in at the tent in front of the bank and headed straight to the church for the Sorting Ceremony.
Waiting patiently to enter the Great Hall
The line was long but it moved quickly. They took us through in groups. Each group had their own Hogwarts student leading their tour.
Will after learning many things in the Great Hall.
We walked through the hallway to the Great Hall where each Wizard learned many things that Wizards must know such as spells, enchantments, and even a Patronus spell.
The Sorting Hat
After learning Wizardry in the Great Hall it was time for the Sorting Ceremony. Parents were able to choose a house when purchasing the wristband. To signify this they marked the child’s wristband before entering the Great Hall.
A Hogwarts student was assisting the Sorting Hat with the process of “sorting” each of the children. She held the sorting hat over each child’s head. One by one the Wizards were sorted into their houses. Finally, it was Will’s turn. “Are you brave, are you loyal?” she asked. “Yes,” he answered. He was then sorted into Gryffindor House and received a Gryffindor Lanyard.
I know..Gryffindor!
After we left the sorting room our next stop was just down the hall. In the next room we were able to have a souvenir picture taken in a photo booth. What a sweet souvenir!
-Picture from photo booth-
The Center of Town
Tents for wristband holders lined Kings Highway, the center of town. Some of the tents were more popular than others but we tried to experience as many tents as we could.
Our first stop was to make potions at an interactive potions experience.
Will making a bubbly, glittery potion!
Will mixed his potion and watched it bubble.
Mixing and mixing…
What glittery and bubbly fun!
Next, we were off to Ollivanders where Will was able to decorate his own wand. He chose to cover his in green glitter.
The wand chose the Wizard, of course!
Following Ollivanders was Herbology. Garden of Eden, a local florist sponsored this tent. First the Wizards looked into a planter full of Mandrakes. They looked closely to try and see the baby Mandrakes faces. Once that task was complete the instructor gave each Wizard their very own pumpkin seed to plant into a dixie cup and take home with them.
Screaming Mandrakes! Do you see their faces?
Potion Class
Originally, when Will’s wristband was purchased I read that there would be a special potions class. I assumed that this was the first tent we stopped at in the center of town. However, at the very end of the day I noticed a sign outside of a law office that said “Potions Class.” Luckily we were able to jump into this potions class as well before the day was over. I’m still not sure which class was the “official” potions class but we enjoyed each of them.
An Owl from the Cohansik Zoo
Overall, this was such a fun experience for our family. Will had a great time and loved dressing up and attending Hogwarts. I really hope Swedesboro continues this tradition. It is definitely something we would love to attend year after year!
All aboard the Hogwarts Express!
