Following the directions Osprey Productions had given him, Harry Potter landed his Firebolt Feb. 16 on the Green, ready to have some fun. Students took part in a series of free and entertaining Harry Potter-related activities Feb. 16-21 during the week-long event entitled Harry Potter Week 2009.
At the end of the week, all house points earned by students were totaled. Gryffindor won by a landslide, with Slytherin following, then Hufflepuff, and lastly Ravenclaw. Participants of the winning house are encouraged to stop by the OP office to enter a drawing or free tickets to the spring show featuring Ben Folds.
Feb. 16
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The week began with a screening of the movie adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” in Building 14, room 1700 at 8 p.m.
“I chose it because it was the most recent,” said Ben Tollin, playlist chairman and planner of Harry Potter Week for OP. “I thought out of the movies that it would probably be the one people have least seen.”
The viewing, as well as popcorn and refreshments, were free for UNF students, who also answered Harry Potter-related trivia questions throughout the event to win Potter-themed memorabilia.
Feb. 17
Forbidden Forest on the Nature Trails
The darkness of the nature preserve at dusk Feb. 17 played host to a variety of skits, reenactments and games for a group of students being led on a tour through the Forbidden Forest.
Seven actors played Dolores Umbridge, Professor Trelawney, a dementor, Lord Voldemort, Molly and Ginny Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange.
Students gained house points and clues for other things, such as reacting with the correct spell to the dementor’s attacks and correctly answering trivia questions like Molly’s “What line do I say before I kick Bellatrix’s ass?”
The OP team also painted and hung up the centaur Firenze, the spider Aragog, a caged dragon breathing fire, a dead unicorn and Grawp, Hagrid’s giant kin, who was “just chilling” in the trees, Tollin said.
Feb. 18
Quidditch on the Green
Students of each house went head to head on the Green Feb. 18 from 12 to 3 p.m, wearing their house colors on their hips in a game of altered flag football. Gyffindor and Slytherin came out on top.
Just like in Quidditch, teams earned 10 points per touchdown, with the snitch valued at 150 points. The afternoon featured a flapping human snitch, who occasionally fluttered through the game and was tackled by a Slytherin in the final match.
“I tried to get brooms,” Tollin reassured. “But it just didn’t work out.”
Muggles (non-magic folk) probably wouldn’t have been able to handle them anyway.
Feb. 19
Laser Tag on the Green
Meant to imitate a wand fight between the houses, Laser Tag on the Green was made possible by Party Train Entertainment, who supplied UNF students with a large inflatable laser tag fortress from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 19. Students signed their release forms, waited in line, watched a video tutorial on how to play, picked their gun (complete with house color) and battled to the death.
“When we went in, it was awesome,” sophomore biology major Charmaine Martinez said. “It was very disorienting because there was a strobe light, so I couldn’t tell where the walls were.”
Feb. 20
Wizard Rock Concert
The sounds of Fred Lives, The House of the Black, The Butterbeer Experience, The Parselmouths and the Ministry of Magic flooded over the crowd from 8 p.m. to midnight Feb. 20 on the Green.
Students enjoyed free pizza and refreshments, braving the cold for the love of wizard rock as the bands played wizard rock hits such as, “The Bleep Out Song,” “I Think My Boyfriend’s a Death Eater,” “Accio Hot Guy,” “What Kind of Name is Hermione?” and “Accio Love.”
Tollin said he contacted the band who began wizard rock, Harry and the Potters, but OP was unable to afford its asking price.
Feb. 21
Murder Mystery and Yule Ball
These two events were pushed into one evening with the Murder Mystery beginning at 6 p.m in Building 14, rooms 1601-1604.
Because author J.K. Rowling holds the sole rights to the Harry Potter enterprise, OP could not obtain a Harry Potter-themed mystery troupe.
So they invited a superhero mystery troupe instead. Students tried to solve the who-dun-it with superheroes such as Crash Girl, La Bouche, Gold Digger, Senor Combustible, Captain Random and Kung Fu Granny.
The Murder Mystery was followed up by a semi-formal Yule Ball, which began at 8 p.m. Complete with a DJ and ballroom dance instructors, even students with two left feet were able to dance the night away.
Compiled by Rebecca McKinnon.
