Muggles are set to descend on an Arlington children’s bookstore for crystal ball reading, wand-making and an owl visit this weekend in celebration of the latest installment in the Harry Potter franchise.
Child’s Play at 4510 Lee Highway is scheduled to have activities for aspiring witches and wizards Saturday before “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” comes out at midnight, according to a news release from the shop. The book, which is based on a J.K. Rowling story, is the script for an upcoming London play about Potter as an adult wizard.
The countdown until the book’s release is slated to begin at 10:30 p.m. But the shop also is planning to have free activities throughout the day to celebrate the event. According to the news release, they include:
- A “Platform 9 3/4” photo station
- A sorting hat station, where store visitors will receive their Hogwarts house assignment for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin
- Wand-making and Hogwarts tie-decorating
- A “History of Magic” game, also known as Harry Potter trivia
- Exams in divination, allowing shop visitors to have their fortunes read and to test their crystal ball-reading abilities
- A Harry Potter-themed scavenger hunt
- A potions snack station
- A visit from a Potomac Overlook Park owl from 2 to 6 p.m.
“This party is going to be a glorious return to Hogwarts,” Child’s Play’s book buyer Molly Olivo said in the press release. “We will be supporting a good cause, enjoying fun wizard activities and sharing the excitement of a new Harry Potter book.”
Harry Potter fans can pre-order the book at Child’s Play or on its website. The shop will give 10 percent of the book’s proceeds to An Open Book Children’s Literacy Foundation, an organization that brings authors and books to underserved schools in the D.C. area.
Photo via Wikimedia