I Went to Four Harry Potter Parties...
Jul. 22nd, 2007 05:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_haloThere are NO SPOILERS in this post. None at all. This is just my observations of the four Harry Potter parties I went to on Friday night. I'll post my book reaction in my next post.
Wow, so um, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I got started late because I went to four Harry Potter release parties. I mean, I figure, if you live in Manhattan and Manhattan gets taken over by Harry Potter mania, you ought to experience it. Once in a lifetime thing, you know?
So I started at the Barnes & Noble Union Square party, since I work near there. I watched them set up during my lunch hour, then came back at 6pm to watch "Dumbledore" lead the audience in a game of trivia. It was a little silly, but cute, and there were some amazing costumes within the crowd, particularly a wonderful Trelawney (she was totally acting in character, too). Then "McGonagall" and "Snape" came out to lead a spelling bee, and the audience went INSANE as soon as "Snape" walked onstage. Half of them were booing and shouting at him to get off the stage; the other half were defending him and cheering him on. I really love the intense reactions he inspires. Unfortunately the spelling bee was kind of lame... then there was a word search and some other games.
Then I spent some time wandering around the store. It has four levels--one was "Hogwarts," one was "Diagon Alley," and at the top one the guy who reads the audiobooks was going to perform. I stopped and watched a very good magic show for a little while, but didn't do any of the other stuff (potion making, face painting) because the lines were huge. It was insanely crowded.
So I left there around 8pm and went to the Scholastic party. They took over an entire block of Soho and renamed it "Harry Potter Alley." It was insane. There were cops everywhere, streets blocked off, and a gigantic line just to get in to the Harry Potter section. So I got in line and waited about a half hour to get in, which was okay because it was cool out and the breeze was nice, and it was fun to watch all the people arriving in costumes. There was a great Cho Chang in front of me, although unfortunately her chain smoking kind of ruined the effect. And there were tons of people in neon pink wigs, which I finally realized were supposed to be Tonks (one had "I heart Remus Lupin" written on her t-shirt, which is how I figured it out).
Once inside the Harry Potter section, there were more gigantic lines. You could see the first signed copy of the new book, displayed in a fancy case with signed copies of all the previous books, which seemed a little silly, especially as people were hovering over it and taking photos like it was a sacred object. I guess it's still kind of cool to see people worshiping a fantasy book, though. They also had more face painting, a gigantic Whomping Willow (with vaguely moving branches), and gigantic versions of the cover of the new book, with Harry's face cut out, so that you could put your face in there and get a photo taken.
I thought the coolest thing was the Muggle wall. It was a *huge* sticky wall, and they gave you a diamond shaped paper on which to write whatever message you wanted and stick it up. Naturally I drew a gigantic heart with "Sirius + Remus" written inside it, with "PS: Snape is good!" written on the side. I stuck it up and then probably spent a half hour pouring over the wall, reading everyone's messages. There was a lot of obvious stuff, most of it from kids ("We love you Harry," "Thanks for the enjoyment," that kind of stuff). There were fewer ships than I expected, although lots of Ron/Hermione, and Remus/Tonks stood out (along with a lot of Harry/random girl's name and a couple Sirius/random girl's name). I appreciated several "Sirius Lives!" and "Padfoot Lives!", and many other people had the same idea as me and wrote "Snape is good!" which far outnumbered the occasional "Snape is evil!" Lots of "Die Voldemort!" and "Don't Die Harry!" and some good quotes from the book: "U-No-Poo: The Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation" and "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" stood out.
After this I walked over to the "Harry Potter for Adults" party at McNally Robinson, an independent bookstore. I was early and waited in line there another half hour, until they opened at 10pm. The line here was also huge, probably because they were the only party with alcohol, but I was in front, so I got right in, got my "Magic Punch" (rum with orange and pineapple) and then got in line to have my Tarot read. This took at least a half hour of waiting, despite only a few people in front of me, because the woman went really slow. But I finally did get my Tarot read, although it was pretty silly. I also struck up a conversation with the woman next to me--she also likes Sirius--so that was nice, to talk to someone briefly.
After having my Tarot read, at about 11pm, I headed to my final destination, to actually GET THE BOOK!!!![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jaydk and I had waited in line together at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble to get the previous two books, so, as it's tradition, I went there to meet jaydk and wait together for the final time (*sniffle*). She's deeply absorbed in studying for the Bar Exam and can't even read the book until she finishes, but she took a break from studying to wait with me. We waited in the huge outdoor line for losers who hadn't bothered to pre-order, but that was okay because we had time to chat and catch up. The line did go pretty fast, and by about 1am, we had our books! (I'm keeping hers until after the Bar, though, so she isn't tempted).
So then I took a cab home, but I had to finish my re-read of the Book 6, and I'd had two cups of surprisingly strong Magic Punch, and I'd been walking all around NYC for 7 hours, so I read Book 6 and fell right asleep.
I got up around noon, finished Book 6, and then started on Book 7 at around 3pm. I read it very slowly, because I wanted to savor every last moment of the final Harry Potter book, so it took about 13 hours (minus time spent obtaining and consuming food). I read from 3pm to 6am on Saturday. And then I slept for 10 hours.
And my reaction is coming up, um, as soon as I write it....
Wow, so um, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I got started late because I went to four Harry Potter release parties. I mean, I figure, if you live in Manhattan and Manhattan gets taken over by Harry Potter mania, you ought to experience it. Once in a lifetime thing, you know?
So I started at the Barnes & Noble Union Square party, since I work near there. I watched them set up during my lunch hour, then came back at 6pm to watch "Dumbledore" lead the audience in a game of trivia. It was a little silly, but cute, and there were some amazing costumes within the crowd, particularly a wonderful Trelawney (she was totally acting in character, too). Then "McGonagall" and "Snape" came out to lead a spelling bee, and the audience went INSANE as soon as "Snape" walked onstage. Half of them were booing and shouting at him to get off the stage; the other half were defending him and cheering him on. I really love the intense reactions he inspires. Unfortunately the spelling bee was kind of lame... then there was a word search and some other games.
Then I spent some time wandering around the store. It has four levels--one was "Hogwarts," one was "Diagon Alley," and at the top one the guy who reads the audiobooks was going to perform. I stopped and watched a very good magic show for a little while, but didn't do any of the other stuff (potion making, face painting) because the lines were huge. It was insanely crowded.
So I left there around 8pm and went to the Scholastic party. They took over an entire block of Soho and renamed it "Harry Potter Alley." It was insane. There were cops everywhere, streets blocked off, and a gigantic line just to get in to the Harry Potter section. So I got in line and waited about a half hour to get in, which was okay because it was cool out and the breeze was nice, and it was fun to watch all the people arriving in costumes. There was a great Cho Chang in front of me, although unfortunately her chain smoking kind of ruined the effect. And there were tons of people in neon pink wigs, which I finally realized were supposed to be Tonks (one had "I heart Remus Lupin" written on her t-shirt, which is how I figured it out).
Once inside the Harry Potter section, there were more gigantic lines. You could see the first signed copy of the new book, displayed in a fancy case with signed copies of all the previous books, which seemed a little silly, especially as people were hovering over it and taking photos like it was a sacred object. I guess it's still kind of cool to see people worshiping a fantasy book, though. They also had more face painting, a gigantic Whomping Willow (with vaguely moving branches), and gigantic versions of the cover of the new book, with Harry's face cut out, so that you could put your face in there and get a photo taken.
I thought the coolest thing was the Muggle wall. It was a *huge* sticky wall, and they gave you a diamond shaped paper on which to write whatever message you wanted and stick it up. Naturally I drew a gigantic heart with "Sirius + Remus" written inside it, with "PS: Snape is good!" written on the side. I stuck it up and then probably spent a half hour pouring over the wall, reading everyone's messages. There was a lot of obvious stuff, most of it from kids ("We love you Harry," "Thanks for the enjoyment," that kind of stuff). There were fewer ships than I expected, although lots of Ron/Hermione, and Remus/Tonks stood out (along with a lot of Harry/random girl's name and a couple Sirius/random girl's name). I appreciated several "Sirius Lives!" and "Padfoot Lives!", and many other people had the same idea as me and wrote "Snape is good!" which far outnumbered the occasional "Snape is evil!" Lots of "Die Voldemort!" and "Don't Die Harry!" and some good quotes from the book: "U-No-Poo: The Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation" and "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" stood out.
After this I walked over to the "Harry Potter for Adults" party at McNally Robinson, an independent bookstore. I was early and waited in line there another half hour, until they opened at 10pm. The line here was also huge, probably because they were the only party with alcohol, but I was in front, so I got right in, got my "Magic Punch" (rum with orange and pineapple) and then got in line to have my Tarot read. This took at least a half hour of waiting, despite only a few people in front of me, because the woman went really slow. But I finally did get my Tarot read, although it was pretty silly. I also struck up a conversation with the woman next to me--she also likes Sirius--so that was nice, to talk to someone briefly.
After having my Tarot read, at about 11pm, I headed to my final destination, to actually GET THE BOOK!!!
jaydk and I had waited in line together at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble to get the previous two books, so, as it's tradition, I went there to meet jaydk and wait together for the final time (*sniffle*). She's deeply absorbed in studying for the Bar Exam and can't even read the book until she finishes, but she took a break from studying to wait with me. We waited in the huge outdoor line for losers who hadn't bothered to pre-order, but that was okay because we had time to chat and catch up. The line did go pretty fast, and by about 1am, we had our books! (I'm keeping hers until after the Bar, though, so she isn't tempted).So then I took a cab home, but I had to finish my re-read of the Book 6, and I'd had two cups of surprisingly strong Magic Punch, and I'd been walking all around NYC for 7 hours, so I read Book 6 and fell right asleep.
I got up around noon, finished Book 6, and then started on Book 7 at around 3pm. I read it very slowly, because I wanted to savor every last moment of the final Harry Potter book, so it took about 13 hours (minus time spent obtaining and consuming food). I read from 3pm to 6am on Saturday. And then I slept for 10 hours.
And my reaction is coming up, um, as soon as I write it....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-22 10:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-23 07:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-22 10:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-23 07:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-23 06:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-23 07:35 pm (UTC)Oh yeah, I meant to reply to your email... my Book 7 reaction is in my LJ, obviously...! Sounds like we agreed on most of it....