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Wow, it seems that Harry Potter fans just can’t get enough of stage musicals — at least based on the response here at LeakyCon 2011. As you know from yesterday’s post, we’ve already watched two very entertaining musical productions inspired by the Harry Potter series. Yesterday, we saw two more!
(Hmmm… Why weren’t there any theater productions at Hogwarts? Or maybe there was a drama club that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were just too busy to join, what with Dumbledore’s Army and all. Luna probably would have been brilliant on stage, though! And Fred and George! Percy, not so much… Sorry, we digress.)
Anyway, the day started with a gothic opera based on “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” one of the short stories from The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
It was quite dark and dramatic — perfect for the creepy tone of the original tale. We definitely need to go back and re-read it again! With the lights on. Maybe in a crowded place. With a teddy bear.
Anyway… As we mentioned, there was a second musical event of the day, but more on that in our next post. Plus Quidditch! Stay tuned to Kidsmomo for continued LeakyCon coverage!
— Nancy (Ravenclaw) and Karen (Hufflepuff)
Btw: Karen works at Scholastic and Nancy used to work there, but our jobs are not connected to LeakyCon, sadly. We’re attending for our own enjoyment — and yours — as the ridiculous fans that we are.
These days, it’s not unusual to see cell phones waving in the air when you go to a rock concert. But last night at LeakyCon’s wizard rock concert, we all raised our wands instead!
Seven bands took to the stage to perform songs based on the Harry Potter books, and they were all — as Ron would say — bloody brilliant. (Also, we just now realized that there were SEVEN bands last night. Coincidence?)
The Parselmouths kicked off the show by showering the crowd with party hats and balloons:
Next, Hank Green performed ditties about his experience as a super fan, including a new tune that he said he basically wrote just for LeakyCon! That certainly got people’s hands in the air, in addition to their wands:
With the huge video screen behind the stage, it looks like there were hands EVERYWHERE -- but in an awesome way, not in a gross inferi sort of way.
Hank and his brother (author John Green) have a big following of fans called "Nerdfighters." Here, they show off their special hand sign.
But enough about hands. We’re not obsessed or anything.
Next up were Gred and Forge, and as you can see in these photos, they busted out onto the stage in a display of total ROCK. It wasn’t long before the crowd showed their love:
Read the rest of this entry »
It seems that getting only five hours of sleep is going to be a regular thing here at LeakyCon, so it’s a good thing that Day 3 kicked off with a high-energy stage musical!
Depicting the Final Battle for Hogwarts, this theatrical spectacle actually moved both of us to tears. After last night’s cry-fest during Deathly Hallows Part 2, it’s a surprise we had any tears left in us!
The afternoon was more chill. First, we attended a workshop to make our own Monster Book of Monsters book cover:
We spent the rest of the day in a screening of a different Harry Potter musical and at a presentation about the new Pottermore website (sorry, we’ve been sworn to secrecy on the details).
In anticipation of the night’s wizard rock concert, Karen wore her Harry and the Potters t-shirt today:
And we noticed lots of others showing their Hogwarts pride through t-shirts as well:
And now, if you’ll excuse us, we must rest because we just got back from the wizard rock show, where we danced like we’d been hit by the Jelly-Legs Jinx. Stay tuned for coverage on Kidsmomo!
After our late night at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it’s amazing we made it to LeakyCon this morning. But we were immediately rewarded when we spotted some superstar HP characters:
Are Bellatrix and Moody secretly friends?!
Uh oh! Umbridge is in one of her moods!
Wow. Just... wow.
Of course, we also loved all the Hogwarts students we hung out with! Here are a few:
But let’s not forget the most magic-tastic Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff of all time… us, of course:
After mingling, we spent the rest of the day in various presentations, including screenings of fan-made videos, a puppet show depicting Harry Potter’s life, and a discussion of book-to-movie adaptations:
And in the evening, we all headed to the movie theater to see The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 — a few hours prior to the official midnight release! But more on that later, when we post a special movie review starring our fellow LeakyCon moviegoers! Stay tuned!
Say a prayer for us because we’ve died and gone to heaven… also known as LeakyCon 2011!
That’s right, we’re here! And check out some of the swag we got when we arrived, including a special LeakyCon yearbook full of info about this week’s events and photos of all the attendees!
The opening festivities have yet to begin, but already we’ve seen more people in Hogwarts clothing than ever before — and that’s saying something because we both attended Scholastic’s Book 7 release party in New York.
Stay tuned over the next few days for more LeakyCon coverage!
– Nancy (Ravenclaw) and Karen (Hufflepuff)
So, you know how we’re always going on and on and on (and on and on) and on and on… and on about how much we LOVE Harry Potter? Well, today we are taking our devotion to the next level. Because today, we head to LeakyCon 2011, a gathering of Harryheads from around the country!
For five days, we’ll join the most dedicated of HP fans in celebrating all things Harry — including seeing the new Deathly Hallows movie, dancing to wizard rock, and exploring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Plus, we’ll attend presentations and group discussions on topics such as how to make your own Butterbeer, the books versus the movies, what to expect from Pottermore, and “Why Fred?”
And obviously, we will bring as much of the magic to you as we possibly can. So keep an eye on Kidsmomo for our LeakyCon coverage throughout the next few days!
And it all starts in a mere matter of hours when we get on a plane that will take us to HOGWARTS! Okay, technically, it’s taking us to Orlando. But since — SPOILER ALERT! — Hogwarts isn’t real, we’ll take it. LeakyCon 2011 here we come!
You know how we’re always whining about how we want MORE Harry Potter and that we miss it soooooo much?
Well, obviously J.K. Rowling has been following Kidsmomo and answered our prayers! Obviously (…activate Sarcasm Detector). Because she’s launching a new website called POTTERMORE — Wait, don’t go there yet! I haven’t finished telling you about it! — which will reveal details about the Harry Potter world that Rowling says she’s been “hoarding for years.” The site partially launches on July 31 (Harry’s birthday!) but not everyone will be able to access it until the official launch on October 1.
Check out J.K. Rowling’s official announcement:
So what should we expect? Various sources across the interwebs report that the new website will start with an illustrated experience of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone — and just like Harry, you’ll start at 4 Privet Drive (insert teary sniffly face here) and explore Harry’s under-the-stairs-closest-room. It’s unknown if Hagrid will be making an appearance, but you’ll be led to Gringotts, where you’ll withdraw 175 galleons and head over to the Diagon Alley shops to pick up items on your shopping list (including a wand from Ollivanders). Then, it’s on to Platform¾ and the Hogwarts Express (with your personalized trunk, where presumably you’ll store your Chocolate Frog Cards)!
Eventually, Pottermore will include scenes and experiences from all seven books, and just like Harry, Hermione and Ron, you’ll be sorted into a house and compete for the House Cup! The new website will also offer the series as e-books and digital audio books in several languages, which have never been available before.
So… what does an “illustrated experience” look like? Well, we’re not 100% certain, but we found some images that might be what the site will look like on October 1 (or July 31, if you’re part of the lucky group of users with early access).
Click on the images below (found on the wherethewildbooksare blog) to see a larger version.
Based on this image, the sections of the site will include:
The total number of points for your house appears on the right of the emblem, and the points you’ve contributed display on the left. The feed of what’s going on (in your house? or all of Pottermore? we’ll see!) shows in the center. This page looks kind of like a map of “things to accomplish.”
The Hogwarts Express: Hm, I’d like to actually be able to JUMP INTO THE SCREEN AND TOOT OFF TO HOGWARTS, but since that’s probably not available, I’m guessing when you click on certain items on the page — like the cats, owls, books, or satchels — something happens.
Christmas at Hogwarts: I especially enjoy this one because it involves food. Perhaps we’ll be able to buy gifts for Pottermore friends in Diagon Alley?
The Chessboard Chamber: This looks like some kind of game experience, but I can’t really tell. Also, note to self: learn to play chess by July 31/October 1.
So, there you have it! Okay, you can go to the site now: Pottermore.com. And when you’re done squealing, come back and let us know in the comments — what would YOU like to see on Pottermore?
— Nancy
Nancy totally didn’t dance crazily and squeal with excitement in her office, where she’s supposed to be a mature adult, when she first heard news of Pottermore. Of course not.
Meet Nancy »
PS – I used to work at Scholastic, and I even worked on the Scholastic Harry Potter website ages ago — but unfortunately, I’m not in any way involved with Pottermore. Sigh…
Imagine that you are eagerly waiting for the mailman to deliver today’s post, and you receive a crisp white envelope, slightly bent from its travels. You flip it over to see which lovely friend has sent you this correspondence… and then… THE TERRIFYING FACE OF LORD VOLDEMORT!!! *gasps*faints*!
Voldy gazes not-lovingly up at Queen Elizabeth's silhouette. Photograph: Royal Mail/PA
Okay, let’s back up. You see the terrifying face of Lord Voldemort on the postage stamp. Clearly your lovely friend is playing a nasty joke on you, because she or he could have mailed you the calming presence of Albus Dumbledore instead.
Also, you are probably in the United Kingdom (in this imaginary scenario). That’s because the Royal Mail has just released a special set of stamps featuring not just contemporary wizards like Dumbledore and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (even though I’ve already called him by name), but also other magical beings from beloved book series, such as the Chronicles of Narnia (will you affix your letter with furry Aslan, or the striking White Witch?). Not to mention the first great wizard, Merlin!
Check out the Guardian’s website to see all eight stamps and let us know — what favorite book character would YOU like featured on a stamp?
Nancy never thought about it until now, but the White Witch and Voldemort would make a great super-evil couple. With really pale, evil children.
Meet Nancy
Submitted by nico, Age 11 from Rhode Island
Rating:
This is my favorite Harry Potter book but i hate that Dumbledore dies because he was AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also like this one because it explains so much about voldemorts childhood.
With the new Deathly Hallows movie finally in theaters, there’s been tons of recent Harry Potter mania around the world. But sadly, no new HP books. [insert wail of despair here]
Luckily, there are other options for devoted Harry fans — and we’ve got them covered in our latest podcast, all about Harry Potter withdrawal. You’ll meet Olive, Percy, Charlie, Sophie, and Josh, plus hear why we’re wild about Harry!
Also, don’t forget: next up, we’re celebrating the countdown to 2011 with a special month-long theme dedicated to new beginnings! So check out our New Beginnings booklist. Plus, keep an eye out for a couple KidsmomoMos before the year is done: our review of the new Narnia movie and an interview with the creators of the Joey Fly, Private eye graphic novels!
— Karen and Nancy
