Welcome to SPEWW PDX

We have a new website URL! Now that we’ve changed our name, we need a new website address and we have one. Our new magical portal can be found at SPEWWpdx.org. For now, you can use both. We will continue to use both URLs for the time being, as SPEWWpdx will apparate you to the old HPA site until we completely switch over by the end of the year, so make sure you update your info.

Do you like superheroes and baseball and fun? If you do, come see us at PickleCon, a collab between Rose City Comic Con and the Portland Pickles, on Tuesday July 22nd. The Portland Pickles will be facing off against the Springfield Drifters. Folx are welcome to come in cosplay of their choosing and every ticket you purchase through our link helps support us (plus you get $2 off with code PDX).

Before the game, the witches of SPEWW will be among some other great organizations talking to fans about our Society, our upcoming events, how they can get involved, and also doing crafts with your little wizards. So, bring them out, stop by and create a Bowtruckle friend or craft your own broomstick, and have a fun time while helping some great organizations. Don’t forget to say hello to Dillon!

When: Tuesday, July 22, 2025 – game starts at 7pm

Where: PickleCon – Walker Stadium, 4727 SE 92nd Ave, Portland, OR

Tickets – Use code PDX

If there’s more info to come, we will be posting on both our Facebook event and on Discord.

We’re having another meet and greet for you lovely magical creatures who are interested in volunteering with SPEWW. This time, we’ll be meeting at the new board game cafe, Capes & Crepes. A few of us already scoped it out and dropped some Galleons on new games. We’d love to have you join us to learn more about upcoming events and how you can help us out. We have a ton of fun, even while we’re working hard behind the scenes to make each event the best it can be.

Capes and Crepes has a cafe with boba and sweet and savory crepes, tons of board games that you can try before you buy, an attached free parking garage, and it’s right on the bus line. Also, they have “Butterbeer” in the fridge, so you can get your fix without having to go all the way to the Three Broomsticks!.

If you can’t make this one, but you still want to volunteer, please fill out our volunteer form, so we can learn more about you and get you on our list. We are accommodating to most needs, so whether you need a chair to sit in for an entire event, you want to work with a buddy, or you can only come help for an hour, we would love to have you join us. Come say hi, leave us your contact info, grab a drink, and jump in a game. We’re here to make magic and we can’t do it without help.

When: 5pm-7pm – June 28, 2025

Where: the tournament room of Capes & Crepes Board Game Cafe – 4990 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97206

It’s here! We’re mostly keeping the same schedule as we had last year, so this may not be new to some of you, but we will be including a few more things:

Friday, July 25
Great Hall : open 5-9pm
Pixie Hunt
Photo booth
Movie Trivia: 7:30pm
Diagon Alley, Knockturn & Hogsmeade: open 5-9pm

Saturday, July 26
Great Hall: open 11am-9pm
Pixie Hunt
Photo booth
Costume contests (kids & adults): 2pm
Book Trivia: 6pm
Wizard Bingo: 7:30pm
Diagon Alley, Knockturn & Hogsmeade: open 11am-7pm

Sunday, July 27
Great Hall: open 11am-7pm
Pixie Hunt
Photo booth
Magic Mash-up Costume contest (kids & adults): 2pm **mash Harry Potter and another magical fandom you love (i.e. Supernatural, LOTR, Percy Jackson, Sabrina)**
Way of the Wand workshop: 5pm
Diagon Alley, Knockturn & Hogsmeade: open 11am-6pm

If you haven’t been to an event where we have done the Way of the Wand workshop, this is your chance! We run this mostly for the littles, so they can get their wiggles out and do something with other kids. Our professors will be there to guide them through several movements to teach them proper wand technique and stance, so they have practice when they get their real wands. Practice wands are provided on loan, so we don’t have any underage magic happening among all the Muggles. If you’re an adult, that would like to perfect your wand movements, you’re welcome to join with your own wand as well.

We’re still working out the details of House meet-ups, so we’ll be announcing those times before Wizarding Weekend.

We had a great meet and greet last weekend with some current and future volunteers. We set up in the private gaming room at Battle Grounds Gaming Cafe and it was a perfect space for this first drop-in. Not only did we have a cozy room, but Battle Grounds also has a full cafe with coffee and tea drinks, beer, pastries, and more.

Some questions we were asked:

What sort of time commitment is volunteering? Honestly, we’re happy with whatever time you can give us. Though we like o have people in blocks of 3-4 hours, if you can’t spare that much, that’s cool. We always need someone to fill in somewhere, whether it’s selling merch at our booth at Rose City Comic Con or taking over the table in the Great Hall so someone can go grab food during Wizarding Weekend.

Do you plan events for people? No, we plan our own events for charity. We are a non-profit that helps other non-profits through events that are fun for the public. What’s the point? To create more community within our fandom, encourage people to give back while doing things they love, and to bring awareness to organizations that do good.

What about the author? She doesn’t own the fandom and she’s not the first author to be problematic. She just happens to be the loudest and also still living. We don’t give her any money and we don’t agree with her views, but we love the Harry Potter fandom and we know that there are many others that do, too. The stories got people through some of their hardest times in life and if they still love that fandom, like we do, they should have a safe space to nerd out with others and still enjoy it in a way that works for them.

If you’d like to meet us in the future to learn more about volunteering with our org, we’ll be holding another drop-in on June 28th. Watch our socials and this blog for more info on time and place.