The Hufflepuffs turned out for Fan Expo this year. They started off strong with trivia on Friday and continued through the weekend to pull out a strong win for the House Cup.
Congrats Hufflepuff!
Captain Jack Spiderman
The littlest Gryffindor
Hagrid came to visit
Molly Weasley and her daughter
Sexy Gandalf
Queen Frostine
Frieren brought us some extra magic
Look at these cute Bowtruckles
Caesar the No Drama Llama wanted his letter (no, he really didn’t)
We had a great weekend, where we talked to a lot of new people and many of our regulars, took magical portraits of people in the acceptance letters, sold some of our new merch, and made Bowtruckles with anyone who wanted to take home a fantastic beast of their own.
We were able to interact with our fandom and many others. The Community Zone is always a fun place for us, because we get to see all the little witches and wizards coming to do crafts with us and visit all their other favorite fandoms and the amazing photo ops available. We also had a great view of Matthew Lewis (Neville) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny) at their signing tables.
If you stopped by our booth, thank you. We love chatting with you all and taking portraits for you on those Muggle squares you carry around. We’re looking to switch up our photo booth for future cons, which we hope will be just as enchanting and give you a new opportunity to engage with the magical world.
You can find us next at West Side Comic Con in May, at the Wingspan Events Center in Hillsboro.
Yule ball is always a labor of love and we couldn’t do it without everyone coming together for this one amazing event. We, personally, thank everyone who is part of this night, but this year, we want to go above and beyond and give a more intentional thank you to those involved.
We have hired these amazing professionals to make this night extra special (and you can, too):
DJ Switch PDX has been our DJ since our first Yule Ball. He plays a great mix of pop and nerd music that gets everyone on their feet. He is a wonderful supporter of SPEWW and as a Gryffindor, throws himself whole-heartedly into each event he does. You can see him at various events around town, but you can also hire him for your own event. Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch | Website
Daniela from No Rules Photography captured some of the most gorgeous photos of our 2023 Yule Ball and we’re so excited to have her back. She knew exactly what we wanted and gave us even more than we expected. You can hire her for weddings and other events. She has done some truly magical photo shoots, including LGBTQ+ engagement and wedding photography. Instagram | Facebook | Website
The Rose City Dancing Witches bring whimsy and witchcraft to every event they do and we are so proud to have them be part of the Yule Ball for several years. Each year they do two different performances to entertain our magical community and we love to see them return and also do performances around town the rest of the year. Facebook | Email
Of course, we have so much love for the Sheraton bar & catering staff. They work their brooms off to keep everyone moving through the buffet line, clearing tables, mixing drinks, and keeping us all hydrated during the dance. The hotel also gives us a special room rate, so those who have imbibed or danced too hard can stay the night. Instagram | Facebook | Website
Our raffle table in 2024
Our raffle is always a big part of the funds we bring in for our charity and this year a lot of really wonderful local artists, businesses and individuals stepped up to make this one of the biggest raffles we’ve ever had. If you didn’t win, want to purchase something directly from them, or want to follow them on socials, you can find them here:
Art of Jo Nicholson
Jo Nicholson has been one of our great vendors for Wizarding Weekend and we are thrilled to bring a few of her fun pieces to our Yule Ball raffle. She has witchy prints, stickers, and more. Instagram | Facebook | Etsy
Black Cat Frozen Custard
The newest witchy shop in town serves up delicious frozen custard creations in a spellbinding setting + has a secret speakeasy coffee shop where you can have your conspiratorial meetings. SPEWW can neither confirm nor deny having one of our own. Instagram | Website
Bunnies-N-More
Do you have an exotic animal that needs some care? Bunnies-N-More does mobile grooming, emergency care, pet sitting, and even animal education in your classroom, party, or event. Need your iguana’s nails clipped or someone to take amazing care of your rats while you’re away? This is where you go! Instagram | Facebook | Yelp | Website
Cascadia Roots
When you’re looking for small batch organic skin and body care products, Cascadia Roots has a variety of sprays and potions to suit you. From scrape and bug spray to nursing balm and calming spray, you can feel good about using these products made for the whole family. Instagram | Facebook | Website
The Freckled Lion Workshop
Geeks selling laser-cut decor and gaming accessories for other geeks. Whether you’re looking for coasters, ornaments, or a place to roll and display your dice during your latest D&D campaign, with your favorite fandom on it, The Freckled Lion Workshop might have just the thing. Facebook | Instagram | Website
Goddesses & Grimoires
We have had a working relationship with Goddesses & Grimoires for years and they never fail to impress with their spooky and witchy wares. Get you potions, wands, monster books, and everything in between. Instagram
Historical Conjurer
We all love magic and there’s nothing more magical than a Muggle magician, because they have to make you believe it’s real. Professor DR Schreiber does historical illusions and magic at events around the Portland area, including doing multiple shows per day at Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium’s annual Harry Potter tea. He’s available for private parties and other events you want to add a bit of enchantment to and also learn some History of Magic. Instagram | Facebook | Website
Hopscotch
Hopscotch Portland is a spellbinding interactive art museum with different rooms dedicated to different kinds of art, from large murals in a room the size of a warehouse to small rooms resembling a recording space where you play with colors to a glowing ball pit for all ages. There’s even a bar in the lobby. Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | LinkedIn | Website
The Macabre Father
Xander makes creepy, kooky, and nerdy plushes, cake boxes, cookie magnets and more, all to scratch the itch for your favorite fandom or vibe. They do a great trade at Wizarding Weekend with their plush House bats and multiple sizes of fuzzy Acromantulas. Instagram | Facebook | Website
McMenamins Kennedy School
As you may or may not know, Kennedy School hosts our Wizarding Weekend every year. This historical school-turned-hotel is one of Portland’s unique landmarks, with several bars and a restaurant on the premises. Guests love the quirky rooms and the soaking pool that can rival the Prefect’s bathroom. It’s also located in a great, quiet neighborhood and has a ton of parking, which can be rare other places in the city. Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Website
Misplaced Magical Creatures
Are you looking to adopt a Fantastic Beast all your own? Perhaps a Bowtruckle for your tree or favorite houseplant or a colorful Pygmy Puff to match your House or personality. Jenna conjures them all and fosters them until they are ready to go to their new magical homes. We’re lucky that Misplaced Magical Creatures only vends one show per year and that happens to be Wizarding Weekend. Instagram | TikTok | Etsy
My Journal City
Write down your innermost secrets, new spells, or travel memories in one of Kevin’s journals made from repurposed materials. Choose from vintage book covers, movie box art, and all your other favorite iconic pieces of pop culture. Facebook
¿Por Qué No? Taqueria
We don’t know about your House Elves, but the ones at school don’t make tacos or other Mexican food. Probably because they’ve never had it. If you want drinks and eats just as good as an elf could have made it, ¿Por Qué No? is the place to go. Indulge in brunch, Taco Tuesdays, and even holiday tamale orders. Instagram | Facebook | Website
Raven’s Manor
If spooky settings and creative food and drinks are your cup of Butterbeer, then Raven’s Manor has a seat for you. The dark, creepy vibes are only made better by cocktails that come in a lantern or a trio of screaming beignet ghosts. The menu changes to match the haunted feel of every season. Instagram | Facebook | Website
RoseCraft Accessories
You might be looking for a new creature to add to your family or helpful household items, like hot pads or kitchen towels promoting your favorite fandom or team. RoseCraft may be a bit hard to find, but they are worth the search or wait for the next craft fair they Apparate to. Facebook
Rushing’s Rarities
Searchers of spooky prop replicas, potion labels, magical accessories, and wooden signs will find them at Rushing’s Rarities. Mummified hands, spell components, handmade wands are just some of the things that you’ll find in their store and craft fairs around town. They’ll even work with you to make something customized. Instagram | Facebook | Website
Secret Dragon Collectibles
Secret Dragon Collectibles adopts out their handmade beaded dragons and magical accessories like these flying keys. If you’ve been to Wizarding Weekend, you’ve likely oohed and aahed over their elaborate and colorful dragons. You may have even taken one home. Instagram | Facebook |Website
Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel
Sheraton has been our Yule Ball venue for 3 years now and we couldn’t be happier with the staff, space, catering, and rooms. Not only does it offer tons of parking and space for our partying, they have great ideas for Yule Ball, and offer our guests a special discount on rooms. Instagram | Facebook | Website
Shereen Travels Cheap
Shereen runs a budget travel blog where she gives advice on how to travel more affordably for adults who aren’t willing to sleep in hostels or on people’s couches. She reviews travel items and destinations, while giving practical tips to do more while spending less. Instagram | Facebook | Website
The Sparkly Stitcher
Decorate your home with beautiful geeky cross-stitch of all sizes. Get a tiny Deathly Hallows stitch or a large piece for your Dr. Who loving heart. You’ll find them at craft fairs across the metro area or you can request a custom piece for commission. Instagram
Stargazer’s Gourmet
One of our favorite sweets makers, Stargazer’s Gourmet is known for their handmade small-batch fudge in amazing flavors, including those inspired by the Wizarding World. You can also find some of those sweets you might find in Honeydukes, so you can live your wizard candy dreams. Instagram | Facebook | Website
VDX Designs
If you’re looking for quality woodwork with your favorite fandom, VDX Designs makes it. From laser-etched dungeon master screens to shields to wooden ornaments, you’re likely to find everything for the geeks on your list or yourself. Instagram | Facebook | Etsy
Westside Comic Con
Hillsboro is getting its own Con in 2026. We’re thrilled to be part of their inaugural year and are excited to see the west side getting a new way for people to engage with the community and another reason to perfect those cosplays. We’re looking forward to more artists, vendors, nerds, fandom, and more! Instagram | Facebook | Website
We also have to say a giant thank you to all the volunteers that help us set up, run the Yule Ball, and tear down at the end of a long night. We truly couldn’t do any of it without them ♥
Are your looking for the magical balance between buying holiday gifts and supporting small and local businesses? Then you want to jump on your broom and get to Geek the Halls this month.
A bunch of nerdy makers get together and sell all their amazing goodies, from candles to dice towers to coasters, or ornaments. Anything cool and fandom-related are represented there and SPEWW will be there, too! What’s more personal for your friends and family than a handmade gift from their favorite book, movie, or tv show?
We’ll be bringing back our Portable Patronus boxes this year, plus we’ll have Prophecy craft boxes, our usual array of magnets, buttons, & stickers, and jewelry, including our new wizarding friendship bracelets (both already made and DIY kits that are great for stockings and Hanukkah gifts). Come say hey to us and pick up something affordable for other witches and wizards on your gift list, while helping out a local nonprofit.
Where: DoubleTree Exhibit Hall near the Lloyd Center in Portland
When: Saturday November 29-Sunday November 30 | 10am – 5pm
It’s Banned Books Week and while we aren’t doing anything specifically for the week, we have come up with a challenge for the month. Do you want to encourage more reading and also get entered to win 2 tickets to Yule Ball? Let’s stock those free little libraries around town with more reading material!
The challenge:
Donate a book (or more) to a local Free Little Library for House Points and entry/entries for Yule Ball tickets.
Rules for entry:
Donate a book and take a pic of you doing so for 1 House Point and 1 entry.
Donate a BANNED Book and post a pic of you doing so for 5 House Points and 5 entries.
Donate an LGBTQ+ or other inclusive book that isn’t on the banned books list and post a pic of you doing so for 3 House Points and 3 entries.
Dress as a witch or wizard while donating and we’ll give you a bonus 5 House Points and entries.
You can donate up to 3 books for points through October 31. (this means you can earn up to 30 House Points and 30 entries)
Post pics and tag us either on FB or IG and use #SPEWWBannedBooksChallenge and include your Hogwarts House. You’ll gain points for your House, which we’ll tally up at the end of the month, and entry/entries for Yule Ball tickets.
You can still join the challenge if you don’t live in the area and can’t come to the ball. Donate a book to your local Free Little Library to encourage more reading in your neighborhood. You will still get House Points and the magical feeling of putting more books in the world.
We will draw a winner on November 1 at noon PST and also announce the House Cup winner.
Remember when Harry had to defend himself and his cousin against Dementor’s trying to suck out their souls, and instead of anyone believing him, he got in trouble twice? Once with the Dursley’s for Dudley’s emotional state and again with the Ministry for doing underage magic? He got a lovely court summons that said “As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards’ Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on August 12th. Hoping you are well, Yours sincerely, Mafalda Hopkirk“and then had to go into the courtroom alone, as an underage wizard!? You can’t do magic to save a life, but you can represent yourself in court. Make it make sense!
Well, unfortunately, underage Muggles have the same problems, but they don’t have Dumbledore to swoop in and fix all them all like magic. Instead, they have KIND – Kids In Need of Defense. They are a nonprofit that provides legal council to immigrant children who deserve to have their rights upheld and not have to defend themselves in court in a language that might be completely foreign to them.
Right now, many organizations like KIND are being defunded by the federal government and are dependent on outside donations. We think everyone needs someone to stand up for them, and KIND does this for the most vulnerable among us. Help us conjure the galleons KIND needs to do the most good in this tenuous time, by buying Yule Ball tickets and raffle tickets at the event. We are lining up a great table full of amazing raffle prizes, including a stay at the Airport Sheraton with free parking and dinner, so we hope you’ll stop at Gringott’s on your way. (We also except those Muggle cards that are attached to their non-wizarding banks.)
We love a good book and we love sharing our favorite books with people. The beginning of October is Banned Books Week, and we’ll be doing something special for that, but afterwards, we wanted to do something fun and book-related for you all in the Portland area.
Join us for Blind Date with a Magic Book! Everyone will bring one (or more) book that they wrap up and write teasers for, so others can find a new book that they vibe with to take home with them. Your books should center around magic in some way – since we all came together for our love of Harry Potter – but can be any genre.
Wrap your book in kraft paper or plain wrapping paper and decorate it if you like. On the front, write a few keywords or a teaser sentence (e.g., “Time travel, Found Family, 1920s”). You could even include the first line of the book—just no spoilers. Aim for 3 clues that will help others determine if they might like the book.
The Portland Hostel Cafe has offered to host our event, so you have the option to order off their delicious menu or one of their many alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
We’ll also have cards for you to write down book titles that you don’t take home, but sound like something you might like to read in the future. We would also love if you bring a list of other magical books you think people would like if they enjoyed Harry Potter.
Rose City Comic Con (RCCC) is just a few weeks away (Sept 5-7) and SPEWW will be there to rep our favorite witches, wizards, and magical beings. This will be our first con as SPEWW and we are excited to see how the new name is received. We had a lot of great feedback at Wizarding Weekend, and hope that is the case here, too.
Come see us outside Hall E, where we will be joined with a few other organizations. We will have our merch, including pins, stickers, magnets, jewelry, and our new Prophecy craft boxes. You can take your photo in our “falling” acceptance letters photo booth.
Try your luck at daily trivia. We will have O.W.L.- and N.E.W.T.-level questions that are new each day. Correct answers can gain you House points, which we tally up at the end of the weekend to announce the winning House. If you get all three questions for the day correct, you have the option to be entered to win a pair of Yule Ball tickets. Correctly answer the bonus WIZard question of the day and get another entry.
We will be bringing all our fantastic beasts, including our dragon Pyxus, our owl Virgil, and our Niffler Nyla. Nyla will be available with her shiny hoard for trinket trading. Bring something sparkly to trade her one-to-one items. If you happen to have some coins on you, she is will also trade with you, and be willing to part with those coins after the Con in order to donate to a deserving charitable organization (TBD).
HoH Summer conducting WotW at Wizarding Weekend
Each day of the con, our dueling witches will be conducting our Way of the Wand workshop for the littles in Rose City Jr. They will be loaned a practice wand and our witches will take them through some warm-up exercises to stretch and then some important wand movements to practice effective and safe spellwork. Every wizard needs to know how to properly hold and brandish a wand. Our times for these workshops are:
Friday 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Saturday 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Sunday 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
We’re still looking for volunteers for RCCC, especially during these times. If you can work 3-4 hours over the weekend, we would love to have you. If you already volunteer, send us an email at PDXHPA (at) gmail. If you are new and would like to volunteer with us, please fill out our volunteer form.
2025 Wizarding Weekend was bit quieter than usual, but we were lucky to have a steady stream of magical people come through McMenamin’s Kennedy School to play trivia and bingo, hunt for Pixies, enter our costume contests, and shop our awesome vendors.
We tried some new things this year and some went well and some might need another year to get going. Our Sunday Magical Mash-Up Costume Contest was a hit with the kids who entered. Of course, we allowed everyone’s magical costumes to enter, but we had a large percentage of children who took the challenge.
Our try at doing House meet-ups wasn’t that popular, but we also didn’t do much in the way of announcements, so we will try again next year, and maybe add some other meet-ups into the mix, and hope we do more in the way of letting people know they are happening.
Another new thing we did this year was incorporating Way of the Wand into our programming. We had a small, but enthusiastic group of children learning to do wand techniques and move around. We did this on Sunday evening, which might not be the most ideal time to do it. In 2026 we may try to move this to Friday evening and/or Sunday morning.
We were blessed with some awesome volunteers who were willing to jump right in and help wherever needed, including hosting our Saturday costume contest.
As always, we threw this whole weekend for charity. We collected school supplies and raised funds for Rose Haven day shelter for women. People turned out with bags and boxes of supplies. We had some witches come with adorable House-themed supply bags and another couple come with two backpacks that they said was filled with one of everything on the list we posted. We love this community! At the end of the weekend, we had an entire car filled with backpacks and supplies that will be donated next week, along with a check from SPEWW for $3200, to Rose Haven. We are so proud to do this for those in need and hope it helps their school year start off better than it would have otherwise.
Thank you to everyone who came to Wizarding Weekend to make it the success it was. We are always honored to have such wonderful people engaging with our events and helping to make life better for those less fortunate than us. Harry was lucky to have a vault full of gold and a second home at Hogwarts and we know for certain that he would do his best to put that money to good use in the real world. He may not be able to do that, but we are proud to do it in his name, while having a great time with new and old magical friends, drinking Butterbeer, and also supporting artists from our community.
We can’t wait to do this again in 2026. Next up, Rose City Comic Con!
Last week we had the opportunity to join some other vendors & organizations from Rose City Comic Con at a Portland Pickles baseball game to talk to fans about what we do and also get them involved in some magical crafting. Our witches soft launched our new name with brand new signage and had a chance to speak to quite a few people about our mission and future events.
We made Bowtruckles and broomsticks with the kids, because who doesn’t love having a takeaway from an event. The little magical people were very focused on doing their best and were sent off with a new keepsake and a puzzle (or 3) to use their new broomstick pencils on while watching the game.
Setting up
We always have a sign-up sheet for volunteers and a sign for upcoming events.
Stan loves our new banner!
Look at those nachos!
Some kids were more creative with the Bowtruckle supplies
Dillon T Pickle came to visit us in his spellbinding wizard robes and even showed off his wand skills. A pickle wizard is a new one for us, but we don’t judge and we all had a great time hanging out with him and doing a little bit of dueling (family-friendly, of course).
If you came out to the game, we’d love to hear about your evening, and if you stopped by our booth, we’d also love to see any pictures you may have taken. Tag us on Instagram or on Facebook, because it was kind of a big dill for us.
Great news! This year for Wizarding Weekend, our charity partner will be Rose Haven, a day shelter and community center for women, children, and gender non-conforming folx experiencing houselessness. They help by giving them a safe place to shower and create community, have a meal, get much needed clothing in order to find employment, give them a mailing address, and help with other social services.
We’ve worked with Rose Haven before and feel like they do very important work. We were lucky enough to take a tour and meet some of the lovely women who work there and learn about everything they do. You can donate all year to them. They have a list of items they need most that they update regularly on their website.
We’ll be collecting school supplies for the children. What we know they need so far:
Backpacks
Boxes of 10 Crayola brand fine tip markers
Boxes of 24 Crayola colored pencils, sharpened
Packages of wide ruled loose leaf paper with punched holes
Spiral bound notebooks
Pencil pouches
Pencil sharpeners
12 ct Sharpie chisel highlighters
24 or 16 ct Crayola crayons
12 ct Crayola washable markers
No 2 pencils
Kids safety scissors (round point)
Plastic rulers
Elmer’s purple glue sticks
Elmer’s liquid glue
Composition notebooks
Graph paper composition notebooks
Ruled 3×5 notecards
Bic stick grip xtra comfort ballpoint pens (blue or black)
Bic brite liner chisel tip highlighters (yellow)
As always, with each donation, you’ll receive House Points and they will be added to points given for our Pixie Hunt and other activities. The winning House will be announced at the end of Sunday and we will post it on our socials.
Donate a book and take a pic of you doing so for 1 House Point and 1 entry. 
Donate a 
Donate an LGBTQ+ or other inclusive book that isn’t on the banned books list and post a pic of you doing so for 3 House Points and 3 entries. 
Dress as a witch or wizard while donating and we’ll give you a bonus 5 House Points and entries.
Welcome to SPEWW PDX 