Category Archives: Events

2017 Rose City Comic Con

Posted on September 16, 2017 | Leave a comment

Table RCCC

Our first year with both a table and a panel at Rose City Comic Con went really well!  A big thanks to Katie Anderson, Stephanie Griggs, Anna Ho, and Robin Coon who volunteered.  At the table, we spent most our time talking to people about the Harry Potter Alliance or Harry Potter in general.  (We were the only HP dedicated table at RCCC.)  We also sold buttons and had raffles on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday’s raffle was for House bags made by Robin, and Sunday’s for two tickets to the Yule Ball.  (As of now, the Ravenclaw bag and the Yule Ball tickets are not yet claimed.)

 

On Friday, we hosted our panel, “Harry Potter Alliance – The Weapon We have is Love” in Panel Room 8, at 6:30.  Considering we were going up against Weird All Yankovic, we have a pretty good turnout.  We talked about the history and mission of the HPA, and the recent events that the Portland Chapter has hosted.  We focused on the difference that can be made by small acts, and how we all can change the world.  It was well received, and several people visited our table afterward to ask for more information on getting involved.

 

Overall, we connected with a lot of Harry Potter fans and made a little money.  It was a good weekend for the PDX HPA.

 

By the numbers:

77 people signed up for the PDX HPA email list.

31 new members have joined one of the Facebook groups.

$477 was earned in button and raffle ticket sales.  ($425.35 will go toward paying back the investment in our new button maker and printing.)

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Hogwarts Early Admission Program – Year Two

Posted on March 27, 2017 | Leave a comment

On Saturday, March 25th, the HPA hosted the Hogwart’s Early Admission Program in the Small Hall at the Hollywood Public Library.  This event was the kick-off of our Accio Book campaign, collecting books to donate to Beaumont Middle School and the HPA.  Much like HEAP – Year One, we had a small but amazing crowd!

 

Attendees started the program by meeting with our resident wand maker, Mr. Rednavilo. (Olivander?  Who?  Never heard of him.)  For our event, he hand-crafted special wands designed to test a prospective student’s magical ability.  After being selected by their wands, each student had the opportunity to customize it to their tastes.  Styles varied from the aggressively glittery to the geometric, and no two were alike!

 

After a rousing version of the Hogwarts school song, Katie led our Transfiguration Class. Teams were formed and assigned the task of transfiguring some clay into both every day and magical items.  It was a beautiful cacophony.  (Until the librarian came in and asked us to be quieter, as we were disturbing the muggles.)  The first round was very close, and the second round was a tie, so we held a transfigure-off to determine first, second, and third place teams.  Prizes included a number of magical items, including Portable Patronuses, vials of Felix Felicis, and Butterbeer Drops!

 

Last, we practiced our dueling. Students were asked to decipher a series of clues to determine the appropriate spell, and then outcast their opponent.  Training wands were used, so no visits to Madame Pomfrey were required.  When the duelers could not guess the clue, it went to the remaining students to attempt, to win House Points!

 

At the end of the program, the points were tallied as thus:

Slytherin – 4 Points (All given by the Deputy Headmistress…to the Deputy Headmistress.)

Hufflepuff – 21 Points

Gryffindor – 50 Points

Ravenclaw – 50 Points

 

We had our first ever tie! The students were overwhelmingly Gryffindor, so it was a strong showing by Ravenclaw to match them!

 

Most importantly, we collected a lot of books for donation, and connected with some new people who hadn’t heard of the HPA before. Accio Books will be continuing throughout April and May, but we could not have asked for a better start.

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Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad Recap

Posted on November 25, 2016 | Leave a comment

On Friday, November 18th, the PDX HPA hosted “Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad”, a ticketed fundraiser for TransActive Gender Center, in the Backstage Bar at the Bagdad Theater.  Food and a ticket to the movie were included in the night, and we had quidditch pong, a wand raffle, and some truly excellent swag bags for each guest.  We also were allowed to enter the theater through a “Portkey Door”, which meant our guests didn’t have to stand in the long line that had formed at the front.

 

We sold enough tickets for a small donation for TransActive, but our guests once again demonstrated that they are the best people in the world. Aside from buying tickets for the wand raffle, a number of people insisted upon donating without receiving tickets in return.  The proceeds were large enough to allow us to split them between the HPA and TransActive.

 

We will be donating a total of $400 to their organization, but this event was about far more than that. TransActive and organizations like them need support more than anything else right now.  Aside from the people who attended and donated, we also spread the message of TransActive’s good work to a lot of new people.  Jenn Burleton, director of TransActive, was at our party, and she spoke to me of how genuinely kind and giving she’d found everyone to be.

 

All in all, it was a fun night, and we did some good. That’s as it should be.  We don’t know what we’ll be doing next, but I can guarantee it will be magical.

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Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad!

Posted on October 21, 2016 | 1 comment

Get those Time Turners ready! Our next event is going to be “Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad”, on Friday, November 18th, 2016, at the Bagdad Theater.  We have two rooms reserved in the Backstage Bar, where we’ll be celebrating the newest addition to J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding world.  There will be food, drinks, a wand raffle, and a special Very Magical Person entrance into the theater, so our guests do not have to wait in line.

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All of this, of course, is in continued support of the Protego campaign. Our charity partner for the event is TransActive Gender Center, a local organization that focuses on supporting children, families, and educators.  All profits from ticket sales will be donated to them, with the wand raffle proceeds being applied to future HPA endeavors.

 

You can buy tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2706955

 

The Fantastic House Elves working to plan and manage this event are truly fantastic! A continuing thank you goes out to Andrea Snow, Robin Coon, Wes Cronin, and Brandie Sylfae!

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Hogwarts Early Admission Program

Posted on August 3, 2016 | Leave a comment

On Sunday, July 31st, the first ever Hogwarts Early Admission Program took place!  Meeting in the Hogwarts Small Hall (temporarily located at the Multnomah Central Library), students, alumni, and interested Muggles got together for an afternoon of well-mannered frivolity.  Dueling skills were honed with the ancient game of Reducto, Protego, Expelliarmus.  Teams formed to compete in a fast-paced Transfigurations challenge.  The History of Magic exam tested even the most attentive of students on their knowledge of recent Wizarding history.  We finished our afternoon with a special reading from “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”, led by our very own Headmistress, Brandie.

 

Prizes were given to the top students from each class, and to some students who, while not well-informed, were at least very creative. House points were awarded, and Ravenclaw took the House Cup!  Congratulations, Eagles!

 

Of course, it was great fun for everyone involved, but we came together for a more important reason. Our charity partner for this event was Youth Progress, an organization that helps high-risk youth.  We put out a call for school supplies, clothing, and hygiene items, and the response was overwhelming!  Donations came from almost every person walked through the door, in quantities we did not expect.  It was a very good thing that several backpacks were donated, or we would have had difficulty carrying it all out!

 

It was a warm reminder that the HPA and fans of Harry Potter everywhere are capable of doing so much good and making a tremendous change in the world. We came together to make this first event of a new era the best it could be, and from here, anything is possible!

 

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