Tag Archives: harry-potter

We made it through our 9th annual Wizarding Weekend at McMenamins Kennedy School and we can’t thank you all enough for making it one of our most successful! Not only did you all show up for Harry’s birthday, but you also showed up for Boys & Girls Aid in so many ways. We took in so many school supplies and you all just threw cash at us to donate, by way of voting for your favorite wizard (Dumbledore!) and villain (Umbridge!), and some just because you wanted to support a great cause in any way you could.

This year’s costume contestants were some of the best, especially everyone who came on Sunday to do a Magical Mash-up! We didn’t have too many adults, but the ones we did have really brought the magic. From Snape turned ballerina to Trelawney on the track team, the mash-ups were awesome! We love everyone’s creativity and can’t wait to see what you come up with for next year’s mash-ups.

We had a new trivia master this year, Kelsey, who did her best to stump you, and we think she did on Friday. Despite some grumbles, she powered through and had a great time learning for next time and displaying all her Potter knowledge. A lot of magical people showed up for trivia and bingo and won some enchanting prizes, including a family season pass to Frog Pond Farms in Wilsonville, and a lot of cool items from our generous vendors (they are all linked in our event post on Facebook and in the slideshow above, so if you missed out on something, go check them out).

Kennedy School decided to get everyone exploring the school, adding a different House drink to each bar, plus Butterbeer at all the bars and restaurants. We tried them all! We think they were a great addition and a fun departure from previous years, where you could order all the drinks everywhere. Our Head Witch found a secret room while ordering Salazar’s Serpent!

Daisy, from Boys & Girls Aid, came to speak to everyone on Saturday before our costume contest and gave us so much information about what they do and how long they’ve been doing it. They are the real magicians for children who need families and support for foster parents as well. Did you know that they have been able to expand their entire organization due to one woman’s generous donation near the start? Before that, everyone at Boys & Girls Aid – then, Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon – was a volunteer.

And because you always want to know who won the “House Cup” over the weekend, we can proudly say that Hufflepuff did it again. From all of our events, we have discovered that Hufflepuffs are super generous and always down to help a good cause. Gryffindors just like a good challenge and will do their best to finish a scavenger hunt and donate as much as possible. Ravenclaws love trivia (shocking!) and trouncing everyone for House points. Slytherins don’t really turn out for causes, like Wizarding Weekend, but they will get real competitive over trivia at a Con, or give money if they know it can help them win. We actually don’t find any of this that surprising, and we love to see an underdog win in the last hour or so of an event, like Slytherin did at Fan Expo this year. Hufflepuff started off strong and didn’t give up the lead all weekend though. Go Puffs!

All of this to say, thank you for all your support. We will be taking all your donations + a big check with us to Boys & Girls Aid next week to help kids start off the school year with everything they need to succeed in school and at home.

Next up, come see us at Rose City Comic Con. We’ll be outside the convention hall. You can find us by looking for our dragon, Pyxys. We’ll be doing trivia all weekend, with new questions each day, and a chance to win tickets to Yule Ball. We’ll be taking cash donations to vote for your favorite magical people/places/things/animals, we’ll have a new photo op from previous years, and be doing Way of the Wand for your little witches and wizards (though grown-ups are always encouraged to participate) at 6:30pm on Saturday on the Rose City Jr Stage. If you’d like to volunteer at our booth, please fill out our volunteer form, or send us an owl (or email if it’s faster) if you’ve volunteered before and don’t get an email by Monday the 10th. Volunteers get a chance to see the con before/after their shift, so we’re saving you Galleons and you’re doing us a huge favor!