Rappaport's report:
On Friday evening, July 20, Medford Street in Arlington was transformed into a magical thoroughfare filled with wizards, elves and witches.
From 6 to 10 p.m. there were places to find and decorate wands and house banners. There were also caricatures and magic sets for sale as well as wizard treats.
The event was organized by the Book Rack in order to celebrate the midnight release of the final Harry Potter book.
Other local businesses joined in on the fun by making special choices available on their menus. Krazy Karry’s changed its name for the night to “The Freaky Cauldron” and its kids’ menu included Toad burgers, Goblin Cheese sandwiches, and Dragon Claws served with potato wands and a small potion.
The Chilly Cow had special magic flavors for the night including Cornelius’ Double Fudge Brownie, Centaur Trax, Elves Explosion, Unicorn Crunch, Wizard’s Whirlwind, Ghost’s Cream and Dragon’s Delight.
The crowd enjoyed a great magic show sponsored by The Book Rack outside the Regent Theater.
Then at 10 p.m. the crowd moved inside the theater for a costume contest and a trivia contest and lots of prizes.
Finally, Mike Buglio, the owner of The Book Rack read aloud the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to an audience on the edges of their seats.
Just before midnight, as an empty bookshelf was draped on the stage, the magicians called for everyone to raise their wands, and the audience gasped as the cloth was removed and the bookshelves were magically filled with the books.
In an amazingly quick and organized way the books were distributed and people began reading them as they walked up the aisles. It was a wonderful evening and reminded us of how lucky we are to have such great independent stores and a strong sense of community here in Arlington. Thank you to everyone involved for all the fun we were able to share.
Dokos's report:
The last Harry Potter has finally arrived. After spending Friday night bookstore-hopping to find the right vibe, it was at our local Arlington bookstore, the Book Rack, that held the excitement all evening.
The owner of the store, Mike Buglio, organized a large street party where young witches and wizards came to find or make the right wand.
Mike and his family put a huge effort forward, afterward getting everyone to the Regent Theater and continued events that captured the attention of kids and adults alike.
Prizes were given out to all, from answering trivia questions, participating in the costume contest, where
a young Dobby won the hearts of all, to the raffle and of course a counting contest involving a large jar of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.
The night was wrapped up with Mike reading the first chapter of the new book, and the magical appearance of the book by magician Chris Britt, a graduate of Arlington High School.
All in all the Book Rack put much effort into the night to make it the perfect Potter party for everyone.
"Thanks to everyone for coming out. Friday night was a huge, fun success because of all the great attitudes, costumes and people that came out. 400 people chanting 'Dobby! Dobby! Dobby!' helped too."]
Enuma Elish
performs "Metropolis" Thursday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. at the Regent
Theater. General admission...
