When the Whomping Willows that line the Cayuga Lake Inlet were turning gold with autumn, a magical festival was born in Downtown Ithaca. Gabe, an employee at Boxy Bikes and his younger brother (Aiden) hatched the idea to transform Press Bay Alley into Diagon Alley for trick or treating; of course, everyone at Press Bay loved the idea, as it is already a place filled with whimsy and wonder.
What no one knew at that time was how inspiring the Harry Potter universe would be! Within days the event went viral online and thousands of people RSVP’d. This was not going to be a quaint trick or treat for a few dozen kids: families and fans from hours around wanted to come to Ithaca for a magical escape.
Quickly, Darlynne Overbaugh of Life’s So Sweet Chocolates, Bill Overbaugh of Ehrhart Energy, Laurence Clarkberg of Boxy Bikes, and John Guttridge of Press Bay Alley got to work. They brought Cornell University’s Raptor Club, a Flying Ford Anglia, and myriad vendors, performers and volunteers to downtown Ithaca–all with only days to sculpt a truly magical world, because by this time, MTV and national news outlets had picked up the story. More than 8,000 people were planning to attend.
When the big day arrived, no one quite knew what would happen. People arrived in outlandish costumes, their enthusiasm and their love of Harry Potter creating a community instantly. Local business owners rolled with the situation creating interesting products for guests to purchase. The Downtown Ithaca Alliance and volunteers pitched in to help. Wizarding duels, dragons, magic, owls, wizard chess, and wands truly enchanted Press Bay Alley for a day. Visitors received acceptance letters to Hogwarts, found their Houses, traversed the downtown in search of Horcruxes, and teams fought it out in a bicycle-based quidditch bout. Downtown Ithaca was giddily transformed into a magical world.
In the end, it was the imagination of people who brought out the magic in Ithaca. And it will happen again this October - if we have your support.
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