h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*suspenseful music ends*

A few months ago, a friend saw an article in our local newspaper.
It was about a group of people who had launched a crowdfunding campaign for an event that was, if all went well, to take place on November 1st.

And that friend managed to drag me along, as well as three others.

We contributed to the crowdfunding campaign, and then kept our fingers crossed.

By D minus two months, the target amount had been reached.
By D minus one month, they had collected the target sum *three* *times*.

It was going to happen.

We were going to the Harry Potter Wizarding Ball. In Reims. And in fancy dress.


Hence the revision weekend with the movies.


November 1st started as a normal Saturday.

The five of us met up around 2pm, and we walked through the town centre to Palais du Tau, with our costumes tucked in bags.

When we got there, we changed into our characters.
There was a Luna Lovegood (complete with crazy glasses), a Minerva McGonagall (very serious-looking), a Mad-Eye Moody (weird bright yellow wig and ping-pongball eye), a Slytherin student (green and silver and black), and a chess piece statue (with matching chess piece earrings).
I was the statue.


The room downstairs where it was taking place had been decorated with spiders and cobwebs and paper ghosts.
http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/champagne-ardenne/2014/11/01/reims-les-fans-d-harry-potter-envahissent-le-palais-du-tau-582834.html

There was a quizz, which we took all together with (very) limited success.
There were a few stands : a lady selling jewelry inspired from Harry Potter and other fantasy universes, several people from a fanfiction writing site, and some people from a Harry Potter themed magazine.
There were Honeydukes sweets and butterbeer and sandwiches and cupcakes.
There was music, from wizard rock to electro pop.
There was dancing and laughing and general merry-making.

The Ball ended around 11:30, and we then walked home, still singing the theme tune from the movies like a bunch of loonies.

It was a pleasant evening, and to round it off four out of the five of us met up again today to watch movie number 6.
We'll deal with 7 and 8 another time.

Great stuff! I have all the DVD's - I wonder if I'll ever watch them again back to back.

Anyway - it sounds like great fun and was well organised!

Wow, that sounds like a fab night.

Deb

[Amy P]

What, no Moaning Myrtle or Neville Longbottom?

Very !

Fab it was, indeed!

There were surprisingly few actual characters, mostly people were dressed as anonymous students.
There were 2 Mad-Eyes, 2 Snapes, 2 Hermiones and 3 Lunas, though.
And one James Potter.

And one Dumbledore. (Of course, there could only be one of him).

No Harrys, no Rons, no other Weasleys, either.

Sounds like fun!

I always liked Neville. I was happy when he became a hero late in the series. I liked Hagrid the groundskeeper, too, but maybe that was because Robbie Coltrane played him so memorably.

Oh yes, Neville is great.