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Families experience magic of Harry Potter novels -
Summary:
In the books and movies, Harry Potter must jump through a brick wall in a train station to enter his magical world.
On Saturday afternoon at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road, more than 150 children and parents simply walked through a doorway that led into a meeting room.
Article:
In the books and movies, Harry Potter must jump through a brick wall in a train station to enter his magical world.
Haslett resident Evan Matusz, 6, colors during a Harry Potter party Saturday at the East Lansing Public Library. About 150 magicians-in-training arrived to buy sweets from Honeydukes, watch a magician and make golden snitches.
On Saturday afternoon at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road, more than 150 children and parents simply walked through a doorway that led into a meeting room.
Following a magic show, children could participate in arts and crafts or consume sweets purchased with paper galleons, the currency used in Harry Potter's world.
With tricks including levitating a glass of water in the air and multiplying plastic flowers, magician Jeffrey A. Olds mesmerized children and parents alike.
"I portray a Hogwarts (magical academy) graduate and take the audience on a tour of what happened during the fifth year, which Harry Potter just graduated from in the last book," Olds said.
In reality, Olds graduated from MSU in 1993, and the Harry Potter books later fueled his inspiration.
"With the help of my graduate program in business management, I am able to make magic a full-time career," Olds said.
"And the Harry Potter books are like bibles to me. I've read all five of them, probably two or three times each."
MSU literary instruction graduate student Julia Smith's 7-year-old daughter, Adrianna Ortega Smith, dressed as a witch for the event and said she enjoyed the magic tricks - and she even knows a few of her own.
"The magician was very interesting," Adrianna Ortega Smith said. "I can do a little magic, too. I can make a coin disappear. I learned it from a magic-trick book."
Grand Ledge resident Rita Miller's 10-year-old son, Chris Miller, said he liked how the magician asked the audience trivia questions.
He won a Harry Potter pin for correctly answering one.
Rita said that she and her husband are fans, as are their two sons, Chris and 7-year-old Brandon Miller.
"I love the movies but haven't read the books," Rita said. "My husband has read them. This party was a great afternoon for the kids and the parents."
Librarian Linda Yeager dressed as the Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore, at the party. She also was Chris' teacher before retiring and told his family about the event.
"(When I was a kid), I don't remember reading and feeling that anything could happen on the next page," Yeager said.
"That's how you feel with (Harry Potter author) J.K. Rowling's writing. I also don't recall any book series where you grow up with the character."
The Friends of the East Lansing Public Library and East Lansing High School students assisted with the event.
"I think the librarians have to be commended, because they are so dedicated to the community," East Lansing resident Marsha Bristor said.
Invading dictionaries with the word "muggle" and bringing people together in a library to watch a magic show, Rowling inspired people not only to believe in magic, but to simply read, Yeager said.
"I think the real magic of Harry Potter is how it makes not just children but people of all ages want to read," she said. "There is magic in that. I don't know exactly how she does it, but she does it."
from
The State News 
