Wizards Far and Wide Invited to Chestertown Harry Potter Festival
September 26 – 27: Weekend of magic to benefit Garfield Center for the Arts
Grab your wand, hop on your broom, and come for a weekend of magic on September 26 and 27 at the Chestertown Harry Potter Festival. The colonial river town in Maryland will host the celebration, featuring spectacular activities and events for children and adults-wizards and muggles alike. Proudly presented by the non-profit Mid-Shore Community Foundation, the Festival benefits the Garfield Center for the Arts, a cultural organization that nurtures, celebrates and supports arts and artists through performance and education.
The festivities will begin on Friday at 4:30 PM with Harry Potter Academia, a literary exploration of the J.K. Rowling series with Washington College history professor Janet Sorrentino, at Bookplate, 112 South Cross Street. The Festival kick off event will begin at 6:00 PM at the Garfield Center for the Arts, featuring a costume contest, wizard photo booth, magical games, and more.
On Saturday, feast on Pancakes for Potter from 7:00 to 10:00 AM at the Chestertown Mason’s Lodge. Proceeds will be donated to the Festival’s designated beneficiary, the Garfield Center for the Arts. Try your hand at Quidditch from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the field across from the Hogwarts Express. Take dueling lessons with the Phoenix Dueling Club, meet magical creatures at Scamander’s Bestiary, make wizardly crafts, and get Harry Potter face paintings from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at Fountain Park. Come aboard the schooner Sultana for Wizards on the Water, an exciting and magical sail down the Chester River from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Pick up a free marauder’s map at the Garfield Center and join in a downtown scavenger hunt, complete the who dunnit puzzle, and win a prize. The shops and restaurants of Chestertown will transform into places from the pages of J.K. Rowling’s books-the Leaky Cauldron, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Flourish and Blott’s Books, Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, and more. Enjoy wizardly treats, souvenirs, and street theater among participating businesses.
The festival will culminate from 6:00 to 9:00 PM on Saturday with a Kid’s Night at Hogwarts and a House Party at the Leaky Cauldron. Wizards ages 8-13 are invited to Kid’s Night, with supervised, themed activities, dinner, and theatric excitement at the Garfield Center for the Arts. Those inside the age-line are invited to the House Party at the Leaky Cauldron, featuring magical menu items, libations and live music from wizard rockers, the Blibbering Humdingers. Check our website or Facebook page for information about purchasing tickets, and more details about all of the events both free and ticketed.
Can’t wait for the Festival? Come to the Harry Potter Read-a-Thon at the Chestertown Book Festival on Saturday, September 20 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Kent County Public Library Chestertown branch, 408 High Street. Learn more or sign up to read from the book that started it all, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
For information on accommodations, getting to Chestertown, and festival details, please visit our website or Facebook page.