How successful was Potterfest in Downtown Danville Friday evening November 5th? Let’s go to where the biggest change happened, the Danville Public Library. For the first time, the Library was HOGWARTS from the Harry Potter movies. It was the place where everyone was supposed start, and pick up their guides, before heading to all the festivities downtown. How many lined up outside waiting to get in? Public library director Jennifer Hess says they were expecting maybe 400 to 500 people. But as near as they can tell, over 3,000 came by; many, of course, dressed in fantastic Potterfest costumes.
AUDIO: We were incredibly surprised. To have that kind of turnout was amazing, and we were thrilled to see it.
As they say about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, plans for the next one begin the day after the last one. But Hess says, the library staff didn’t even take that long to think about the future.
AUDIO: We were already talking about next year about an hour into the event. So we are full of ideas for next year; of how we can make it run smoother, adding additional classes and teachers, having more entertainment out in the Q-line; and then some other operational things, like traffic control and that sort of thing.
And you can bet Downtown Danville, INC and the City of Danville are also already thinking about 2022, along with a lot of the attendees who are already thinking about next year’s costumes. Danville Community Relations Administrator Ashton Greer says this will be held on the first Friday in November each year, making next year’s date November 4th.
