One of the absolute top events on the Downtown Danville “First Fridays” of the month roster is back again this Friday, November 3rd. POTTERFEST will be held 5 to 8 PM in Downtown Danville and 5 to 9 PM in the Danville Public Library.
Once again, loads of visitors wearing costumes from the Harry Potter movies are expected. And as Danville Community Relations Director Rheanna Ollis recently explained to Laura Williams on 1490 WDAN’s Community Connection program; one of the movies will be playing at the Fischer Theatre, with loads of other downtown participants.
AUDIO: The Fischer is playing Order of the Phoenix. We have Potter Trivia at Sweet Repeats that they did last year, which was a huge hit. And then of course, we’re bringing back our scavenger hunt. And the winners get two prize bags, which are full of Potter-themed gifts that I have literally non-stop researched.
And non-stop research is what the Danville Public Library has been doing as well. This year, they are turning the library into Hogwarts. The library’s Director of Community Relations, Brooke Kuchefski, says they’re staying open until 9 PM because they know the crowds are coming.
AUDIO: Everything that we are doing here will be based on anything that happened at Hogwarts in Order of the Phoenix. And we will actually be open from 5 to 9, because we know that the line ends up being really long. We want to make sure that people have a chance to see everything Downtown and see us.
Memories of POTTERFEST, 2022
Kuchefski says when she was helping the library with last year’s display, the reaction of a young boy really caught her attention.
AUDIO: He kept just exclaiming, “Mom, look! It’s just like I remembered, it’s just like I thought it would be!” And he was so excited.
Rheanna Ollis says the last First Friday’s event, the 5K Glow that got everyone in a Halloween mood, showed once again that people are coming to coming to Danville to join in.
AUDIO: We had a lady who told me she was from Mattoon. And she saw the event and she was like, “Well, I HAVE to go; that just looks like so much fun! I have to go!” She said “Well, I’ll be keeping an eye on you guys’ Facebook page now to make sure I see the next cool event.” And I’m like, I love that!
And this Friday, the World of Harry Potter will be returning to Potterfest in Danville. Once again, that’s 5 to 8 for the First Friday’s event in Downtown Danville, and 5 to 9 to tour Hogwarts at the Danville Public Library.
To hear all of Laura Williams’ interview with Rheanna Ollis and Brooke Kuchefski, please go to https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/the-community-connection/
News story here.
