Potter parties

Last Friday night, a bookstore was the place to be with all the Potter parties celebrating the final book release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Joseph-Beth Booksellers in SouthPark Mall was more bumping than Uptown for the Marauding at Midnight Party. They counted down the sale of the book like it was New Years Eve, and let me tell you, those Potter fans partied like it was New Years Eve. And, you could be way under 21 to get into this party — kids were up way past their bedtime. They even had a band: Seth Boulton and the Dream Machine rocked out to the multi-generational crowd.

There were little kids dressed up like wizards that looked too young to have already mastered the ability to read, costumed families carrying brooms, tweens running around and adults enjoying the excitement coming from their kids as though they had taken them to Disney World. It was like New Years Eve slash Halloween in July. It’s as though Harry has his own holiday, but literature is something to celebrate after all.

10, 9, 8, … 1! Happy Harry Potter!

At midnight, the balloon dropped and cashiers were working faster than an assembly line at a toy factory. Within 20 minutes of the book going on sale, we made it to the end of the two-mile long line to the registers.

Bronte Bistro, the delectable little delicacy hidden within Joseph-Beth was serving up wizard snacks, muggle’s wine from a goblet and Polyjuice Potion. Bronte is a cool spot for girls to go on girl dates; their menu is derived from featured cookbooks sold at Joseph-Beth. Eating there made me want to buy every cookbook up in that store.

I think there may have been some Harry Potheads there as well — there was a costumed crew not dressed up like any of the characters within the series. No one was quite sure what they were suppose to be — grunge fairies and wizards in wonderland?

The Potter party was dead by 12:30. Everyone rushed home to read their book. I, on the other hand, went to Tyber Creek Pub for the Save Darfur Coalition fundraising event.

For all you Potter Partiers, there’s also the movie playing on the I-MAX at Discovery Place.

I didn’t realize Josepth-Beth Booksellers was such a happening nightlife spot — I’ve found a place for the closet nerd in me to play. They have book club meetings, and last week I attended a reading for Zane’s Dear Dr. G Spot. Speaking of Zane, she will be here for the Charlotte Literary Festival Aug. 11-12, and I will actually be at Wine Up reading excerpts from her book.

This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2007.