Thank you to Aentee from Read at Midnight for hosting the Potterhead July Blog Festival! I am very grateful for being able to participate in such a wonderful feature. Also, thank you Aentee for the fantastic header template. Harry Potter is my number one fandom and I am excited that a lot of bloggers share the same love and are participating in the festival. For the Potterhead July Blog Festival schedule, please check it out here.
Most of you know about Harry Potter. But did you know that Harry Potter is beyond the books and movies? The Harry Potter fandom is huge! It's been about 19 years since the first book was first published and people of all ages are devouring everything to do with the wizarding world. And I don't blame them.
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| Marauders map dress and time turner |
I was fortunate enough to dive into many forms of fandom since the first day I picked up Harry Potter. I have been a Harry Potter fan for around 15 years. The Harry Potter fandom community is amazing. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. The community is very open to everyone. They are not judgmental and they treat you like family. After all, my Harry Potter friends are my second family. I feel like I am going to a reunion every time I attend a Harry Potter convention.
Harry Potter conventions are comprised of many different tracks and also include many special events. For an example, Leviosa had six tracks which included the following: Academic, Fandom, Creativity, Slash & Queer Lit, YA Lit Track and the Writing Track. Leviosa also had a lot of special events such as a Karaoke with Chris Rankin, a Magical Ball and Keynotes.
Leviosa is my fifth Harry Potter convention I have attended. Although Leviosa is over for the year, I heard rumors of it coming back next year or in 2018 in Las Vegas once again. Can't make it out to the West Coast? Check out MISTI-Con which will occur May 18, 2017 - May 22, 2017 in Laconia, NH. I have been to MISTI-Con twice and it's definitely my favorite convention to attend. The Margate Resort is reserved only for the attendees of MISTI-Con which means no Muggles! Next year's theme is "Coming Home" to celebrate 20 years of Harry Potter fandom. You can check out my MISTI-Con 2015 recaps here: Day 1 and Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and 5.
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| My sister and I at MISTI-Con 2015 |
How be a Harry Potter fan beyond the books and movies?
Check out Pottermore
Watch Potter Pupper Pals or Severus Snape and the Marauders
Keep updated with Mugglenet and The Leaky Cauldron
Listen to the following Harry Potter podcasts: MuggleCast, Alohomora, Mugglenet Academia and SpeakBeasty
Read Harry Potter fan fiction
Rock out at a Wrock (wizard rock) show or listen to Wrock music. One of my favorite bands is Ministry of Magic.
Play Quidditch
Visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter or The Harry Potter Studio Tour
Go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London
Cosplay as a Harry Potter character
Attend a Harry Potter midnight release party
How do your celebrate Harry Potter fandom? Do you go beyond the books and movies? Have you been to a Harry Potter convention before? Comment below.
I was able to go to LeakyCon five years ago, and it was an unforgettable experience. I really want to go to more cons, but it wasn't been possible so far. Living pretty much in the middle of nowhere means every con is incredibly far away and the entire trip is just too expensive. Someday though.
ReplyDeleteI know LeakyCon and GeekyCon are this year and next year there is MISTI-Con. I hope you are able to attend more Harry potter conventions. They are pricey but if you can save up in advance to attend another convention, it is definitely worth it!
DeleteGoing to a book conference sounds like it would be a lot of fun! :D It is maybe not up my alley just yet, but perhaps I'll go some other time. Getting to prove our fandomness in the real world can be great fun, so that's for sharing this with us! :)
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed the post. There are some general fandom cons that you might be interested in the future. Also, small author signings are good to start with before deciding to attend a big conference or convention.
DeleteI've never heard of Leviosa, but it sounds all kinds of amazing! I've never been to an HP convention before and now I'm dying to. Loved reading your post.
ReplyDeleteLeviosa's first year was this year. I hope you have a chance to attend a HP con. They are so fun and you will find your people there.
DeleteLeviosa looks like a fantastic event and I am so glad to hear that you had fun there! It's so heartwarming to see that the fandom is still so alive after all these years. I've never heard of Mugglecast before so I definitely have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for participating in Potterhead July!!
Aentee at Read at Midnight
Isn't it great that the fandom is still alive after so many years? OMG! Mugglecast is the best! I have been listening to them for over 10 years! I hope you enjoy the podcast!
DeleteThanks for hosting the feature! I had so much fun writing the post and sharing my HP experience with others :D.
I feel like I rather missed out on being in the Harry Potter fandom, since all the books had come out by the time that I read them! (And I didn't even know what fandom was at that point. SUCH A SMOL ME.) But over the last few years I've got a lot more into it, and I'd love to go to some kind of meet-up or con! And I still have some characters lined up on my extremely long cosplay list for the distant future. :P
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as missing out on HP fandom. There are so many ways to celebrate fandom. I hope you have a chance to attend a con or a meet up!!! Cosplaying is so fun! I love seeing everyone's creativity.
DeleteAhh all those conventions sounds really fun! I feel like I'm missing out a lot since I live outside the US and UK. Let's just hope there will be a midnight release party for the Cursed Child in where I live! I didn't know about the movie Snape and the Marauders! I'm so excited to watch it!
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress
I hope you will be able to attend a midnight release for the Cursed Child. You will have a blast with other Potterheads! I hope you enjoy Severus Snape and the Marauders :D.
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