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Naperville Sun

'Harry Potter' mania grips downtown Naperville with book release

By as early as noon Saturday, evidence of Harry Potter magic was all over downtown Naperville.

The latest book, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," wasn't to be released until 12:01 a.m. Sunday, but Naperville residents Deepa Mathew and her children Isabel, 12, and Emmanuel, 8, were out early, en route to the Nichols Library to return a "Harry Potter" book and DVD and check out more.

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"I started reading the books this summer, and now I'm headed into the seventh," Isabel said. "I think these have been so popular because they have magic, and everyone likes magic. I'm planning to come back to the library tonight, where I'm going to try this potion-making activity the library is offering at 6 p.m."

Anne Bultman, Nichols' head of adult services and chairwoman of the library's Harry Potter Committee, said potion-making is but one activity planned for the day.

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"We have 17 things listed on our schedule so far, and those are just the ones we have announced," she said. "There will also be some passive activities offered as well."

The library will remain open past midnight in order to get copies of the new book — a play script by Jack Thorne based on a story by J.K. Rowling, Thorne and John Tiffany — into the hands of the first people who have placed it on hold, Bultman said. So far, there have been 300 reservations, she said.

"We have purchased 80 copies of the new book, and we'll probably increase that as we try to buy one copy for every three holds we get," she said.

Celina Anwar, 11, of Naperville, who popped into the library to view the "Harry Potter" films being shown all day, said she's read each of the seven books in the series "a total of six times."

"I've seen all the movies, too, and I've pre-ordered the book already," Celina said. "I know I can get it after midnight, but I kind of want to sleep. In terms of the excitement about this, I'd give it more than 10 out of 10. My only concern is that (Rowling) co-wrote the story, so it's not pure Rowling."

Aurora resident Sharon Stolarz, 24, shopping at Anderson's Bookshop, said she has been reading the series "since I was a kid" and thinks the worldwide popularity comes from people her age "growing up with 'Harry Potter' as well as the messages in the books."

"You can take a lot from these books as they are not just about wizards," she said. "You have a boy that had to overcome things and be brave and do the right things as well as dealing with intolerance. I'm going to make a day of it here and come back at midnight to get my book."

Anderson's had sold 1,100 copies of the book as of noon Saturday. Store co-owner Becky Anderson said she's seen a lot of books in her career, but nothing compares to the "Harry Potter" phenomenon.

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"This is a unique event in pop culture, and it blows my mind in terms of the magic of these books that people have admired and taken in as their own," she said.

Nearly 50 businesses participated in the Return of The Party That Shall Not Be Named, a celebration of all things "Harry Potter" leading up to the climactic book release.

Many stores were decorated to look like fictional Diagon Alley, a shopping district in the books; restaurants added "butter beer" and other items to their menus; and quidditch matches and human-size chessboard games were set up. Downtown Jefferson Avenue was closed after 6 p.m. to accommodate the thousands expected to pour into downtown.

"We had an estimated 70,000 people here for the seventh book, and while I'm not sure we'll get that many this time as this is a different type of book, we know a lot of people are excited about it," Anderson said.

Part of the fun is to come in costume, as 14-year-old Chicagoans Isabella Palacios and Evelyn Roman did. Isabella was dressed like a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry student, which has been part of her style "since I was in sixth grade."

"Some kids see this and say, 'Wow, that's so cool!' while others think it's crazy," she said. "But I don't care. I fell in love with the series and the author."

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"We just 'fan girl' over this so bad," Evelyn said. "We came here a little earlier and saw people putting up these signs. ... This is the best ever, and they should do it all the time."

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.


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