Once again, the streets of downtown Ironton will be filled with wizards, death eaters, vendors and muggles as Wizardfest returns today and runs into Sunday.
Now in its sixth year, the event is expanding and adding for the fans of the Harry Potter movies.
“It’s looking oddly good,” said Brad Bear, one of the organizers of the event, of the expected weather. “Mid-60s is the sweet spot for us. You can layer up if you’re cosplaying.”
The weekend the Wizardfests have been held in the past have been some of the coldest and dampest weather in the fall.
“One year, it rained the whole time, but it didn’t keep anyone away,” he said.
He said everything is coming together well as they were setting up for the festival because they keep adding more details to make fans feel like they are in the world of Harry Potter.
To that end, the organizers have purchased a Ford Anglia, the same model of car that Ron Weasley and Harry Potter flew to Hogwart’s in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
The organizers are also expanding the event area with the former Transit Café, across from the Ironton Farmers Market, being turned into The Twisted Teapot, which will serve original recipe Butter Brew. The BARKer Farm will have Theo, a Eurasian Eagle owl that, although he is just a few months old, has a four feet wingspan.
“He’s huge and he’s adorable,” Bear said, adding that the Barkers will also be bringing a python for fans to have a photo op with. They will also have a giant toad. “So, it’s fun stuff like that.”
In an adjoining space to the Teapot is where fans can do meet and greets with the actors that were in the Harry Potter movies including long-time Wizardfest attendees James Payton, who played Neville Longbottom’s father, Frank, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Walles Hamonde, who portrays an auror in Fantastic Beasts and was most recently in “Beatlejuice, Beatlejuice” as a TV producer.
New guests this year are Adrian Rawlins, who played Harry’s father, James Potter, and Rohan Gotobed, who played the younger version of Sirius Black.
The event will also expand further down Third Street and are using the lot next to the Wizarding Academy in the Brumberg Building for 16 new vendors. In there will be chairs and tables “because we want people to hang out.”
Another addition is Muggitch, a non-magical version of Quidditch. It is being built and run by Matthew Conley, who won the costume contest at last year’s Wizarding Ball. After that, he approached Bear with the idea of Muggitch, who was enthusiastically for the idea.
Hildy the advice columnist for The Ironton Prophet will be making appearance “giving her delightfully odd advice. So we will see how that goes,” Bear said, with a laugh.
Bear said that proceeds from Wizardfest will go to Kiwanis Club of Greater Ironton which is raising funds to update the playground at the Open Door School in Coal Grove.
Admission is $25 for Saturday and $20 for Sunday. The event runs 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
For a full list of activities, go to irontonwizardfest.com.