LeakyCon 2013 (in other words, Harry Potter love)
My sister and I leave tomorrow for four days of sheer fandom joy at LeakyCon in Portland. LeakyCon started as a convention for Harry Potter fans in 2009, and has since grown to include other fandoms and a lot of young adult literature as well - "We come from the Harry Potter fandom and celebrate everything about it first and foremost, and everything about the pop culture fandoms our community is growing to include. LeakyCon is a place where fans can, finally, be their true selves. Where that’s the coolest thing in the world to be." I realize that I am a college graduate and perhaps should dedicate my time to more serious endeavors, but Harry Potter has been a constant in my life for over fifteen years.
My mom ordered the book from England when it first came out, hoping it would capture my attention for a few weeks at a time when I was voraciously reading every book in sight (mostly under my desk in class in elementary school instead of paying attention). I attended the release party for the second book before book release parties were a thing. The first movie was cast and National Geographic Kids wrote up an epic spread complete with pictures of Harry with Hedwig. The boy they cast was just my age, and he looked just as I imagined him (albeit with tamer hair) and Dumbledore was perfect and the whole image was exactly as I would have imagined my magical educational experience. As each subsequent book was released, I re-read the series and got excited all over again. We had a Harry Potter prediction party in high school to guess what would happen in the seventh book and we all waited in line for the midnight release of book seven (and cried a little on the inside that this would be the final installment) and read the entire book before the sun rose so no one could spoil even one epic moment. The next morning was our City Championship swim meet, and the pool area was awash with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sopping wet, wrapped in a towel, waiting to swim the next event, every single kid was lost in the world between those orange book covers. The question for weeks was "Have you finished it yet?" and the response, "Don't tell me ANYTHING!" Every kid wants to go to Hogwarts, and no one wanted the stories to end. The movies were fine, but the books (as always) were better. The movies were merely a way to keep the magic alive for a little bit longer.
Just when I was feeling the loss of the wizarding world and could not justify reading the series again after having finished it in its entirety for at least the sixth time, something magical came along. Some crazy college kids who were just as dedicated to Harry Potter as I was decided to do something about their love for the series. They decided to make a musical. I love musicals. They put their humble little college production on YouTube and it went viral - it was exactly what we were looking for, something to fill the void after the Harry Potter saga ended. The A Very Potter Musical was fresh, witty and hilarious, filled with references that delighted dedicated fans, college humor, and with catchy tunes to boot (p.s. if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT). I kept up with Starkid through college, enjoying their other productions and feeling a great sense of kinship with these kids about my age who were just a great group of friends with some brilliant ideas who let us in on the fun. Harry Potter gave us all a glimpse into the wizarding world, and the Starkids brought us together on the great wide interwebs.
The movies improved, and A Very Potter Sequel hit YouTube in 2010. I still read the series at least once a year, and whenever I need a good laugh I just turn on a Starkid show. The movies wrapped up in a battle of epic proportions, and the Starkids finally brought their Harry Potter to a close at LeakyCon 2012 with a staged reading of A Very Potter Senior Year that finally came to YouTube in March 2013 (and I most definitely watched it on my iPod in the middle of backpacking around South America). As I said - fifteen years of Harry Potter. Now I'm about to head off to real life and real work as a real adult in July, so I feel it's only fitting that I finish out this summer with an epic return to the world of Harry Potter.
I also will get to see my brother, eat great Portland food, hang out with college friends and meet my coach's new baby!
Updates soon...
My mom ordered the book from England when it first came out, hoping it would capture my attention for a few weeks at a time when I was voraciously reading every book in sight (mostly under my desk in class in elementary school instead of paying attention). I attended the release party for the second book before book release parties were a thing. The first movie was cast and National Geographic Kids wrote up an epic spread complete with pictures of Harry with Hedwig. The boy they cast was just my age, and he looked just as I imagined him (albeit with tamer hair) and Dumbledore was perfect and the whole image was exactly as I would have imagined my magical educational experience. As each subsequent book was released, I re-read the series and got excited all over again. We had a Harry Potter prediction party in high school to guess what would happen in the seventh book and we all waited in line for the midnight release of book seven (and cried a little on the inside that this would be the final installment) and read the entire book before the sun rose so no one could spoil even one epic moment. The next morning was our City Championship swim meet, and the pool area was awash with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sopping wet, wrapped in a towel, waiting to swim the next event, every single kid was lost in the world between those orange book covers. The question for weeks was "Have you finished it yet?" and the response, "Don't tell me ANYTHING!" Every kid wants to go to Hogwarts, and no one wanted the stories to end. The movies were fine, but the books (as always) were better. The movies were merely a way to keep the magic alive for a little bit longer.
Just when I was feeling the loss of the wizarding world and could not justify reading the series again after having finished it in its entirety for at least the sixth time, something magical came along. Some crazy college kids who were just as dedicated to Harry Potter as I was decided to do something about their love for the series. They decided to make a musical. I love musicals. They put their humble little college production on YouTube and it went viral - it was exactly what we were looking for, something to fill the void after the Harry Potter saga ended. The A Very Potter Musical was fresh, witty and hilarious, filled with references that delighted dedicated fans, college humor, and with catchy tunes to boot (p.s. if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT). I kept up with Starkid through college, enjoying their other productions and feeling a great sense of kinship with these kids about my age who were just a great group of friends with some brilliant ideas who let us in on the fun. Harry Potter gave us all a glimpse into the wizarding world, and the Starkids brought us together on the great wide interwebs.
The movies improved, and A Very Potter Sequel hit YouTube in 2010. I still read the series at least once a year, and whenever I need a good laugh I just turn on a Starkid show. The movies wrapped up in a battle of epic proportions, and the Starkids finally brought their Harry Potter to a close at LeakyCon 2012 with a staged reading of A Very Potter Senior Year that finally came to YouTube in March 2013 (and I most definitely watched it on my iPod in the middle of backpacking around South America). As I said - fifteen years of Harry Potter. Now I'm about to head off to real life and real work as a real adult in July, so I feel it's only fitting that I finish out this summer with an epic return to the world of Harry Potter.
I also will get to see my brother, eat great Portland food, hang out with college friends and meet my coach's new baby!
Updates soon...
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