I have to start this post with a spoiler alert. If you have yet to read all seven of the Harry Potter novels (and no, watching all the movies does not count) please do not read beyond this paragraph. In this post I will be mentioning key plot points from the series and I would hate to ruin the wonderful "what happens next" feeling for anyone who has yet to read the Harry Potter saga for the first time.
The opening festivities of Leaky Con 2001 saw all 3000 conference attendees gathering for a multi media presentation on the Main Stage. We were welcomed by Melissa Anelli and before the presentation even started she announced that one lucky fan had been randomly selected to come up on stage to be part of the show. As the lucky winner bounded excitedly to the stage, her boyfriend stepped out from backstage and proceeded to propose to her.
Needless to say the overly excited, 85% female, crowd went crazy when she accepted the proposal and the room seemed to swell with joy as the official presentation began. A film documenting highlights from the last 15 years of the Harry Potter fandom was punctuated with live performances from the first ever wizard rock band, Harry and the Potters, Vlogbrother Hank Green and YouTube sensations the Potter Puppet Pals and Team Starkid. The live performances were so good that I started getting giddy when I thought about how awesome the next few days were going to be.
The only downside of Leaky Con was that, unless you were fortunate enough to posses your own time turner, you could only access a quarter of the total programming on offer. This was because everyday from 9 am until 6 pm there were at least 3 different lectures, discussions or activities programmed for each hour. As if this wasn't enough, there was also always some performance/event going on at the main stage for every hour of the day. Add to this the lure of the vendor room (which was filled with excellent fan created Harry Potter merchandise for sale) and you can begin to understand why Sarah and I didn't have time to eat during the first day!
Some Leaky Con discussions/events that I missed out on but would have attended if I owned a functioning time turner included:
*What imprinting, attachment, learning and magic teach us about survival in Harry Potter
*Jeopardy: Harry Potter and the Law
*Family Dynamics in the Harry Potter novels
*The books vs the movies: What was left out and why its important
*A writer's guide to Harry Potter
*Growing up Potter and the effects on the English classroom
*Casting your Patronus: The representation of mental processes in Harry Potter novels
*Twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches: Lessons from Ron's success with Hermoine
*Dance Against the Dark Arts: Exploring Harry Potter's world through dance
*Racism and Slavery in the Wizarding World
*Rowling's not so flawed plan: The elder wand as a symbol of masculine power and the importance of love between its masters
*That's how we do it in Gryffindor, bitches: Sorting in the Harry Potter fandom
*International Quidditch Association Demo Match. Universities in the USA have quidditch teams that regularly play against each other. In the muggle version there is no flying involved but it is very physical (one player lost a tooth in the demo match). The snitch is an actual person who gets a minute head start to run off and hide before the seekers can start looking for him/her.
There was so much going on that by day 3 of the conference attendees stopped asking each other "What has been your favourite part of Leaky Con so far?" and started getting more specific "What was your favourite part of Friday morning?".
Some of my favourite Leaky Con 2011 experiences were...
*Attending the "Why Fred?" discussion where I was able to talk to other fans about the great juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy that was created by the death of Fred Weasley in book 7.
*Being part of a 3000 person singalong of songs from "A Very Potter Musical" at the Team Starkid event.
*Hearing Evanna Lynch, a huge Harry Potter fan and the actress who plays Luna Lovegood in the movies, talk about the transition of book to film.
*Being there for live recordings of Leaky Mug and Pottercast.
*Getting to meet and talk to the hosts of Pottercast, the Harry Potter podcast I have been listening to for the last 3 years, and thanking them for the hundreds of hours of entertainment they have provided me with on my daily commutes to work.
*Hearing more about the fabulous work of the Harry Potter Alliance. HPA uses the Harry Potter saga to raise awareness of human rights issues amongst young people and through its fundraising efforts empowers young people to see how their efforts can result in real change in the world. HPA currently has over 100,000 members around the world and in 2010 raised $123,000 to send five plane loads of supplies for Partners in Health to Haiti.
*Seeing Deathly Hallows (Part 2) with a cinema full of serious Potter fans.
*Spending the next 3 days tearing apart the movie with serious Potter fans.
*Seeing the wonderful fan created "Final Battle" musical (which was rehearsed solely over skype!).
*Being part of a huge Nerdfighter gathering and getting to be in the opening of one of Hank Green's Vlogbrother videos.
*Hearing two amazing lectures from John Granger: "Writing In Circles - Harry Potter and the magic of ring composition" & "Harry Potter and the Metaphysical Center - A 'Theory of Everything' to Tie Together the Artistry and Meaning Driving Potter-Mania".
I think it is fair to say that, even amongst hard core Harry Potter fans, John Granger is considered to be a serious book nerd. His detailed analysis and expertise in unravelling the genius of J.K Rowling's work never ceases to impress me. As well as having my mind blown by his new thesis (the importance of ring composition in the Potter saga) I also bought a couple of his books and got to chat to him while he signed them for me! This was one of many so-good-I-must-be-dreaming-but-if-I-am-please-don't-wake-me nerd moments that I experienced at Leaky Con.
*A highlight amongst a week of highlights was getting a sneaky early peek at Pottermore, J.K Rowling's new online reading experience. We found out how we will be sorted as well as some of the layout and features of the site. Jo (another great thing about Leaky Con was that when you said "Jo" no one asked "Jo who?") had long ago discussed creating an encyclopedia of all things Potter that would include copious backstories of characters and subplots that never made it into the actual published saga. I was initially disappointed when I heard about Pottermore, as I suspected that the new site would take the place of the promised encyclopedia. I still think it is highly unlikely that the encyclopedia will be published, but I no longer care as even the tiny glimpse we got into Pottermore showed that it will be far superior to any mere encyclopedia.
I don't think the bloke from Pottermore quite knew what he was in for when he showed up to present to a room packed with 3000 serious Potter fans. At one point, to demonstrate what the layout would look like, he flashed a page with the backstory of Professor McGonagall onto the enormous screen. Three thousand people gasped, leant forward and began speed reading in unison. The presenter started to talk and 3000 people did not take their eyes off the screen as they rose in a single voice to "shush" him. This happened twice more before he had to turn off the screen to get our attention back to him.
*Dancing the night away at the Esther Earl Rocking Charity Ball - and the hilarity of having to go back to my room to get my passport so that I could purchase alcohol because the bartenders didn't believe me when I insisted I was over 21 (eleven years over 21!).
*The Wizard Rock concerts were the times I felt most connected to the extraordinary community that is the Harry Potter fandom. It was only at Leaky Con that a few thousand people could be singing along with Harry and the Potters as we swore to "Save Ginny Weasley from the basilisk" and not worry that we were weird for rocking out to a song about a book.
The leaving feast on the final morning of Leaky Con 2011 was a lovely way to end a hectic few days. It was announced at the leaving feast that, in addition to being loads of fun, Leaky Con 2011 had managed to raise over $120,000 for charity. I was completely exhausted but still shared the sentiment of all present: I really didn't want the conference to end. The ballroom was filled with large round tables and constant chatter as we all filled up on the breakfast buffet. In true Leaky Con style, I managed to make new friends in the last few hours of the conference. It didn't seem fair that we were still in the middle of excellent conversations as we were being ushered out of the building.
Still, when I think of Leaky Con the lasting memory is not the sadness of saying goodbye to Sarah.
For me, the lasting memory Leaky Con 2011 was how I felt singing along with Hank Green, and a few thousand of my new friends, to "Accio Deathly Hallows" at one of the Wizard Rock concerts. Madly jumping up and down, I saw wands raised in the air above the mosh pit and realised that what I was experiencing was not just happiness...but rather pure, unbridled joy.
P.S. For those of you waiting for information on the 'Wizarding World Of Harry Potter' theme park, fear not. The theme park will get its own post, and that is coming up next :-)
The opening festivities of Leaky Con 2001 saw all 3000 conference attendees gathering for a multi media presentation on the Main Stage. We were welcomed by Melissa Anelli and before the presentation even started she announced that one lucky fan had been randomly selected to come up on stage to be part of the show. As the lucky winner bounded excitedly to the stage, her boyfriend stepped out from backstage and proceeded to propose to her.
Needless to say the overly excited, 85% female, crowd went crazy when she accepted the proposal and the room seemed to swell with joy as the official presentation began. A film documenting highlights from the last 15 years of the Harry Potter fandom was punctuated with live performances from the first ever wizard rock band, Harry and the Potters, Vlogbrother Hank Green and YouTube sensations the Potter Puppet Pals and Team Starkid. The live performances were so good that I started getting giddy when I thought about how awesome the next few days were going to be.
The only downside of Leaky Con was that, unless you were fortunate enough to posses your own time turner, you could only access a quarter of the total programming on offer. This was because everyday from 9 am until 6 pm there were at least 3 different lectures, discussions or activities programmed for each hour. As if this wasn't enough, there was also always some performance/event going on at the main stage for every hour of the day. Add to this the lure of the vendor room (which was filled with excellent fan created Harry Potter merchandise for sale) and you can begin to understand why Sarah and I didn't have time to eat during the first day!
Some Leaky Con discussions/events that I missed out on but would have attended if I owned a functioning time turner included:
*What imprinting, attachment, learning and magic teach us about survival in Harry Potter
*Jeopardy: Harry Potter and the Law
*Family Dynamics in the Harry Potter novels
*The books vs the movies: What was left out and why its important
*A writer's guide to Harry Potter
*Growing up Potter and the effects on the English classroom
*Casting your Patronus: The representation of mental processes in Harry Potter novels
*Twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches: Lessons from Ron's success with Hermoine
*Dance Against the Dark Arts: Exploring Harry Potter's world through dance
*Racism and Slavery in the Wizarding World
*Rowling's not so flawed plan: The elder wand as a symbol of masculine power and the importance of love between its masters
*That's how we do it in Gryffindor, bitches: Sorting in the Harry Potter fandom
*International Quidditch Association Demo Match. Universities in the USA have quidditch teams that regularly play against each other. In the muggle version there is no flying involved but it is very physical (one player lost a tooth in the demo match). The snitch is an actual person who gets a minute head start to run off and hide before the seekers can start looking for him/her.
There was so much going on that by day 3 of the conference attendees stopped asking each other "What has been your favourite part of Leaky Con so far?" and started getting more specific "What was your favourite part of Friday morning?".
Some of my favourite Leaky Con 2011 experiences were...
*Attending the "Why Fred?" discussion where I was able to talk to other fans about the great juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy that was created by the death of Fred Weasley in book 7.
*Being part of a 3000 person singalong of songs from "A Very Potter Musical" at the Team Starkid event.
*Hearing Evanna Lynch, a huge Harry Potter fan and the actress who plays Luna Lovegood in the movies, talk about the transition of book to film.
*Being there for live recordings of Leaky Mug and Pottercast.
*Getting to meet and talk to the hosts of Pottercast, the Harry Potter podcast I have been listening to for the last 3 years, and thanking them for the hundreds of hours of entertainment they have provided me with on my daily commutes to work.
*Hearing more about the fabulous work of the Harry Potter Alliance. HPA uses the Harry Potter saga to raise awareness of human rights issues amongst young people and through its fundraising efforts empowers young people to see how their efforts can result in real change in the world. HPA currently has over 100,000 members around the world and in 2010 raised $123,000 to send five plane loads of supplies for Partners in Health to Haiti.
*Seeing Deathly Hallows (Part 2) with a cinema full of serious Potter fans.
*Spending the next 3 days tearing apart the movie with serious Potter fans.
*Seeing the wonderful fan created "Final Battle" musical (which was rehearsed solely over skype!).
*Being part of a huge Nerdfighter gathering and getting to be in the opening of one of Hank Green's Vlogbrother videos.
*Hearing two amazing lectures from John Granger: "Writing In Circles - Harry Potter and the magic of ring composition" & "Harry Potter and the Metaphysical Center - A 'Theory of Everything' to Tie Together the Artistry and Meaning Driving Potter-Mania".
I think it is fair to say that, even amongst hard core Harry Potter fans, John Granger is considered to be a serious book nerd. His detailed analysis and expertise in unravelling the genius of J.K Rowling's work never ceases to impress me. As well as having my mind blown by his new thesis (the importance of ring composition in the Potter saga) I also bought a couple of his books and got to chat to him while he signed them for me! This was one of many so-good-I-must-be-dreaming-but-if-I-am-please-don't-wake-me nerd moments that I experienced at Leaky Con.
*A highlight amongst a week of highlights was getting a sneaky early peek at Pottermore, J.K Rowling's new online reading experience. We found out how we will be sorted as well as some of the layout and features of the site. Jo (another great thing about Leaky Con was that when you said "Jo" no one asked "Jo who?") had long ago discussed creating an encyclopedia of all things Potter that would include copious backstories of characters and subplots that never made it into the actual published saga. I was initially disappointed when I heard about Pottermore, as I suspected that the new site would take the place of the promised encyclopedia. I still think it is highly unlikely that the encyclopedia will be published, but I no longer care as even the tiny glimpse we got into Pottermore showed that it will be far superior to any mere encyclopedia.
I don't think the bloke from Pottermore quite knew what he was in for when he showed up to present to a room packed with 3000 serious Potter fans. At one point, to demonstrate what the layout would look like, he flashed a page with the backstory of Professor McGonagall onto the enormous screen. Three thousand people gasped, leant forward and began speed reading in unison. The presenter started to talk and 3000 people did not take their eyes off the screen as they rose in a single voice to "shush" him. This happened twice more before he had to turn off the screen to get our attention back to him.
*Dancing the night away at the Esther Earl Rocking Charity Ball - and the hilarity of having to go back to my room to get my passport so that I could purchase alcohol because the bartenders didn't believe me when I insisted I was over 21 (eleven years over 21!).
*The Wizard Rock concerts were the times I felt most connected to the extraordinary community that is the Harry Potter fandom. It was only at Leaky Con that a few thousand people could be singing along with Harry and the Potters as we swore to "Save Ginny Weasley from the basilisk" and not worry that we were weird for rocking out to a song about a book.
The leaving feast on the final morning of Leaky Con 2011 was a lovely way to end a hectic few days. It was announced at the leaving feast that, in addition to being loads of fun, Leaky Con 2011 had managed to raise over $120,000 for charity. I was completely exhausted but still shared the sentiment of all present: I really didn't want the conference to end. The ballroom was filled with large round tables and constant chatter as we all filled up on the breakfast buffet. In true Leaky Con style, I managed to make new friends in the last few hours of the conference. It didn't seem fair that we were still in the middle of excellent conversations as we were being ushered out of the building.
Still, when I think of Leaky Con the lasting memory is not the sadness of saying goodbye to Sarah.
For me, the lasting memory Leaky Con 2011 was how I felt singing along with Hank Green, and a few thousand of my new friends, to "Accio Deathly Hallows" at one of the Wizard Rock concerts. Madly jumping up and down, I saw wands raised in the air above the mosh pit and realised that what I was experiencing was not just happiness...but rather pure, unbridled joy.
P.S. For those of you waiting for information on the 'Wizarding World Of Harry Potter' theme park, fear not. The theme park will get its own post, and that is coming up next :-)
