HARRY COMES TO SYDNEY

Dec 11, 2011

Excuse the capitals, but I need to communicate the excitement. Even though it was the final stop of the day, and travel time so far was almost at 12 hours, there was EXCITEMENT.

Are you still waiting on your Hogwarts admission letter because Australia Post just hasn’t got their act together? When you can’t quite reach the remote do you find yourself muttering ‘Accio!’? Have you maybe climbed inside a fireplace or two, and then discovered it hasn’t yet been connected to the Floo Network? This exhibition may be of some comfort to you.

From mid November until March next year, the Powerhouse, Sydney, plays host to one of the biggest events ever.* Harry Potter and his merry band of friends have come to bring us further joy and wonderment.

There is an opportunity to hear the Sorting Hat place you into a house (just make sure you push past the little kids, we grew up with Harry after all), and with an audio tour you can carry with you constant commentary about all things Potter.

There are costumes galore, props of all shapes and sizes, even Ron’s bed from Gryffindor tower (although you must resist the urge to roll around in it). Buckbeak is there, plus the Hungarian horntail, Kreacher (!!!) and Hagrid’s hut. Yes, the hut in which Hagrid’s lives, Hagrid’s hut.

The detail that is injected into each and every piece is astounding. Even Advanced Potion Making is actually full of actual spells, and then actually scribbled all over by the actual Half-Blood Prince (probably). It is difficult to believe that this stuff doesn’t come alive once the lights go down. You can argue ‘til you’re black and blue about discrepancies between book and movie, but if you’re a Harry fan, you’re going to want a visit.

You’ll have to book in early to reserve a spot (the day is broken down into half hourly intervals), and then allow for a good hour or two to soak up the magic. There’s of course a bit of a gift shop where you can pick up the essentials…Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, y’know, the usual. There’s also a ‘muggle’ mug, but I don’t know why any of you would want one of those, because clearly Hogwarts is going to start admitting mature age students any day now.

More at harrypotterexhibition.com

*Fact

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