Professor Umbridge,
Random Griffindor girl,
and Narcissa Malfoy
(This post is more enjoyable read in a fake British accent...)
This last weekend, Dallas played host to the yearly HPEF Conference... Thats right folks, a Harry Potter Convention less than a mile from where I work! How could I not go??? Early Saturday morning, I raided Ben's closet for a Blue and Silver necktie, packed the essentials (lip gloss, cell phone, and credit cards), and headed off to the beautiful Hilton Anatole.
I was a little nervous - seeing as I had no one to go with, and I had never been to one of these conferences- but rest assured, I had a great time! I even met a few girls who shared my love of Ravenclaw house to pal around with.
First, let me say... this convention was for ADULTS ONLY... Whether this makes it more or less dorky... i'll let you judge...
I will say, the number of 60 year old women in full Hogwarts uniforms was highly comical... you will NEVER find a better place for people watching! I can promise that! Some of the best costumes- there was Peeves, the Snape boggart (Snape dressed as Neville's grandmother), a very convincing family of Malfoys, and someone dressed as Winky the House elf - post World Cup...
I started my day with a volunteer shift in the registration booth (to hopefully meet some people) and then went to see the guest of honor, Jim Dale's presentation. For those who don't know (and I'm sure most of you don't) Jim Dale is the man who read all 7 books for the US audio books. He was fascinating to listen to, and has a great sense of humor.
I spent the rest of the day doing extremely nerdy things like perusing the wands and quiddich robes for sale, browsing the fan art gallery, and attending presentations. They offered presentations on everything from whether Harry SHOULD have ended up with Hermione, to the deep psychological symbolism contained in the series.
Unfortunately, there are too few hours in a day and I do not currently own a working Time Turner, so I had to narrow down my options...
I attended one on JK Rowlings methods of Characterization, one on the similarities between the Harry Potter books and old Arthurian legends, an in depth reading and dissection of the Christian symbolism in the chapter "Kings Cross", and one applying the world of Harry Potter to the teachings of famous psychologist Carl Jung.
My favorite presentation was a woman who worked with severely abused children who had used the books in bibliotherapy- a method where you have the child read any book and use the themes in that book to open discussion on their own feelings. I was amazed at how many kids she had worked with who could identify with Harry because they too had been locked in a closet or had never celebrated a real birthday.... And how feelings of kinship with these characters had helped them through some difficult issues of their own.
She also told a story of how she had once done up Harry's psych chart and used it in a training meeting to show others how to write a patients chart. One of the women in the room (who hadn't read the books) raised her hand and offered to see if she could use her connections to get Molly Weasley approved as a foster mother so that they could get poor Harry taken away from his abusive aunt and uncle... She obviously hadn't read the bottom line where Harry's last name was listed as Potter... LOL!
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