Harry Potter Themed Halloween

by The Cowl Editor on November 2, 2017


Campus


The Cowl/ Maggie Branham ’18

By Hannah Langley ’21

“Welcome to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!” If anyone looked at their Marauder’s Map on Tuesday, October 31, they would have noticed countless numbers of footsteps going into McPhail’s for the Board of Programmers Harry Potter Night.

This event, held in the spirit of Halloween, gave Providence College students a chance to prove their “witchcraft and wizardry” skills. PC students entered a magical new world they once knew as McPhail’s. Mini cupcakes with the theme of the houses of Hogwarts, “butterbeer,” and golden snitches flying across the ceiling made students feel as if they truly were at Hogwarts with fellow witches and wizards.

BOP set up tables all around McPhail’s with different events and activities, including Harry Potter paper fortune teller “sorting hats,” a wizard inspired photo booth, Harry Potter coloring books, and more.

Balloons were strewn throughout the room, each attached to an acceptance letter from Hogwarts. Students came in wearing their Harry Potter apparel, ranging from Platform 9 ¾ t-shirts to Gryffindor’s maroon and gold scarves. The musical score from all eight movies blared throughout the room, bringing back nostalgic feelings for all the fans present of watching the movies at home in your pajamas during ABC Family’s Harry Potter Weekend.

The night continued with Harry Potter trivia, where the top three winners got Harry Potter themed prizes. All the Potterheads in the room whipped out their phones to join the online trivia game with the hopes of proving their Harry Potter knowledge.

With a total of 35 questions, everyone watched and played in suspense as people constantly climbed up and down the leaderboard displayed on the McPhail’s big screen. You could hear the cheers and groans of frustration as people got the questions right or wrong. There was a large range of questions, including “What was Harry’s first broom?”; “Who betrayed Harry’s parents?”; “How many points is a golden snitch worth?” In the end, though, there could only be three winners. The top three contestants won various prizes, which included a mug, a scarf, and a t-shirt. At the end of the night, participants could take their newly made Potter crafts with them to put in their dorms or share with their friends.

Overall, the night proved to be a “spell binding” success (considering “He Who Must Not Be Named” did not appear). BOP did a “magical” job with coming up with different  crafts and decorations that truly captured the theme of the night. Everyone who went also enjoyed themselves, as they got to pretend they were not at PC, but, rather, practicing their spells and potions at Hogwarts. So, which house would you be in if you went to Hogwarts?