Second-annual Harry Potter event in Kensington draws thousands
Tens of thousands of witches, wizards and muggles stepped into the fantasy world of Harry Potter on Sunday for the second-annual transformation of Kensington into the famous Diagon Alley.
Visitors were encouraged to travel by train and arrive at King’s Cross Station and visit Platform 9 3/4, formerly the Sunnyside LRT station.
With 47 businesses taking part, Potter fans could buy books from Flourish and Blotts (Pages Books on Kensington), take out gold coins from Gringotts Wizarding Bank (Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut) or attempt to escape from the infamous Azkaban jail (Trapped).
They could also play with cats at Crookshank’s Corner (Regal Cat Cafe) or relax with some food and drink at the Leaky Cauldron (Kensington Pub).
Sonia Landwehr, dressed as Hermione Granger, was advocating for the rights of house elves while waiting in line with her sister to get their hands on some butterbeer, a classic drink from the books.
“We only started reading (the books) last year and then we became rapidly obsessed,” said Landwehr.
“My mom was like, ‘You need to read these, Sonia,’ even though she never read them herself. I was like ‘Nah, fantasy isn’t my thing,’ but this is the one fantasy series I actually really enjoy. I regret not getting into it earlier.”
Malaya Losier and Evan Hagen are casual fans of the books and braved the heat while respectively dressed as a member of Slytherin House and Dumbledore, a powerful wizard (spoiler alert) who ultimately met a most tragic end.
“One of our friends is super into Harry Potter, so Malaya organized a really fantastic Harry Potter birthday for her last year. We thought, if we’re coming down here today, we might as well use the costumes we already have,” said Hagen.
This is the second year Kensington has turned into the famous street in Harry Potter. Last year, businesses quickly ran out of items when more than seven times the expected amount of people showed up.