Warner Bros. policies put a ‘dark mark’ over Harry Potter festivals
PHILADELPHIA — Warner Bros. is cracking down on Harry Potter fan festivals around the country, saying it’s necessary to halt unauthorized commercial activity. Fans, however, liken the move to Dementors sucking the joy out of homegrown fun, while festival directors say they’ll transfigure the events into generic celebrations of magic.
“It’s almost as if Warner Bros. has been taken over by Voldemort, trying to use dark magic to destroy the light of a little town,” said Sarah Jo Tucker, a 21-year-old junior at Chestnut Hill College, which hosts a Quidditch tournament that coincides with the annual suburban Philadelphia festival.
Philip Dawson, Chestnut Hill’s business district director, said Warner Bros. reached out to his group in May, letting them know new guidelines prohibit festivals’ use of any names, places or objects from the series. That ruled out everything from meet-and-greet with Dumbledore and Harry to Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
“It was very quickly apparent we weren’t going to be able to hold [the] festival like years past,” he said. The late October festival drew about 45,000 fans last year to the historic neighborhood’s cobblestone streets. This year, they instead will have a “wands and wizards” family night and pub crawl and other magic-themed events — and people can still dress as their favorite characters.
“We want to make the best of it,” he said.
Chestnut Hill isn’t the only community to receive cease-and-desist letters from the entertainment company. Festival directors around the country, including in Aurora, Illinois, and Ithaca, New York, also were told the guidelines would prohibit much of the Potter-themed activities, which are typically free events.
It’s all about protecting the trademark.
“Warner Bros. is always pleased to learn of the enthusiasm of Harry Potter fans, but we are concerned, and do object, when fan gatherings become a vehicle for unauthorized commercial activity,” the company said.
Fans of the festival took to Twitter to try to get J.K. Rowling to help save the festival. A spokeswoman for the author said she has no comment.
Ithaca’s “Wizarding Weekend” grew from a small celebration in an alleyway in 2015 to a full-fledged Potter-fest hosting over 20,000 fans last year, said Darlynne Overbaugh, the festival’s director. Warner Bros. sent her a letter in February.
She said she understands the company’s need to protect the franchise, but she thought her festival was helping build it.
“I have a lot of disappointed people because there are certain aspects of [the] festival I’m no longer able to do,” she said, such as Sorting Hat demonstrations. Her group is committed to still providing a magical experience, she said, even if it is one-that-shall-not-be-named.