Aliya Ladha, Contributing Writer
The Harry Potter Club held its third annual Yule Ball on March 1. All students, whether they are part of the club or not, were invited to enjoy a DJ, dancing, food, a mock-cocktail bar, Harry Potter themed crafts and much more. The club raised over 800 dollars through the event for the nation’s largest non-profit children’s literacy organization, Reading is Fundamental.
The night began with lovely dance music and a delicious snack bar called Honeydukes, referring to the famous snack shop in the book series. It featured many Harry Potter themed treats including licorice sticks, pumpkin patties, rock cakes, chocolate frogs and Hogwarts themed cupcakes.
Guests were given the chance to enjoy making many Harry Potter-themed crafts. The most popular was wand making; paints and glitter were laid out with wooden sticks for each guest to have their very own magic wand. Another table was set up for guests to make Harry Potter glasses and, like the name of the game, “Become Harry Potter.” Yule Ball Trivia was set up for people to participate in, and they were also given the chance to practice their Quidditch skills. Students enjoyed taking professional Yule Ball framed pictures, making owl pins, popsicle stick brooms and learning how to use tea leaves for divination. Given a plastic cup with water and tea leaves, students were told to swish the contents around in a cup. Once drained, they would be able to see what their futures held in the images they thought the tea leaves created.
SUNY Oneonta’s brilliant a cappella group Pitch-Slapped gave a wonderful performance as well. They performed “The Chain” by Ingrid Michaelson, “Domino” by Jessie J and the recently popular “Royals” by Lorde. They even had a special surprise Hogwarts song prepared for the night. The performance was a phenomenal addition to the event.
The Yule Ball was a fun-filled night for anyone at the school, but it marked the end of the club’s rendition of the Triwizard Tournament. Students in the club were given the chance to participate in many real-life versions of the tasks from the movie. The first task they were given took place in the racquetball room; the goal was to get the egg that was being guarded by the Red Dragon. The second task brought the students to the Chase Gym Pool, where they were timed to see who could dive to the bottom of the pool to retrieve all fourteen objects fastest. The third task took place in Curtis Hall; it was a maze in which students faced many creatures to battle. In “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” there were only three tasks, however the club decided it would be fun to add one more to their own competition. A Quidditch game took place and once all the points from the events were compiled, the winning teams were revealed at the Ball: in fourth place was Ravenclaw, in third place was Slytherin, in second place was Gryffindor and in first place was Hufflepuff. Yellow balloons were released from the stage in celebration of Hufflepuff’s big win.
By the end of the night everyone was either searching all around Hunt Union for the hidden golden snitch or dancing in the ballroom. Although the student who found the golden snitch was the final winner of the night, the event was fun for all who attended. As Professor McGonagall said, “The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to -er- let our hair down.”
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