2017 Rose City Comic Con

Table RCCC

Our first year with both a table and a panel at Rose City Comic Con went really well!  A big thanks to Katie Anderson, Stephanie Griggs, Anna Ho, and Robin Coon who volunteered.  At the table, we spent most our time talking to people about the Harry Potter Alliance or Harry Potter in general.  (We were the only HP dedicated table at RCCC.)  We also sold buttons and had raffles on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday’s raffle was for House bags made by Robin, and Sunday’s for two tickets to the Yule Ball.  (As of now, the Ravenclaw bag and the Yule Ball tickets are not yet claimed.)

 

On Friday, we hosted our panel, “Harry Potter Alliance – The Weapon We have is Love” in Panel Room 8, at 6:30.  Considering we were going up against Weird All Yankovic, we have a pretty good turnout.  We talked about the history and mission of the HPA, and the recent events that the Portland Chapter has hosted.  We focused on the difference that can be made by small acts, and how we all can change the world.  It was well received, and several people visited our table afterward to ask for more information on getting involved.

 

Overall, we connected with a lot of Harry Potter fans and made a little money.  It was a good weekend for the PDX HPA.

 

By the numbers:

77 people signed up for the PDX HPA email list.

31 new members have joined one of the Facebook groups.

$477 was earned in button and raffle ticket sales.  ($425.35 will go toward paying back the investment in our new button maker and printing.)

2017 Yule Ball Tickets

Tickets now on sale at Brown Paper Tickets for the 2017 Yule Ball!  Join us for an evening off well-mannered frivolity:  2017 Yule Ball

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2017 Yule Ball

Poster Early Ticket

Harry Potter at Kennedy School!

Platform Ticket

On Sunday, July 30th, we will be partnering with McMenamin’s Kennedy School for a showing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone!  The magic will begin BEFORE the movie, with a costume contest, trivia, a raffle, and more!  Wear your wizarding best, refresh your memory of “Hogwarts, a History”, and have your wands at the ready.  House Points will be awarded!

We will also be collecting school supplies to fill the trunks of local students who are also headed back to school. Proceeds of the raffle and all school supplies donated will be going to benefit the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization.  IRCO works to support the integration of refugees, immigrants and the community at large into a self-sufficient, healthy and inclusive multi-ethnic society. They provide vocational training, language classes, social services, and academic support to students in and around Portland.

Doors to the theater open at 10:45am, programming begins at 11:15, and the movie begins at 12:00pm.

Cost of the movie is $4 for adults and $2 for children under 11. Food and drink will be available to order.

You can find the FB event page here.

You can find the Kennedy School event page here.

And more information on IRCO here.

 

Meeting Recap – May 22, 2017

PDX HPA Meeting Recap

May 21, 2017

Belmont Library Meeting Room

 

Attended by:    Bart Sylfae

Brandie Sylfae

Robbin Coon

Bas Porter

 

Accio Books

With the official Accio Books campaign wrapped, we talked about the books we had donated for both Beaumont and Words Alive. Of the initial list from Beaumont, there were only 10 books we didn’t get, and we fell short on our goal of 36 copies of “This Side of Home” by 6 copies.  We’ll be delivering those books to Beaumont later this month.

 

The books going to Words Alive will be shipped in the next couple of weeks. (Thanks to Robin for the boxes!)  Per the group’s agreement, the House Points reported to the HPA for our donations were given to Hufflepuff, as they were the clear winner of our chapter competition.  I will make an official announcement regarding the final standings on Tuesday.

 

 

Harry Potter comes to Kennedy School!

On Saturday, Brandie and I met with Beth from McMenamin’s Kennedy School. They will be showing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Sunday, July 30, 2017.  Our chapter will be “hosting” the showing, with a costume contest, trivia competition, school supply drive, and raffle.  The movie will begin at 12pm, with the doors opening at 10:45, and the activities beginning around 11:15.

 

Proceeds from the raffle will be going to IRCO (Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization), and if they have use for the school supplies, they will go to IRCO as well. If not, we will need to find a secondary charity to donate supplies to.  If you have a suggestion, please let us know!

 

We will also need to gather up raffle prizes! We are planning to have a specialized prize for each House, as well as a Grand Prize.  We will be contacting local businesses for donations.  If you have items of your own you’d like to donate, including HP crafts, we’d love to have it!

 

Even more importantly, we need volunteers! The Kennedy School theater holds 200, and I’d be shocked if it wasn’t full.  We will need 1-2 people at the raffle/donation drop off table, someone at the door to give out programs, and 1-2 people to assist during the costume contest and trivia.  Volunteers would need to be available from about 10am until the movie begins.  You are responsible for buying your own movie ticket ($4), but they may be other perks.  (See below.)

 

 

Participation Recognition

We’ve talked at previous meetings about how to reward anyone who gets actively involved with our chapter. Already, we are recognizing people who have assisted on previous events by placing them in the appropriate Years.  (For example, Morgan Johnson has been to both HEAP events, as well as Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad, and she attended a meeting, so she is officially a Fourth Year.  Someone who is a member of the FB group but has never participated is a First Year.  Once all the Years are completed, you can pick your own title, such as Katie Anderson, Professor of Transfiguration.)

 

We are going to add collectable badge ribbons, one for each event. HEAP ribbons will be based on the year attended, rather than the total number we’ve done.  So if you’ve been to both, you can get a HEAP Year One and a HEAP Year Two ribbon.  If this year was your first year, you get a HEAP Year One.  Does that make sense?  We will also be getting “Wizard Activist” ribbons, which will be awarded for cumulative participation.  (To be determined.)

 

 

FINALLY…

The Yule Ball. Yes, we want to make it happen.  We will be researching possible locations and discussing what sort of event we want it to be in the near future.  As we begin to plan, transparency is going to be a big part of what we do.  We discussed and agreed that Kickstarter may be the way to sell advance tickets and gage the level of interest.  We’d love to have an elaborate ball with a hotel partner, waltzing lessons, plated dinner, and live music, but we need to make sure that we could sell enough tickets to cover the costs.

 

You can help us out by giving us feedback as we plan and share the details of that plan. I know what sort of Yule Ball I want to attend, but it’s more important that it be a Yule Ball YOU want to attend.

 

We have not set a date for the next meeting, but I will share it as soon as we do.

Accio Books!

This April and May, 2017, the Harry Potter Alliance will be hosting the annual Accio Books Campaign!  The goal of this campaign is to collect books for use in our communities and schools, and to build libraries around the world.

 

The Portland Chapter of the HPA will be donating books to Beaumont Middle School, with a focus on stories with under-represented protagonists.  All new and like-new books are welcomed, but there is a list of most needed books available.  All books not needed by the school will be donated to Words Alive, a San Diego based organization that strives to create more opportunities for life success by cultivating a commitment to reading.

 

Books for donation may be dropped off at:

 

A Children’s Place Bookstore

1423 NE Fremont St

Portland, OR  97212

Hogwarts Early Admission Program – Year Two

On Saturday, March 25th, the HPA hosted the Hogwart’s Early Admission Program in the Small Hall at the Hollywood Public Library.  This event was the kick-off of our Accio Book campaign, collecting books to donate to Beaumont Middle School and the HPA.  Much like HEAP – Year One, we had a small but amazing crowd!

 

Attendees started the program by meeting with our resident wand maker, Mr. Rednavilo. (Olivander?  Who?  Never heard of him.)  For our event, he hand-crafted special wands designed to test a prospective student’s magical ability.  After being selected by their wands, each student had the opportunity to customize it to their tastes.  Styles varied from the aggressively glittery to the geometric, and no two were alike!

 

After a rousing version of the Hogwarts school song, Katie led our Transfiguration Class. Teams were formed and assigned the task of transfiguring some clay into both every day and magical items.  It was a beautiful cacophony.  (Until the librarian came in and asked us to be quieter, as we were disturbing the muggles.)  The first round was very close, and the second round was a tie, so we held a transfigure-off to determine first, second, and third place teams.  Prizes included a number of magical items, including Portable Patronuses, vials of Felix Felicis, and Butterbeer Drops!

 

Last, we practiced our dueling. Students were asked to decipher a series of clues to determine the appropriate spell, and then outcast their opponent.  Training wands were used, so no visits to Madame Pomfrey were required.  When the duelers could not guess the clue, it went to the remaining students to attempt, to win House Points!

 

At the end of the program, the points were tallied as thus:

Slytherin – 4 Points (All given by the Deputy Headmistress…to the Deputy Headmistress.)

Hufflepuff – 21 Points

Gryffindor – 50 Points

Ravenclaw – 50 Points

 

We had our first ever tie! The students were overwhelmingly Gryffindor, so it was a strong showing by Ravenclaw to match them!

 

Most importantly, we collected a lot of books for donation, and connected with some new people who hadn’t heard of the HPA before. Accio Books will be continuing throughout April and May, but we could not have asked for a better start.

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Hogwarts Early Admission Program – Year Two!

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Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad Recap

On Friday, November 18th, the PDX HPA hosted “Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad”, a ticketed fundraiser for TransActive Gender Center, in the Backstage Bar at the Bagdad Theater.  Food and a ticket to the movie were included in the night, and we had quidditch pong, a wand raffle, and some truly excellent swag bags for each guest.  We also were allowed to enter the theater through a “Portkey Door”, which meant our guests didn’t have to stand in the long line that had formed at the front.

 

We sold enough tickets for a small donation for TransActive, but our guests once again demonstrated that they are the best people in the world. Aside from buying tickets for the wand raffle, a number of people insisted upon donating without receiving tickets in return.  The proceeds were large enough to allow us to split them between the HPA and TransActive.

 

We will be donating a total of $400 to their organization, but this event was about far more than that. TransActive and organizations like them need support more than anything else right now.  Aside from the people who attended and donated, we also spread the message of TransActive’s good work to a lot of new people.  Jenn Burleton, director of TransActive, was at our party, and she spoke to me of how genuinely kind and giving she’d found everyone to be.

 

All in all, it was a fun night, and we did some good. That’s as it should be.  We don’t know what we’ll be doing next, but I can guarantee it will be magical.

Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad!

Get those Time Turners ready! Our next event is going to be “Fantastic Beasts at the Bagdad”, on Friday, November 18th, 2016, at the Bagdad Theater.  We have two rooms reserved in the Backstage Bar, where we’ll be celebrating the newest addition to J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding world.  There will be food, drinks, a wand raffle, and a special Very Magical Person entrance into the theater, so our guests do not have to wait in line.

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All of this, of course, is in continued support of the Protego campaign. Our charity partner for the event is TransActive Gender Center, a local organization that focuses on supporting children, families, and educators.  All profits from ticket sales will be donated to them, with the wand raffle proceeds being applied to future HPA endeavors.

 

You can buy tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2706955

 

The Fantastic House Elves working to plan and manage this event are truly fantastic! A continuing thank you goes out to Andrea Snow, Robin Coon, Wes Cronin, and Brandie Sylfae!