Magic for Muggles:

Saturday, Sept. 15 - 23

Did your owl forget your invitation to Edinboro Potterfest?

No worries — unlike Hogwarts, you can come be a part even if you aren't broom-and-wand-ready!

For the eighth year, Edinboro University is hosting its own Harry Potter festival, a week-long celebration of books, films, magic of the wizarding world, and of the courage, the cleverness and constancy of its main characters, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Every day of the festival guests can: visit the Wooden Nickel Buffalo Farm for their annual corn maze, plus the Potterfest raffle; partake in the Earthshine House Cup scavenger hunt; watch a different Potter film each day in Cambridge Springs' own Mugs and Muggles, a Harry Potter-themed cafe with a magical assortment of tasty drinks and treats; and sweep on into local favorite Flip Cafe in downtown Edinboro, where they will be serving up butterbeer and pastries like you might find at Hogsmeade.

Each day also brings its own individualized activities, like A Day at the Castle on the 15th, where those aged 5-13 are specially invited to experience a real school day at Hogwarts (the Pogue Student Center acting as a stand-in). This year's featured speaker, Beth Sutton-Ramspeck, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English Literature at OSU-Lima and the author of Mischief Managed: Rule Breaking in the Harry Potter Series, and she will lecture Monday the 17th. The can't-miss Potterbowl trivia contest, hosted by Joey Laythe, takes place Wednesday the 19th, for teams of up to three, three different age groups and prizes available for the last wizards standing.

Each year Potterfest grows in both size and ingenuity, and the full event schedule can be found both at Edinboro Potterfest on Facebook and via their website. — Cara Suppa

September 15-23, various times // Various locations in Edinboro and Cambridge Springs // Most activities free and open to the public // potterfest.cs.edinboro.edu