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EVENT REVIEW
A Magical Harry Potter Yule Ball in Houston
What I did on my afternoon off!
An entertainment company called Fever began its Harry Potter Yule Ball events in Houston, Texas this afternoon. I’ve been waiting for this with great anticipation for two months; I bought my ticket in September!
The ball took place at a wedding venue called Paraiso Maravilla, whose exterior resembles the ruins of an old Spanish villa or perhaps a church. My favorite part was the front courtyard, where a latticework of vines provides shade over wooden beams.
The event was 90 minutes or so that included a House dance-off (with audience participation), a fashion show, in which everyone showed off their costumes, a selection of hors d’oeuvres and drinks, and the drawing of names from the Goblet of Fire, complete with blue flame! The fire from the Goblet seemed a lot clearer and brighter through my naked eye than through my camera, but here’s an attempt at a photograph.
A gift shop sold replica wands, Hogwarts robes, knitted House scarves, and Christmas tree ornaments. It also sold chocolate frogs that I was tempted to buy a few of.
The ‘feast’ was hors d’oeuvres, including Cornish game hen pasties, some small meat tarts, salmon and pineapple chunks on skewers, and cucumber sandwiches. Dessert was chocolate truffles, well worth eating.
The event ended with a professor casting a spell, which caused a lovely, light ‘snowfall’ in the ballroom. Hey, Houston only ever gets snow flurries, so this was actually pretty good — especially since we didn’t have to drive in it.
This event heavily depended on the cast to pull it off, and they played their roles with gusto! Hufflepuff’s Head of House was into exploring her feelings and…
