The Wizardly World of Kent is a magically-themed celebration that every Harry Potter lover can enjoy. Downtown Kent is transformed into a wizard town as businesses offers various specials, a vendor villages sell items like wands and dragons, and entertainment includes magical activities and fun. Costumes are encouraged at this festival as many come dressed as their favorite characters and creatures.
2023 Date: July 28-29, 2023
Location: Downtown Kent, Ohio
Website: https://www.facebook.com/WizardlyWorldofKent
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This post documents my experience on July 29, 2017, when it was originally called Kent Potterfest. It was renamed to Kent Potterfest in 2018.
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If you’re a fan of Harry Potter…
…AND a fan of festivals…
…then you likely found yourself at Kent Potterfest this last Saturday.
Muggles flew in from all over…
…read (Voldemort’s) writing on the wall…
…and kept themselves safe with a wizard’s assistance (courtesy of Couponing with Rachel).
The festival set itself up around downtown with various Harry Potter points of interest…
…encouraging local business exploration for a possible psychic reading (Empire)…
…Dark Mark tattoo (Defiance)…
…and other Harry Potter treats like chocolate frogs, butter beer ice cream, and magical drinks.
But while I did find magical cocktails at Zephyr Pub…
…the crowds made it torturous to explore while not knowing where to find anything.
Oh, the crowds!
Not only was parking a nightmare, even when arriving before the festival began (I parked on a residential street 0.4 miles away)…
…but food trucks and local eateries had huge waits (if the festival started at 11, maybe this wouldn’t have been too bad?)…
…vendors on Main Street were all clumped together, making the crowd around them even more intense…
…and Diagon Alley was so filled with people that I didn’t even try to guide baby strollers through the people and see what was there.
Honestly, I didn’t know I could access this area because of this line to a toy store that I THOUGHT was the line to enter the alley.
My bad.
(You can check out this video of a YouTuber there who documented some aspects I missed.)
But while I’d like to complain about all the attendees…
…it was really them who made the festival fun with their costumes…
…their creativity…
…and their excitement for all things Harry Potter.
And they all seemed to enjoy themselves as they painted…
…danced along to some musical entertainment…
…took in some staged entertainment…
…and shopped among Harry Potter shirts…
…homemade house scarves…
…magic wands…
…dragon sculptures…
…owl balloons…
…and a unicorn mount.
I think I even saw Big Foot patches.