Harry Potter never traveled to the United States within the beloved book and film series bearing his name, but the world that he inhabited made the journey in 2011 when the streets of the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia were turned into a magical wonderland for a weekend long festival. Similar events began popping up across the country afterwards, and although legal technicalities prevent these affairs from being marketed as “Harry Potter” events, “wizarding” festivals have continued to be held ever since. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, joined the fray in 2018 when not one but two festivals premiered – the neighboring borough of Bellevue was transformed into WizardVuein August, while one month later, the first Moon Wizarding Festival was held in nearby Moon Township.
A second – and final – WizardVue took place the following year, with Baynesmeade Magical Market popping up on Lincoln Avenue and featuring such vendors as Dawn’s Mystical Menagerie and the Hungarian Wand Shop, as well as an assortment of food trucks that no doubt made Ron Weasley envious. Activities included Flying Broomball, a form of Quidditch that featured members of the Bellevue Avalon Girls Athletic Association providing snacks and coaching tips, while the Bellevue Elementary School was rebranded as Flamecrest Academy for the day, with Potions, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes being held inside.
No Harry Potter-inspired festival would be complete without a wizard rock concert, and WizardVue featured live performances by Muggle Snuggle, Luna and the Thestrals, and Father Sage. For the uninitiated, wizard rock is a genre of music inspired by the Harry Potter book series. It all started in 2002 when two Boston-area brothers began performing as “Harry and the Potters” and then exploded globally a few short years later. At its peak, there were an estimated 800 wizard rock bands worldwide. While that number has since decreased, the fanbase remains strong nonetheless.
As if to underscore that fact, Harry and the Potters themselves performed at the Millvale Community Library on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, just three days after the second WizardVue. The appearance was part of the band’s 2019 tour in support of their new album Lumos. Almost all Harry and the Potters concerts take place at libraries, providing a more intimate setting while paying tribute to the fact that Harry Potter fandom in general and wizard rock in particular wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for books.
The Moon Wizarding Festival, meanwhile, has now evolved into an annual event. “The festival was co-founded by myself and Jamie Huntsman,” Lisa Shaughnessy of Moon Township Parks and Recreation explained of the festival’s origins. “We had both attended a number of wizarding themed events and wizard rock shows and we had so many ideas of what we could do with our own event. Jamie and I both have had a lot of event experience through our jobs and volunteering. Jamie is the Art Director for Headcount and I am the Youth Program Coordinator for Moon Parks and Recreation. We thought having an event here in Moon Township would be a super fun idea.”
Like WizardVue, the Moon Wizarding Festival features a wizard rock concert that regularly includes performances by the Pittsburgh-based Muggle Snuggle. The band is a late entry to the wizard rock scene, having only been formed in 2016. Amanda Parrotte and Kaitlin Mausser are the driving forces behind the group, which relies on folk and accordion music to “explain the wizard world through Muggle eyes.” The Moon Wizarding Festival brings in other acts as well, including Steph Anderson – often considered the “Bruce Springsteen of wizard rock” – who has been performing as Tonks and the Aurors since 2007 and appears at Harry Potter fan conventions and Yule Balls across the country.
In addition to wizard rock, the Moon Wizarding Festival features trivia and costume contests, over thirty artist and craft vendors, and an assortment of food trucks, as well as beer, wine, and custom cocktails from local makers and merchants. The National Aviary was part of the festivities during the inaugural Moon Wizarding Festival – their “Owl Meet and Greet” was one of the highlights of the 2018 event – and were again in attendance the following year. Iceman Reptiles, meanwhile, made their initial appearance in 2019 with live snakes to go along with the Aviary’s feathered friends.
Although Quidditch involves flying on brooms within the books and films of Harry Potter, the fictitious sport was brought to life in the real world at Middlebury College in Vermont in 2015, with colleges and cities across the country competing on both a collegiate and professional level ever since. A local Pittsburgh team – Steel City Quidditch Club – even practices weekends at Carnegie Mellon University and Schenley Park in Oakland. It was thus only natural for the sport to be part of the Moon Wizarding Festival, with nearby basketball courts transformed into a “Muggle Quidditch” pitch and pick-up games offered to both kids and adults throughout the day.
“My family and I have been big fans since the books first came out,” Lisa Shaughnessy explained of her personal involvement with Harry Potter fandom. “We are so nostalgic for the midnight book releases. I started listening to wizard rock bands back in 2010 or so and was attending almost every show in the Pittsburgh area for years. As part of the Pittsburgh Area Nerdfighters, I put on our first Yule Ball in 2016 and then again in 2017. Jamie and I connected and then I transferred all my Harry Potter energy into our Wizarding Festival, which I am really proud of and just hope it gets better and better every year.”
With Quidditch matches, a full-fledged wizard rock concert, enough food options to satisfy Ron Weasley, and both young and old alike donning their Hogwarts robes and brandishing wands, the Moon Wizarding Festival is indeed something to be proud of, as well as a welcome addition to the many Harry Potter-themed celebrations both within the Pittsburgh area and elsewhere across the country.
Anthony Letizia