All aboard the Hogwarts Express!
From Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Grand Central Terminal transformed into a “Harry Potter” haven to celebrate “Back To Hogwarts.”
In the “Harry Potter” franchise, all students board the Hogwarts Express to return for a new year at 11 a.m. on Sept. 1, and to celebrate this, Grand Central Station was decked out in “Harry Potter” gear, with interactive moments, photo ops and “Harry Potter”-themed merchandise available for purchase.
The event included a countdown to the departure of the Hogwarts Express, led by BookToker Kierra Lewis. Prior to the countdown, Steve Haggard, Daniel Frederick, and Cara Ricketts, who play Harry, Ron and Hermione, respectfully, in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” gave away a pair of tickets to the play and a gift pack from Max, which hosts all of the “Harry Potter” films, to a fan.
Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in the “Harry Potter” franchise, also came out and surprised guests on Sept. 1 just in time to count down.
“We’re celebrating Back to Hogwarts, that special time of the year where you’re excited to return to the best school ever, and we’re here with the fans who actually dreamed this day into existence,” said Wright.
Wright played Ginny Weasley from the time she was 9 years old up until she was 19, allowing her to truly connect with the character. Though she says that these sorts of events “never feel normal,” Wright loves having played Ginny and the mark that she has made on “Harry Potter” fans over the years.
“I’m always forever grateful that I got to play Ginny for 10 years, and I had that moment to really interpret her as a character for 10 years of my life. But I also love that everyone here has their interpretation of the character characters,” said Wright. “Their relationship to the world is so uniquely theirs, and I feel that the world is so beautifully written and so layered that everyone has something that they have a connection to. I meet young kids now who already are falling in love with ‘Harry Potter,’ and they weren’t even alive when they were making these films.
So to me to be part of this series, it’s timeless. It’s cross so many languages. It’s across the world.”
Post-“Harry Potter,” Wright is big into sustainability and an advocate for taking care of the Earth, even noting that the Weasley family is a particularly sustainable family with their hand-me-down robes, knitted clothing and fixing broken items instead of replacing them. But Wright is always happy to see new “Harry Potter” fans engaging in the franchise, especially for the first time.
“I feel like there’s nothing more special than those first chapters of the book and moments in the movie where Harry finds out he’s a wizard and he has his whole other life to to escape to and out of his childhood that’s been pretty rough and hard,” said Wright. “I really hope that for anyone reading or watching the movies for the first time, they just fall in love with the magic of magic and the wonderful place that Hogwarts is. I literally can’t wait to introduce the series to my son and almost read it again for the first time through his eyes.”
Magical fanatical moments
Fans traveled far and wide to take part in the “Harry Potter” festivities. Six-year-old Charlotte and 8-year-old Madeline Konowal were getting a head start for the school year, albeit for the magical world of Harry Potter as they arrived at Grand Central Station dressed in Gryffindor robes with wands at the ready.
The sisters accompanied by their parents traveled with their parents from Philadelphia for a chance to experience the start of term like Hogwarts students at Kings Cross Station.
“I’m really, really excited,” Madeline Konowal said, looking around the pop-up.
When asked what she enjoys most about “Harry Potter,” Madeline Konowal shared that “Chamber of Secrets” was her favorite book. “I like how big the snake is and I like the giant spider.”
“Sometimes I’m scared when they go through the wall,” Charlotte Konowal confessed, describing the anticipation watching the characters run through the platform 9 ¾ station wall to catch the Hogwarts Express.
Their mother, Emily, who originally hails from Australia, told amNewYork Metro, “I was raised on Harry Potter, so when I had them, it was an early introduction to Harry Potter. The magic and innocence of it, and sticking up for friends, there are a lot of good messages within Harry Potter. Being brave and doing the right thing and I think that’s good to show them.”
Several fans got into the fun of the day, dressing up in robes and carrying their favorite props around. Ana Gomez, 25 proudly represented Slytherin and Harry Potter, as she showed off her uniform and tattoo of Hogwarts on her forearm.
“I’m a Slytherin, as you can tell. I’ve always wanted to come to Hogwarts and I’ve always wanted to come to Kings Cross and now being at the Hogwarts express I’m just having the time of my life,” Gomez said.
“Hogwarts is my home. It’s everything. I’ve loved Harry Potter since I was a kid. It’s how I formed my personality,” Gomez said.
Jordan Elizabeth Gelber, armed with a customized Harry Potter-themed suitcase and plaid Gryffindor outfit, was ready to push her trolley onto the Hogwarts Express.
“Harry Potter means the world to me. I’m an only child so I always get to bond with Harry Potter. It was one of the first book series I ever read. It was really hard because everything happened in England, but now we have something here in New York City that warms my childhood heart but also my adult heart,” Gelber said.
“Harry Potter is literally everything to me. Magic is everywhere if you just find it, look for it and believe in it,” Gelber added.
For the latest “Harry Potter” news and updates, visit www.wizardingworld.com.
