A drizzly day could not deter thousands of visitors from taking a trip into the world of “the boy who lived” in downtown Perrysburg.
The shops along Louisiana Avenue morphed into a mixture of Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and the village of Hogsmeade for the annual OctoBOOfest on Saturday. It was the third year the event took on a Harry Potter theme, and there was certainly no shortage of wizards robes, scarves in house colors, and simulated lightning-bolt scars.
“We love to celebrate magic and community. It really does bring people out,” said Kati McDougle, event chairman for Downtown Perrysburg, Inc. “What’s fun is that the stores really do get into it. Each shop does their own thing and has fun with it however they can.”
Organizers expected about 5,000 people to attend the free event, and the rain didn’t seem to dampen turnout much as sidewalks were crowded and open parking spots few and far between.
Visitors could take a photo at Platform 9 3/4, get sorted into their Hogwarts houses, try out their quidditch skills, drink butterbeer, and go hunting for horcruxes. A specially created Marauder’s Map was available to guide visitors along their way.
A former bank building now occupied by PMBA Architects was transformed into Gringotts Bank, where staff wearing goblin ears handed out treats from the temporary counter and a sign warned potential thieves of the dangers of seeking “a treasure that was never yours.” Visitors walked through the old vault door to glimpse the valuables inside.
Craig Pickerel, the firm’s owner, said the building’s light-colored stone made it a perfect fit for the fictional wizards’ bank.
“And as an architecture firm, we really like to design and build things and have fun with it,” he said. “It took about a week or so the first year we did it, but this being the third year, we’ve gotten it down pretty good. It takes the better part of a day to pull it together.”
Jason and Brooke Poturalski of Perrysburg brought their children, 7-year-old Paige and 5-year-old Zane. The family has been to all three years of the event with the wizarding-world theme.
“We’re big Harry Potter fans,” Mrs. Poturalski said. “We’ve started reading the illustrated versions to the kids.”
Paige said she enjoys the “magical unicorns” in the stories and was having a good time trick-or-treating along Louisiana Avenue.
“I’m happy about today because it’s a Halloween party,” she said.
Heather Eid said while her family is not big on Harry Potter, the event was still welcoming and entertaining for her three young children.
“We were psyched to have some pre-Halloween trick-or-treating options,” she said. “So in case the weather is too cold to go, we know we’ve gotten to wear our costumes at least once.”
She noted a number of activities, such as several craft stations, that weren’t specifically tied into the main theme. Her 4-year-old daughter Leah particularly enjoyed making a sand-art necklace using a fish-shaped bottle while 7-year-old daughter Ava and 2-year-old son Easton preferred the trick-or-treating.
“Anything they host in downtown Perrysburg is fun to come to,” Ms. Eid said.
The sold-out OctoBEERfest adult event in Hood Park followed the daytime family event Saturday evening.
First Published October 26, 2019, 8:25 p.m.
