Nappanee enters the world of Harry Potter

Oct. 6—NAPPANEE — At West Park in Nappanee, a magical history spanning the generations returned as the sixth annual Magical Me Day hosted by the Nappanee Parks Department brought the magic of Harry Potter to Elkhart County.

Nappanee Parks Department Director of Programming Tiffany Salyer said it was their highest-attended year so far with 35 people preregistering for magical classes.

"That's pretty good for a small little community that put it on all by themselves," Salyer said.

Entry was free, but there were also paid activities available.

There's a shopping village, Diagon Alley-themed food vendors, and mini-classes that change every year.

This year, for Transfiguration class, students could make resin "potion" necklaces; for Divination, they made dream catchers; the animal show returned for Care of Magical Creatures; and for History of Magic, trivia and a maze through the Department of Mysteries were combined to create the activity.

"We kind of go by the books, so this year is 'Order of the Phoenix,'" Salyer said.

This year they also added a Dobby drawing station and started a memory wall of Hogwarts professors who have passed. This year, Maggie Smith who played Minerva McGonagall and Robbie Coltrane (2022) who played Rubeus Hagrid (2016) joined Alan Rickman who played Severus Snape on the memorial wall.

Walls of the West Park Pavilion were also covered in art traditional to Hogwarts.

An all-ages event, Magical Me Day not only brings out parents who want to share their childhood with their children, but adults celebrating a fandom they grew up in.

"We just love Harry Potter," said Hannah Greene, of Nappanee.

Greene and Mykayla Newman, of Nappanee, have been attending together for five years now.

"There's been more people every year," Newman, a self-proclaimed Ravenclaw, said.

Greene grew up with the series, but Newman wasn't introduced to the world of Harry Potter until college.

"It's my childhood," Greene, a self-proclaimed Slytherin, said. "It just grows every year and it's nice to see the community trying to get together."

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 574-538-2065.