For Queen City Mischief & Magic from Friday, September 27 to Sunday, September 29, 2024, Blair Made in downtown Staunton becomes “Ollie’s Wand Shop.”
Throughout the weekend, volunteers and actors will enable visitors and “Harry Potter” fans to reenact the scene from the film in which Harry obtains his wand.
“We set up for a full wand experience, so we clear the tables out the back, we drop curtains and people enter through the back [of the store] and we have about 50 people on the hour, every hour,” Blair Made owner/operator Abby Woerner said.
Blair Made staff create the large billboards that are seen throughout downtown during QCMM.
Woerner opened Blair Made at 134 E. Beverley Street in 2020 and joined QCMM in 2022 when in-person events resumed following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woerner and her husband are Harry Potter fans and recreating “Ollie’s Wand Shop” was their idea. Their 2018 wedding contained elements of the book and film series, including the guest book, pages from the books on the reception tables and guests were seated according to Harry Potter houses.
“We’re big fans, and we love making magic for the community,” Woerner said. “We put a lot of thought into it for sure.”
Four hundred hand-crafted wooden wands will be available for purchase for visitors. One wand is given away per show for a lucky visitor. Harry Potter character dolls and wooden signs with themes around the books and films will be available for purchase.
“We feel super lucky we have a storefront in one of the only towns that can still have a Harry Potter festival,” Woerner said of participating in QCMM.
Twenty-five volunteers at Blair Made will make “Ollie’s Wand Shop” possible.
“We have our own wizard-inspired merch,” Woerner, who lives in Staunton, said.
The reenactment shows are free for visitors.
“We like to say that everyone is deserving of magic, and we don’t want cost to be a reason that anyone doesn’t do something like this,” Woerner said.
A full schedule of events during QCMM is available online.
Related stories:
Staunton: Queen City Mischief & Magic creates weekend escape (augustafreepress.com)
Staunton: Queen City Mischief & Magic races raise funding for Blue Ridge CASA (augustafreepress.com)
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Rebecca Barnabi
