A magical celebration

By Meg Kennedy

Expecto Patronum!
Witches, wizards and muggles alike gathered at Bacchus Marsh Lerderderg Library on Thursday, 1 August to celebrate the birthday of Harry Potter.
Young readers gathered in their best Harry Potter costumes to celebrate the fictional wizard’s birthday with an array of treats and decorations, followed by a screening of the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
According to the novel by J.K Rowling (who also shares the same birthday – July 31), Harry awakes on his 11th birthday to discover he has been accepted to study magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Event organiser Sophie Kuypers said the longevity of the Harry Potter series, first published more than 20-years ago, is important as it gets children into reading at a young age.
“Getting the kids all together to experience it is exciting, and it gets new lot of kids excited and energetic about reading, and wanting to come to the library,” she said.
“Having fun events like this just brightens up the library and sparks some fun into the kids.”
According to the Australian Library and Information Association, Harry Potter-related titles made up seven of the eight most-borrowed young adult books in 2018.
The Bacchus Marsh Lerderderg Library is located at 215 Main St, Bacchus Marsh.