I'm A Little Bit Famous Again

Tonight our library hosted Harry Potter Book Night, part of a nationwide night of celebration of the series. The program was originally thought up by my youth services partner Sara, and worked on by several members of our staff. We set it up as stations throughout the library, mostly in out collaboration space called THINKspot and the Children's Room.

Stations included "potion" making (tasty juice and soda with food coloring), wand painting, "howler" paper crafts, sorting kids into their houses, and a costume contest. I had limited involvement with a lot of the planning, so I'll let my coworkers report on the specifics on their blogs if they wish. However, I was free and able to travel downtown to the Arizona Midday studio to appear on a segment promoting Harry Potter Book Night to the whole valley. So, I am famous again!

I am not able to embed the video, but it is immortalized forever on the Arizona Midday website.

Watch my segment of Arizona Midday here!

Visiting the TV studio was a surreal experience. The closest thing I've experienced in the past is a recording studio as a kid. Everything was on platforms, which were themselves on wheels, and nothing was as sturdy as it looked.

The studio from my perch in the waiting area

My shooting location with my props on the table

Teleprompter

Me and the host after shooting the segment

This is a video showing how to make the Howler craft. It isn't nearly as complicated as it looks.

This is an example of the wands. Basically, you make a design with hot glue on the fat end of a chopstick and let it dry, then paint over it. 

Also, our local newspaper Nearby News stopped by for the event and ran this short feature on it.

The program itself went great with over 100 people in attendance. Harry Potter is always a slam dunk!