All of us who have read Harry Potter as a child have wondered what it would be like to attend a Defense Against the Dark Arts class or taste the candies at Honeydukes Candy Shop at Hogsmeade. Now you can. The Children’s Art Museum (CAM) Nepal is organizing a Harry Potter themed event on Saturday, December 22, 2018 to provide you this very experience.

Happening at the GAA Hall in Thamel, Kathmandu, The Hogwarts Express 2018 will be an all day long event starting at noon and finishing around 7:00 pm. This is the second edition of the event. Nistha Shrestha, director of CAM, mentions that they are actually planning to make it an annual event. “We weren’t expecting this event to blow up as it did last year. Turns out, there are a lot of Potterheads in Nepal,” she says adding that this year they have upgraded to a bigger venue and also have more games and activities.
One of the biggest attractions of The Hogwarts Express this year is the first Tri-Wizard Tournament being hosted at the event from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. It’s a Harry Potter themed team quiz that tests the participants on Harry Potter based trivia and the winners will be awarded with Harry Potter themed prizes. A team consists of three to four members and forms to pre-register for this particular event is available at CAM Nepal’s website.

The event will also feature a bunch of other fun activities like Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and other lessons based on the subjects students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were required to take, and live Harry Potter related t-shirts and poster printing. You can also get wizarding world based chocolates, create your wand, and make a charm bracelet of your choice among others things at the event.
Shrestha reveals that the main purpose behind organizing such an event is to make Nepalis more interested in world literature and arts and crafts. She believes that even though this event specifically targets Harry Potter fans, even those who aren’t well versed in the world of Harry Potter world will be able to enjoy themselves. She mentions that the event is one of CAM Nepal’s primary sources of funding for their future activities as they are a non-profit organization. “Last year we held camps for students in Chitwan and Dhading from the money we collected through The Hogwarts Express. This year too, we are planning to do the same at Chitwan and one other destination outside Kathmandu,” she adds.

Because they are organizing the event in a grander scale as compared to last year, the CAM team is expecting a larger number of people to attend The Hogwarts Express this year. Shrestha claims that going by ticket sales alone, she is guessing the event will see a footfall of at least 200 people. The tickets are available at multiple venues including CAM Nepal in Hattisar, Flat Iron Grill at Hotel Ambassador in Lazimpat, GAA Hall in Thamel, Little Things KTM at Arun Thapa Chowk, Sanepa, and The Local Project and Evoke Cafe & Bistro in Jhamsikhel. You can also buy the tickets at the venue on the day of the event but Shrestha suggests you buy them beforehand to ensure your participation.

 
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