HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2017-02-08, Page 88 Huron Expositor • Wednesday. February 8. 2017
Goderich Harry Potter festival goes viral
4)Organizers call the response "insane"
, and "amazing" after selling out of
almost 6000 tickets in five hours
Justine Alkema in, we said, 'One more ticket
Postmedia Network sold!' We thought maybe in
our wildest dreams we might
On October 13-15, mug- sell out just before the event"
gles in Goderich will see the Then, on January 26, they
town transform into a wiz- sold out oTall 5792 tickets in
arding world with larger just five hours.
popularity than its organiz- "It was an amazing experi-
ers could have imagined. ence," said Swartz.
Harry Potter and the Swartz said about two
Transfigured Town Festival hours into the rapid sellout,
organizer Nathan Swartz they were able to pin down
called the response to the the likely source of their suc-
festival "insane': cess - an article on Narcity.
Tickets for the 2017 event com/Toronto called "This
went up for sale right after Ontario Town will be Trans -
last year's festival ended in formed into the Wizarding
October. Between that time World of Harry Potter" had
and about a week ago, they gone viral. That article is now
had sold around 350 tickets. at over 150,000 shares on
5792 tickets were up for sale social media.
which is the number on the 'We're so glad he posted that
front of the "Hogwarts Express" in so many ways," said Swartz.
train in the famous story. Many fans who heard
They thought around 6000 about festival too late were
tickets was a good number unable to buy tickets which
after checking the Huron went for $15-$20 each.
County Tourism fact sheet After those tickets sold out,
which noted other Goderich they received hundreds of calls
festivals have been this large and emails from disappointed
such as the Celtic Roots fans. They scrambled to
Festival. research any way to make the
Swartz said that during festivalincludemorepeople.
those initial three months of "We thought, how can we
ticket sales, he and his work do this with parking and
partner, Daryle Henry, were accommodation as a factor?"
excited every time they sold a said Swartz. "We got ahold of
single one of the 350 tickets. others who had done events
"I'dbeworkingatmycom- in Goderich before and
puter and my partner Daryle knocked on every door we
Henry would be working on could think of. Then we
his, and we had this ongoing thought, let's go for more; let's
running joke where every take another 2000 people:'
time we saw a ticket sale come More tickets were made
available on Tuesday, January
31 with 1000 for sale at 9 a.m.
and 1000 for sale at 6 p.m.
However those were gone
in minutes and even seconds
to the dismay of thousands of
fans who were ready on the
hour to snatch up the rickets.
Some fans complained on
the event's Facebook page
that there were not enough
measures taken against bots
and scalpers, despite the
purchase limit of five tickets
per buyer.
We [...] want to
give back to town
of Goderich that
Amanda, Darryl
and I are all
residents of and
help bolster the
community in the
shoulder season.
— Nathan Swartz,
festival organizer
Swartz said they don't
know if bots swept up the
tickets or not.
"I don't know if we can
know," he said. "We've
inquired with Eventbrite
(where tickets were sold) to
see if and what if any
answers they can give."
However he did mention
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www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com
ea orthhuronex • ositor.co
it's possible that demand for
the event was simply much
greater than the supply.
Tickets for popular concerts,
for example, sometimes sell-
out within seconds.
"The exciting thing is that
a fan fest in Goderich can
have the same problem as
the "Tragically Hip and Adele.
So in some ways it's a good
problem, but at the same
time if it is hots and scalpers,
that's so annoying."
Local fans were in for a
pleasant surprise when 1000
more tickets went for sale
the morning of Friday, Feb-
ruary 3 at Cait's Cafe in
Goderich. While those tick-
ets gave locals and exclusive
opportunity for tickets, those
also sold out within a num-
ber of hours.
The event will more than
double the population of
Goderich. For that reason, they
may close the entire Square to
vehicles during the event.
Swartz and Henry are hold-
ing the festival as a part of
their a for -purpose business
called Dads And Dragons
which is referred to on their
website, dadsandragons.com,
as a "geek culture site"
A for -purpose business is
similar to a non-profit, however
they use funds to cover their
own salaries and expenses, and
the rest of the money they raise
goes to charity.
In this case, the festival
will support the Huron Food
Action Network where
Swartz used to work and
other causes that are unan-
nounced at this point.
This is the second year
Dads And Dragons has put on
the festival. Last year, how-
ever, the festival was much
smaller with only 1300 people
in attendance as it was the
first year and gained much
less attention. They knew they
wanted to make it larger in
2017, but had no idea it would
become this large.
He said they hired another
temporary staff member to
help with all the extra work,
and they also have "one cou-
rageous volunteer': Many
more volunteers will help
out with the festival itself
when that time comes.
Swartz also said his wife,
Amanda, has helped all
along the way. She was the
one who came up with the
idea. The pair was visiting
the Huron County Museum
looking at the museum's
steam engine which resem-
bles the "liogwarts Express':
While they stood and looked
at it, the idea came to
Photos by Darryl Coote/Postrnedia Network
From left, Keara Flood, Alice Wilson, Maya Wilson, Anik Watson
and Megan Furlong at the festival in Goderich last October. They
came to Goderich from Stratford dressed as their favorite Harry
Potter characters to experience what it'd be like to live in the
world of the famous books for a day.
Amanda, and she suggested
Dads And Dragons start a
Harry Potter festival in
Goderich where they (and
Henry) live.
As for what to expect for
the festival itself, there are
lots of goodies in store.
First, there will be a quidditch
tournament put on by Quid -
ditch Canada competing for the
"Goderich cup". Thiswill be uni-
versity teams playing against
each other, and attendees can
watch; however there will also
be a time of "pick up quidditch"
for attendees to try their hand at
the game.
There will also be a vendor
component at GDCI with
Harry Potter themed goods
for sale.
Harry Potter themed
bands will be there including
the Lovegoods, Tonks and
the Aurors.
All kinds of stores in the
Square will be involved; last
year they had around 26 par-
ticipating in festival activi-
ties. Swartz said a few that
stood out last year were
CIBC, Cravings, Cait's Cafe
and the Culinary Poet.
CIBC had an interactive
"dungeon" in their base-
ment, Cravings and Cait's
Cafe sold butter beer and
other confectionaries, and
the Culinary Poet transfig-
ured their entire store front
to be a "magical store':
The festival will be partic-
ularly beneficial for local
businesses. Last year, many
businesses in the Square
sold out of certain items.
"Everyone underesti-
mated the number of attend-
ees and the effect that would
have on businesses," said
Swartz.
This time around, Swartz
said that local businesses
will be much more
prepared.
He said last year, Goderich
Mayor Kevin Morrison said
that his restaurant was as full
at the festival in October as it
would be at an event on a
mid-August day. And this
year, over seven times as
many people will be visiting
town.
Swartz said that "Goderich
Tourism and BIA Manager
Susan Armstrong have been
super helpful. They've given
us great advice and have
helped us with planning and
the whole process."
For those who missed get-
ting tickets, there will be
more opportunities to attend
a Harry Potter themed event
in the future.
First, tickets for the 2018
festival will go on sale right
after the 2017 festival finishes.
"We will definitely have
another festival in 2018, and
it will definitely be in Goder-
ich," said Swartz. "I don't
know if can get any bigger;
we'll see how this festival
goes. But it will certainly be
better. We just keep learning
from what we do right and
what we do wrong and will
keep smoothing it out."
Also, Dads And Dragons
has partnered with the Harry
Potter Society of London,
Ontario to run a convention
with lots of Harry Potter
leanings on March 10-11,
2018 called "Dia -Con Alley"
As for the upcoming
Goderich festival, Swartz
said, "We just want to have
fun. We want people to enjoy
harry potter like we to enjoy
it and to have a great time.
We also want to give back to
town of Goderich that
Amanda, Darryl and I are all
residents of and help bolster
the community in the shoul-
der season."
it