Towns hope to keep Harry Potter magic going

Towns around the country that celebrate the release of each Harry Potter book aren't ready to give up their wizarding wonderlands of Knockturn Alleys and Forbidden Forests even though the final book is about to debut.

About 40 miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, organizers plan to keep Quidditch tournaments, magic shows and strolls down Diagon Alley continuing in some form in Wilmington, a city of about 12,000.

"This is our largest downtown event currently, and it brings a lot of people and money into downtown," said Steve Brown, executive director of Main Street Wilmington. "We thought the 2005 event would draw quite a few people, but we never expected the 4,000 or more that showed up."

Enthusiasts in small towns such as Poulsbo, Washington, and larger communities such as Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois -- where 10,000 people turned out in 2003 -- are looking to the wildly popular Harry Potter movies, a theme park to open in Orlando, Florida, in 2009 and increasing fan conventions and conferences to keep the Potter energy flowing.

Baraboo, Wisconsin, got a head start, holding its first community Potter celebration July 7 in anticipation of the movie and book releases. Organizer Cindy Doescher says enthusiasm has already been so great that she expects a Potter party annually.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the seventh and final book in the J.K. Rowling series -- will be released at midnight July 21, accompanied by bookstore parties, community festivals and other Harry hoopla concocted for fervent fans around the world. The books have sold more than 325 million copies worldwide with translations into at least 64 languages, and sparked the movie series.

he latest movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," opened in U.S. theaters July 11, leaving two books not yet on the screen.

Communities have reaped economic and other benefits from downtown extravaganzas. Hotels are filled with tourists. Residents turn out in large numbers -- often costumed -- to dine at a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or warily creep through a haunting Knockturn Alley amid skeletons and smoking potions. More people means more customers for local businesses.

Princeton, Illinois, a town of about 7,500 residents, drew 5,000 fans in 2005 and expects more than 7,500 this year. Sponsors say the celebrations also have deepened cooperation among businesses, civic groups and volunteers.

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