This just in: If you want to make a knock off of the most successful children's book-and-movie series of all time, go for it. At least, that is, if you're in India.]]>
This just in: If you want to make a knock off of the most successful children's book-and-movie series of all time, go for it. At least, that is, if you're in India.]]>
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling donned the proud crimson robes as she picked up an honorary degree after her recent speech at Harvard.
Rowling joked before reflecting on her own graduation and journey from single mum to publishing-industry savior:
All I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world's best-educated Harry Potter convention.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also spoke during the commencement activities in Cambridge, which: No fair! Save some celebs for other schools!
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[Photo: Just Jared]]]>
If you've finished reading your new Harry Potter book then perhaps it's time to start planning a trip to a spot that's already featured in a couple of the films. Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England, is a gorgeous medieval castle that's still inhabited.
But it's not just as a stand-in for Hogwarts that Alnwick is famous. It's also home to the world's largest treehouse! And if that doesn't grab you, perhaps the poison garden will. Ninety species of dangerous plants are housed there, and (sensibly enough) you can only enter the garden with a guide. Perhaps a few Hogwarts deaths can be explained by Alnwick's poisonous plants. Visit if you dare.
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[Photo: nickmilleruk]
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The ten days between Wednesday, July 11 at 12:01AM and next Friday at 11:59PM constitute the biggest (and probably the last) high season for Harry Potter mania. Between the release of the Book 5 movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and the on-sale date of Book 7, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the teen wizard may never get this much attention again. Should Harry survive the last book, perhaps he should consider studying at Visva-Bharati University in India, which this fall will become the first college in the world to offer a master's degree in magic.
The "Dramagic" course will be taught by renowned magician P.C. Sorcar Jr., who has made the Taj Mahal disappear and plans to bicycle across an Indian lake later this summer, after which he'll share his family secrets with a few lucky students at the school outside Calcutta. Sorcar told Reuters that magic needs to be preserved for our time because of its importance to Indian tourism throughout the ages. Of course, would you rather watch Harry Potter cast spells with his wand, or cast them yourself?
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· Harry Potter Theme Park [Jaunted]
[Photo: Allposters.com]]]>
Harry Potter fans rejoice, the puberty stricken wizard is coming to Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure to be exact, where Mr. Potter will get his own 20 acre island theme park--The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Author J.K. Rowling, who has been working with a team to make sure the park doesn't stray from the book and films says:
The plans I've seen look incredibly exciting, and I don't think fans of the books or films will be disappointed.
The par, which opens in 2009 will let visitors view many locations in Rowling's fictional world, like Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts and the shops in Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and even Hogwarts Castle.
The most important note on all of this? The majority of Theme Park Insider commenters are in favor of Park Potter, and those folks know their theme parks.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park sketches are here. ]]>