Anyone who knows us well is aware of our slight Harry Potter obsession. Austin and I had Potter-related wedding cake toppers and spent part of our honeymoon at the Wizarding World Universal theme park in Orlando. Our distinct Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff personalities balance each other out nicely.
Naturally, when we caught wind that an international Harry Potter convention was coming to Dallas this August, we bought tickets right away! LeakyCon (which is named after the Leaky Cauldron pub in the series), has been hosted in cities all over America and Europe. Last year it took place in Dublin, Ireland, so you can imagine the reaction that Texas Potter fans had to the news that it would travel here, to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.
We had a great time dressing up in our Hogwarts robes, (yes, we own them and they hang in our closet), and reliving the magic from our childhoods this weekend. Since LeakyCon will be returning to Dallas in 2019 due to popular demand, we want to help out first-time convention attendees. Here is our guide to a great day at LeakyCon: A Harry Potter Convention.
Convention Prep
I’m a firm believer that doing even just a little bit of planning before an experience maximizes the fun you will have. LeakyCon was no exception: I did research, drafted a schedule, and chose my outfits (including Luna Lovegood radish earrings) in advance. Even if you’re not a major planner like me, there are a few things you might want to have ready before you arrive at the convention to save yourself some time and stress.
- Download the app.
This year the convention schedule and a message board with all ticketholders was available in the form of a free LeakyCon app! This made it so easy to keep up with everything while we wandered through the huge convention center. I also noticed people using the app to meet up with new friends or return lost items to their owners.
- Know the guest stars.
Each year, LeakyCon features special guests involved with the Harry Potter movies. This year a few of the biggest stars were Alison Sudol and Dan Fogler (Queenie and Jacob from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), and Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan from Harry Potter). If you decide based on the guest list that you want photos or autographs, it helps to know which times guest stars will be available in case you are faced with conflicting scheduled events or long lines.
- Choose panels ahead of time.
Using the schedule in the LeakyCon app, it can be helpful to plan ahead for which panels you want to attend. I picked out at least one panel that sounded interesting for every time slot so that we wouldn’t wander aimlessly around the convention (unless we wanted to). I also recommend picking out some backup choices for each time, because the rooms often filled up to maximum capacity very quickly.
The Panels
There are panels on all sorts of topics ranging from silly to deadly serious. For the most part, we stuck to panels that were hands-on and involved a fun craft. We attempted to fold origami animals for our Hogwarts houses and created tiny, cute potion bottles filled with glittery concoctions.
The Costumes
It wouldn’t be a convention without creative costumes! We spotted a floating dementor, an Alan Rickman doppelgänger dressed like Snape, lots of Luna Lovegoods with enormous lion heads, walking and talking golden snitches, a mandrake in a pot, a life-sized Buckbeak the Hippogriff, and hilariously one person dressed as Slughorn’s armchair. The afternoon costume contest gave us some insight to the tremendous effort some fans put in to creating their own costumes by hand for hours (or sometimes even weeks). If designing thematic costumes is a hobby you enjoy, don’t be afraid to go all out for LeakyCon.
The Marketplace
One of our favorite parts about LeakyCon was the enormous marketplace of handmade Harry Potter goods. We saw t-shirts, knitted hats and scarves, elaborate customizable costumes, beauty products and candles with scent names from the Harry Potter franchise, Christmas ornaments, keychains, wall art, potions, owls, wands, feather quills with parchment, and more.
Most of the items for sale were crafts handmade by the vendors themselves. He purchased a beautiful book with a cutting of the Hogwarts castle inside and some adorable Christmas ornaments to decorate a mini Harry Potter tree next year. Our sister-in-law LOVED the scented lotions booth and agonized over her decision to buy either Bellatrix lotion or Gryffindor lotion. (Ultimately, I think she got both!) The whole market was full of so much charm and thematic fun.
The Esther Earl Ball
After we finished up activities at the convention center for the afternoon, we ran home to change for the Esther Earl Ball! The ball is essentially a great big dance party with a DJ, a cash bar, and tons of friendly people. Some of the celebrity guest stars actually joined in on the fun and mingled with the crowd throughout the night, which was an exciting bonus. The evening concluded with a burst of confetti showering everyone on the dance floor. It was a magical end to our LeakyCon experience.
Are you planning to attend LeakyCon 9 ¾ in Dallas, Texas August 2019?
Tickets for LeakyCon 2019 are on sale now! We hope our guide helps other Harry Potter fans make some magic next year. Mischief, managed.
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