Left to Right: Christina Wentzell, Andrea Smith-Young and Lisa Geck have been working on Harry Potter themed props for the past two years as part of a fundraiser for Bayview Community School.
Something magical has been brewing at Bayview Community School.
After the pandemic paused the school’s annual fall fundraiser for two years, some props in the making began to take on a life of their own.
Three parents of the school, including Christina Wentzell, have spent the last two years turning what would have been a few Harry Potter themed cardboard props for the 2020 fundraiser into a full-blown event of its own.
“We just kept working away at it and I would say about halfway through we realized we had something special and it was probably going to be able to be a stand-alone event”
The themed event “The Magic of Harry Potter” was suggested by another parent and it took off from there.
Using a mixture of cardboard boxes, old packaging and public domain Harry Potter printables, the trio has prepared props, some spanning as high as 8.5 feet tall.
“When we would set them up and show them to people as we finished them, [they] were just completely blown away and couldn’t believe we’d created them out of cardboard,” Wentzell says.
Because the event is family friendly, they’ve focused on the magical side of the beloved Harry Potter stories, rather than the scary side.
Money from Bayview Community School’s annual fundraiser is used to support things like sports teams, field trips, guest speakers and matters of student equity – such as meal programs and school supplies.
While the event was scheduled to take place at the school as usual, they were forced to change locations amid concerns from the fire inspector.
Now, the event will take place over four days at the Bridgewater Mall, in the empty storefront near the Dollarama.
“From what I understand, excitement is building at the school… there’s a bit of buzz about it; the kids at school are talking about it amongst themselves and they’re getting pretty excited.”
Admission is five dollars per person, or $20 per family. The event will have different times each day to ensure everyone can attend.
The fundraiser doors open to the public on Wednesday, March 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m..
The fundraiser will also be open to the public at the following dates and times:
March 16 (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
March 17 (3-7 p.m.)
March 18 (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
March 19 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
