The second annual Yule Ball is here to bring together all area Potterheads for a triumphant holiday celebration of the wonders of the wizarding world.
Inspired by a scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Yule Ball features a themed dinner for VIP guests alongside trivia from Quizzo Detroit, world champion magician Rick Merrill, dance lessons from the Grand Rapids Swing Society, and more. Specialty themed cocktails and mocktails are served, including copious amounts of Butterbeer. Live owls from the Blanchard Nature Center will be on hand, alongside Vault of Midnight selling Harry Potter merchandise.
Organized by Sue Barsoum and Amber Stokosa for 20 Monroe Live — two huge Potter fans themselves — the event proves the lasting power of the Harry Potter fan base, even now, more than a decade after the series’ seventh and final book.
As per tradition, dress robes are encouraged, while Barsoum added that new attendees need only bring an open mind and imagination, and be ready to make lots of new, like-minded friends.
Of course, the night also will include live music, starting off with local jam band Desmond Jones, then featuring the “quintessential wizard rock” band Harry and the Potters.
A Boston-based band of brothers, Paul and Joe DeGeorge coined the term “wizard rock” when they started Harry and the Potters back in 2002. Both perform as Harry Potter, with Paul portraying him onstage as Year Seven and Joe as Year Four. Together, they harness the power of rock ‘n’ roll as the ultimate weapon against evil.
“We started the band kind of on a lark, thinking, ‘Maybe it would be fun to play at kids’ birthday parties or something,’ not realizing there was potentially a very active and vibrant Harry Potter fandom out there that would become our most active supporters,” Paul DeGeorge said. “We knew it was a phenomenon, but we didn’t have a perception of how dedicated fans were to it. In hindsight, it’s truly ignorant that I wouldn’t have realized that.
The band’s success quickly snowballed from playing all-ages events at libraries and bookstores to touring all over the country, including a memorably sweaty, early show at Grand Rapids’ legendary venue The DAAC. Indie tastemakers Pitchfork even went so far as to call the band’s 2005 summer tour the greatest rock tour of year.
Inspired by punk rock’s DIY subculture, the band has crafted three albums from the Potter books, while helping inspire a slew of other independent artists working within the expansive Harry Potter fan community.
With the support of the Potter fan base and the legal blessing of Rowling herself, the band has continued to perform its wizard rock for more than a decade, hosting their own annual Yule Ball events in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.
The band also founded The Harry Potter Alliance, a nonprofit organization looking to expand some of the moral lessons from the books into the real world with campaigns focusing on literacy, immigration reform, gay rights, economic justice and more.
In the current political climate, DeGeorge said he’s had fans going back and pulling out certain songs with heavier political overtones and telling him about how that has given them hope. That reaction inspired the band to write and record its first new record in 12 years.