Last Friday of the Month, also celebration of famous wizard.
It was a magic-filled night as sorcerers roamed downtown Plant City, for the Harry Potter birthday celebration, on July 29.
It wasn’t the typical Last Friday of the Month event as it aligned with the wizard’s special day.
From the train depot to McCall Park and all the way to Evers Street, patrons packed the area.
Judging by those in costume, it didn’t take long to figure out that Harry Potter fans range from different age groups.
Plant City Main Street hosted the birthday bash and the organization’s executive director Dawn Hyatt, was present for the fun.
“It’s far exceeded what I thought would be out here,” she said. “I’m glad to see it be as successful as it is right now.”
She noted that her favorite character from the book and movie series is Hagrid.
Several other notable characters could be found hanging out around Three Hands Mead and The Crafted Butterfly.
Three Hands Mead presented its specialty for the evening, the Felix Felicis potion – a butterscotch flavored soda “for the wizards in training.”
The Crafted Butterfly had many Harry Potter-themed accessories including handmade merchandise, home décor, and paper-crafting supplies. What’s more, every purchase a patron made at the shop, entered him or her in a contest to win Bellatrix’s Death Eater Mask.
However, that wasn’t the only competition offered that evening.
Each visitor had the opportunity to submit up to three photos of themselves in magical attire and be named the best costume winner. All entries were accepted up until Wednesday.
“Our food trucks have to be the biggest draw,” Hyatt said of the 10 that were present.
There were 60 vendors on site – a significant increase from the 28 that would be present on a typical Last Friday of the Month.
The newly incorporated Main Street Kids Zone was also a part of the event. It is a new addition that will now be included at Main Street functions so the youth will have more activities catered toward them.
That evening, the Kids Zone had goodie bags, face-painting, a waterslide, the gyrosphere ride, and a chance to hold a live snake.
The Crafted Butterfly was helpful in sponsoring July’s scavenger hunt.
Although it had a Harry Potter theme, Hyatt hopes that future Last Friday of the Month events will have the same big turnout.
