A magical day at Diagon Alley

Every single Harry Potter fan on the planet has fantasised about getting the coveted Hogwarts acceptance letter and today is that lucky day for Potterheads in the city For the first time in Mumbai fans will get the chance to dive into the magical world of potion brewing horcrux hunting and battling for the House CupThe event has been organised in celebration of Harry Potter and creator JK Rowlings birthday at a popular bar in Lower Parel in collaboration with pop cult store efgstorein The organisers are calling all Potter maniacs to grab a ticket for the Hogwarts Express mdash no literally the event passes are designed like the train ticket mdash and alight straight at Diagon AlleyRaachyeta Sharma tries her wand at brewing Potters potion PicsBipin KokateNobody has done this in India before And the venue is the ideal place to do this at The lighting and the bricks make for the apt atmosphere it feels just like youve stepped into Diagon Alley says Tanisha Fagwani founder of efgstoreinAs soon as you pass through Platform 9 34 youll be sorted into one of the four great houses shout out to all the Slytherins When you walk in youll have to pick up a house badge in blind mdash otherwise most people will pick Gryffindor Youll have to wear the house badge throughout explains Satyajit Roy Fagwanis business partnerPotions OWLs and horcruxesParticipants will be able to take pictures at the London photo booth hang out with fellow HP fans and even step into Ollivanders to buy an officially licensed wand Potterheads will also get to brew Potters potion a smouldering nonalcoholic drink created for the eventTesting timesHardcore fans can test their wits in the OWLs a trivia contest named after the wizarding exams in the HP canon The quiz is the main activity Its really tough were expecting all the geeks to come for this Winners will get merchandise worth Rs 15000 first place or Rs 7500 second place say Fagwani and Roy There will also be a scavenger hunt where fans will search for the seven horcruxes with the help of the Marauders Map as well as a cosplay competition Theres plenty of merchandise to win across several contests that have been organised some of which are specially designed for childrenIts an event for all ages weve got calls from children as young as 10 who want to come after school So many people are bunking college or work so that they can come for the experience says Kimberly Fernandez from Social adding that they sold over 200 tickets within days of announcing the eventON Today 3 pm onwardsAT Todi Social Lower ParelCALL 7506394240COST Rs 800Take Hogwarts homeDays before Rowling and Harrys birthday Lego announced that it will release a 6020piece Hogwarts Castle set This will be the largest HP set to date several times bigger than the now discontinued 1290piece model The new set will include four mini figures 27 micro figures as well as feature spaces such as the Chamber of Secrets Hagrids hut Umbridges pink office and Snapes potions classroomFans excitedJeet Jhaveri 24EntrepreneurOne of the most exciting things for any diehard fan is the quiz Its also nice to meet likeminded people But Im most excited about being able to hunt for horcruxes like Harry Ive never done that beforeRaachyeta Sharma 30 Founder The OpenLibrary ProjectFrom Harry Potter I have learnt compassion pure love empathy and being true to people close to our hearts Im most excited about the potion brewing the photo booth and the quiz Cant wait to wave a wand cast spells and bag some merchandiseCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates