While Daniel Radcliffe skulks around in Richmond — just because he’s working 12 hours a day in Hopewell shouldn’t keep him off the streets — Carytown Cupcakes at 3111 W. Cary St. is jumping in with both feet to celebrate the character that made Radcliffe famous.
The shop will be transformed — it will be all-Hogwarts, all the time, starting on Oct. 19, and themed cupcakes will be available, including the dementor’s kiss, cauldron cake, sorting hat, butterbeer, pumpkin pasty and polyjuice potion.
And if you post a selfie in the bakery's flying car photo booth on Instagram and tag it #carypottercupcakes during that week, you'll have a chance to win a half-dozen cupcakes.
Professor McGonagall — or a facsimile thereof — will do a reading at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” I’m sure she’ll point out that the original title was “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” because that’s the kind of teacher she is, and I’d be happy to lend her my British copy so that she won’t trip up on certain words— sweater for jumper or pants for trousers, for instance. She is getting on in years.
Did you notice how I slipped in there the fact that I own a British edition of Harry Potter? Did I mention that I have a complete set?
The festivities aren’t just for kids. On Friday, Oct. 23, from 5-7 p.m. you’ll find deals on beer and wine for unhappy hour, plus a prize-studded trivia competition and butterbeer, pumpkin beer floats and mead.
You may think you know your Harry P. trivia, but you should come for the mead instead and accept that any 11 year old with a passion for the works of J.K. Rowling can beat you handily — no one has that kind of trivia capacity once college comes along and fills your head with SAT vocabulary words and Shakespeare. Among other things.
Broomsticks and invisibility cloaks are optional.