Howard transforms to Hogwarts as Potter-themed dinner gala embraces fans of all sizes
Oshkosh Potter-heads were granted the magical opportunity to dine with fellow wizard fanatics as The Howard transformed for one night to The Great Hall in Hogwarts.
The event, held on February 10, consisted of a Harry Potter-themed atmosphere. Organizers went all out as with framed pictures of characters from the popular franchise, articles from ‘The Daily Prophet’ scattered on tables throughout the room, and glasses of Butterbeer handed out to guests when first walking into the dining area.
Many dressed up in Potter-themed gear to show their house spirit, such as Hogwarts house school uniforms decked with cloaks over their shoulders and wands in their hands. Children ran around laughing, with lightning bolt scars painted on their foreheads, and some even in a full cosplay as characters like Bellatrix LeStrange, Minerva McGonagall, and even Rita Skeeter.
Designed to keep guests occupied while waiting for food to be brought out and served, games were played and trivia cards were found on everyone’s dinner plates, which totalled up at the end of the dinner for points to see which house would win the House Cup. Guests could play a trivia game specifically for the younger children that were there. There was also a game involving running around through different decorated rooms to look for articles from the ‘The Daily Prophet’ in order to answer questions from the hostess and earn more points for the House Cup.
All parts of the event flowed smoothly, from when doors first opened with Hogwarts acceptance letters dangling from the ceiling, to walking out with a full belly of warm food and double fisting a cookie and a tart at the same time. But, it’s the finer details that made this dinner so fun and whimsical.
The idea for this dinner event came from both David and Carol Velasco, the Head Chef and main Hostess at The Howard. Velasco was thrilled at the idea of hosting a dinner party with a Potter theme, since he was an avid fan whilst growing up.
“One of the first things I did when we talked about the idea, was going through the movies during the dinner scenes when all the food appears at the snap of [Dumbledore’s] fingers, and also going back through the books to look for any mentioned dishes to come up with ideas for what we could do as far as the food,” he said.
The delicious dinner consisted of five courses, all brought by servers in large bowls and platters and passed around in a circle until everyone at the table had whatever they did and didn’t want on their plates. The first course consisted of the house salad with housemade Ranch and their original Green Goddess dressings, and followed by crispy roasted fingerling potato wedges for the second course. Then out came the Bangers and Mash with garlic mashed potatoes and pork sausages, roasted carrots in a butter honey glaze, and a Courgette salad of zucchini, yellow squash, and chopped onions. Finally, the Garlic Striploin roasts and chicken drumsticks were passed and plated as the final parts of the main food courses.
Finally, out came the desserts: small tea cakes with dollops of buttercream frosting on top, sugar cookies of varying flavors like vanilla, chocolate chip, and even matcha flavored, and apple turnover tarts served with whipped cream on top.
Truly, the whole event from beginning to end was a good time for any and everyone, which junior Eddie Tornow could attest to.
“It was very nice, as new fans and old fans, more die-hard fans and newcomers can participate in it like those watching more casually can enjoy the food, atmosphere, and drinks, but the more die-hard fans can enjoy all of that plus the trivia on it’s own, and just have fun experiencing a little bit of the world they’ve grown up watching,” he said.
by Emma Anderson
Published February 26 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue IV