Hail to Harry Potter
By Bobbi Zane

Is it the House of Gryffindor? Ben Anderson hopes he'll draw Harry's residence assignment. Photos by Bobbi Zane

Harry Potter made his final appearance in Julian at the stroke of midnight on July 20, showing up for about 60 fans who had gathered at the Julian Woman's Club to obtain the final volume in the series of children's books that went on sale at that instant.

The party was among thousands that were held worldwide to promote sales of the book. Those sold in Julian were among the 8.3 million copies of the book that were scooped up worldwide in the first 24 hours.

In Julian, fans came in groups, whole families, friends together, many costumed to reflect the character of the event.

In the end, they snapped up about 60 copies of the J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." As everyone knows, the hype had been relentless for the past few weeks. How would it all end? Who will live and who will die, they were asking themselves and each other. There were no answers that night, but plenty of speculation on who would die, how and why.

Sandi Bennett snagged the first copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." It's for her kids, she said.

Julian resident Sandi Bennett emerged from the somewhat disorderly line to grab the first copy of the book. It was for her four kids to share, she said. No, she hadn't gotten hooked by the books herself, although she'd seen some of the movies. "I'll think about reading the stories, when the kids are finished."

The event was presented by the Julian Woman's Club and Melony Vance, former owner of Books in Nooks in Wynola. A JWC committee consisting of Jan Mattias, Olive Kerr, Audrey Turner, Marion Moore and Susan Fowler got to the clubhouse early and decorated the place with balloons, scary steaming cauldrons, and tiny totes filled with candy. Melony and her assistant, Monica Gallena, brought the books and took orders.

The Woman's Club provided refreshments and Harry Potter-inspired games.

A percentage of the proceeds benefited Woman's Club charities.

Dressed for the occasion, Delynn Ketcherside checks her residence assignment.