5 Days until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
10:59 AM
More Details on Edinburgh HBP
The Sunday Times has published a very interesting article summing up the events that will take place in Edinburgh Castle for the release of the sixth Harry Potter book.
"The main event is a personal reading from the writer herself. On Friday evening the young guests and their parents or guardians will be collected from a reception at the City Chambers in Edinburgh by 12 carriages drawn by black horses adorned with black ostrich plumes and driven by coachmen dressed in capes.
The castle will be dramatically illuminated and fire- eaters, torch throwers and jugglers will line the cobbled streets as the children proceed up Royal Mile. Prefects with lanterns will lead the way to the castle’s Queen Anne building, which will be transformed to resemble the school entrance hall.
Rowling plans to make her appearance at 12.01am from behind a secret panel to read the first chapter of the new book, a copy of which will be given to each child.
The following evening, the children will be “sorted” into one of the four Hogwarts houses — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The guests will then be assigned to a house table, lined with benches, before wizard-themed food is served on gold platters.
The banquet will take place in the castle’s Jacobite Room, which has been hired at a cost of more than £500 an hour and will be decorated with school banners and illuminated with torches. The food for the Hogwarts-style banquet has been devised by Digby Trout, Edinburgh Castle’s caterers, whose basic menu starts at £39 a head.
As well as creating tuck shop favourites such as pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, the caterers have also developed their own recipe for butter beer. The non-alcoholic mulled cider is first drunk by Harry in the third book in the series and is described by Rowling as tasting “a little bit like less sickly butterscotch”.
The platters will be piled high with meats, including chicken, chops and sausages, all the trimmings, desserts and mint humbugs in a feast reminiscent of the first meal that Harry eats on his arrival at the school.
Other Harry Potter treats will be put in goodie bags for the children to take away, along with mementos of their weekend.
The Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Catherine Lockerbie stated: "This year’s launch will be the best Harry Potter launch yet, not just because it’s in such a spectacular setting, but because it brings Jo Rowling into close contact with children."
(Source: www.mugglenet.com)
P/S : Uwwwwwaaaaa!!!damn!I'm GREEN with envy!Wish i could trade place with one of the kids JUST FOR A DAY!
~The Urban Factor~
