Muggles have a chance to grab their broomsticks and fly out to the dance floor.
SUNY New Paltz’s chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance, Dumbledore’s Army of New Paltz, is hosting their first ever Yule Ball on Saturday, Feb. 11 in the Student Union Multipurpose Room. The night will consist of food, dancing and Wizard rock music.
This formal/semi-formal event is based on the dance in the fourth book, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” In the book, the dance is held on the night of the Yule and all students fourth-year and above are allowed to attend, but at SUNY New Paltz you must be 18 or older.
“The opportunity to have a semi-formal dance is really great,” Julia Fell, secretary of Dumbledore’s Army, said. “Many people, including myself, haven’t been to an event like that since high school.”
Some students were intimidated by the idea of a formal event at first because they did not know the details of the dress code.
“Sometimes I miss the dances like I had back in high school,” second-year anthropology major Alex Mackey said. “But then I realized I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this, I do not know if the girls will be wearing dresses like high school or more grown-up like they wear to frat parties.”
The Harvest Café is catering the event, and there will be salad platters, empanadas, burgers, paninis and a dessert. The club will also purchase 500 cupcakes from Moxie Cupcake, Dumbledore’s Army Vice President, Molly Thurston said.
Since this is a dance, the focus is the music. Wizard rock is the primary theme of the night’s music, Fell said. These are songs written with the theme of wizards and Harry Potter in mind, but there will also be other rock music played by DJ B!Rock.
DJ B!Rock said this will be his first appearance on campus and he hopes to impress the community.
The club began planning the event last semester and finally got everything together for this big festivity and finally everything has come together, said Thurston.
The tickets are free but there is a suggested donation of $7 at the door. All proceeds will go to the Humane Society of the United States. The club hopes to raise at least $2,000 for the organization, but Thurston said that any money raised would be a good thing.
“We, of course, appreciate every donation, no matter how small or how large,” Kathy Bauch, senior director for corporate relations and promotions at the Humane Society of the United States, said. “But we also appreciate the opportunity to introduce students to our organization, and to encourage them to find out what they can do to make the world a better place for animals.
The Yule Ball begins at 8 p.m. and ends at midnight. Donations can be made at the door. For more information, email yuleballnp@gmail.com.