HP-MA

Hello Everyone!!!

Fall is upon us and I think everyone knows what that means- Salem trips, corn mazes, costume parties, and more! OH MY!!!

Here is a run down of some of our upcoming activities! For more details and to RSVP for events please visit the calendar at www.hp-ma.com. I hope to see you all soon!

In addition to the info about the upcoming activities, there are also a few other things I'd like to bring up here.

1. The IQA is looking for some volunteers:

Quidditch players and fans in Boston: who wants to be a part of an epic IQA flashmob on Oct. 1 or 2? We're looking for people to organize this shabang and participate! Please comment below, email me at k.moy@internationalquidditch.org or send Harrison Taylor Homel a message for more details! Thanks!

2. We are not homeless for our monthly meets. Our current plan is to move them around for a little while, trying to find a cafe or restaurant that we like. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

3. I am looking for some assistant organizers. It's hard for me to attend more than a couple things a month lately, so I need people who are willing to be in charge of keeping track of RSVPs, making sure everyone finds the group, etc, at events. I also wouldn't mind help organizing events and brainstorming ideas, etc. If you are interested in being a little more involved with the organizational end of HP-MA, please let me know!

That's it! With out further ado, I present to you our fall calendar:

September Meetup

Sunday September 18, 2011 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Where: Let's enjoy the fall on the large outdoor patio of Au Bon Pain in the heart of Harvard Square! Location: right near the Harvard Square (T) station, corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Dunster Street.

Slug Club Dinner

Sunday September 18, 2011 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Since we are in Harvard Square - let's hang out after the meeting, see some street bands and get some dinner.

Suggestions for locations?

Salem Chamber of Commerce Haunted Happenings Grand Parade

Thursday, October 6, 2011 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

A Salem tradition to kick off the Haunted Happenings. Filled with pageantry, music and the enthusiasm of thousands of Salem's students from kindergarten to college. Stay tuned for this year's theme!

Perseus LePage and Joshua Madruga will be organizing a group of HP-MA/HP Salem members to march in the parade in HP cosplay. Details TBA. In the meantime, let us know if you plan to attend/are interested!

Zombie Walk Salem

Saturday October 8, 2011

Jenna will be organizing a group of HP-MA and HP Salem peeps to participate in the 4th annual Salem Zombie Walk!

http://www.crawlofthedead.com/crawls/info/zombie_walk_salem2/

More details TBA, RSVP to let us know if you plan to participate!

Corn Maze

Saturday October 15, 2011 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

We will be making our annual trip to Connors Farm for their corn maze at night!!

http://www.connorsfarm.com/maze.htm

We usually do the flashlight maze as a group which costs 12.00 per person. The Haunted Maze is also an option for 18.00. Last year they offered a combined cost for both if people are interested in doing the haunted maze after we complete the regular maze. I will update when I find out if the combined price is still around and what it is.

October Meetup

Sunday October 16, 2011 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Location and topic TBA! (Suggestions welcome!)

Salem Trip (Touristy)

Saturday October 22, 2011

Today we will make a trip into Salem to do some touristy things. The list of options is pretty much endless (museums, tours, reenactments, ghost tours, haunted houses, etc). I need people to RSVP telling me if they are interested in a trip like this and then those of us who are planning to go can discuss what we want to do and come up with a timeline/price.

HP Salem Halloween Ball

Friday October 28, 2011 8:00 PM - 11:59 PM

Knights of Columbus Ballroom 94 Washington Square East, Salem, MA

$10.00 advance ticket and $15.00 at the door.

www.meetup.com/HP-Salem/

Salem Trip (Costumed)

Sunday, October 30, 2011 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Lets join the costumed masses in Downtown Salem wearing our wizarding finest. Wander around taking in the fanulous costumes and taking plenty of pictures of our own cosplay activities!

We will meet at the Salem MBTA station by the steps.

Thanks everyone!

Amanda

Hi Everyone!

Back in October 30 of our wonderful friends from New york raided Boston for a weekend of pure awesome. We have now been invited to return the favor, in April!

I am writing to get some feedback.

The plan would be:

Saturday, April 17th-

Group outting to Tim Burton Exhibit during the day.

Group outting to Rocky Horror Picture Show at night

Sunday, April 18th-

Quidditch!

Unfortunately, I would NOT be able to join you all for this weekend of awesome. I am going to be in Detroit visiting my boyfriend.

This, however, remains the best weekend to do this, because of Quidditch. It would not be possible to reschedule Quidditch. So, if we went another weekend (the 24th or the 10th), we would only have the two activities and none of them really relating directly to HP.

So, the question is:

How many of you would be itnerested and able to go to NYC this weekend?

Thanks!

Amanda

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO JOIN PROFESSOR SLUGHORN AND AN EXCLUSIVE GROUP OF YOUR HP-MA COLLEAGUES FOR: THE SLUG CLUB

An ongoing dinner club for HP-MA fans to meet and enjoy fabulous cuisine and conversation. In homage to Professor Slughorn's penchant for exclusivity, we hope to visit some of the Boston area's "hidden gems".

The Slug Club's events will be augmented by occasional Cocktail Nights for those who are of age.

We hope to visit a variety of restaurants, both in terms of cuisine and price. If our first meeting doesn't work for you, please keep an eye out for future events which may suit your tastes more. Also, we are open to suggestions for future events. 

Come join us for our first evening of "well mannered frivolity" right after the upcoming February HP-MA meetup: 

Sunday February 7, 2010 at roughly 6:15 pm

at the IVY RESTAURANT,

49 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111

http://www.ivyrestaurantgroup.com

As always, please visit our calendar to RSVP.

We hope to see you there!

Hi Everyone,

Since people missed the central location, the private room, and the wonderful coffee bar, we have moved our monthly meetups back to the Borders Bookstore in Downtown Crossing in Boston. The first meetup there will be on Sunday January 10th, from 4:00 to 6:00.

See you there!

Hello Everyone!

Just some reminders and announcements about upcoming meets and events:

November:

Wrockstock- For those of you lucky enough to be going to Wrockstock- ENJOY!!!

November Meetup-

When: Sunday November 7, from 4P-6P

Where: Pandemonium Books in Cambridge.

Topic- Which book is your favorite? Which is your least favorite? Why? Is your answer the same for the movies or different (Assuming your answer to the book questions is not DH)?

NewEnglandFanX:

When: November 13th-November 15th

Where: Courtyard Marriott, Tremont Street, Boston

What: http://www.nefanx.com/

There is no official meetup arranged for this conference at this point. If you are planning to attend please let me know in the comments on the event. I will probably be going Friday night and Saturday during the day. Assuming that a bunch of us will be there on the same day, it would be great to meet up.

Game Night-

When: November 20th 7:00PM-11:00PM

Where: Shayne and J are awesome and will be hosting this at their place in Allston. Rather than plaster their address on the website, I will email it to everyone who RSVPs for this meet.

What: This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just, bring your favorite board or card game and plan to have some fun!

TOMB-

When: November 29, time TBD

Where: 186 Brookline Ave. Boston, MA

What: TOMB is a kind of interactive adventure game. I’ve never been before but I’ve heard great things! Check out the site here:

http://www.5-wits.com/shows/

This place has always looked like a blast. It's 20.00 per person. Groups of 12 or more can reserve a private expedition and groups of 20 or more get a discounted price. I will leave the time undetermined until I know how many people we have. I think a private expedition would be a lot of fun, and would like to hold out for that!

December:

Holiday Gathering and Secret Santa Gift Exchange-

When: December 5, 7:30P- 11:30P

Where: Tentatively planned to be held at my place in North Reading, MA. But, I might change this to a restaurant or cafe, if my mom isn’t feeling up to guests

What: Just a holiday gathering and gift exchange. I would like to do a Secret Santa gift exchange, so if you do plan to come, I will need an RSVP by Novemeber 21st. On November 22nd, I will put the email addresses and names of the people who RSVPed yes into a website designed to assign Secret Santas. You'll each receive an email with the name of the person you are responsible for buying for. I think we should keep this affordable, so everyone's gifts should be either home made or no more than 15.00 in price.

December Meetup-

When: December 13, 4:00P- 6:00 P

Where: Pandemonium Books in Cambridge

Topic: TBD

Evil Day 2-

When: December 19, 2009 5:00P- 11:00P

Where: Hoboken Elks Lodge 1005 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ

What: TGTSNBN is hosting this event that should prove to be very awesome! It is a formal ball and tickets are 35.00. The ticket includes a buffet dinner, dancing, and WROCK. The Wrcok line up includes: Bella and Le Strangers, Madame Pince and the Librarians, Nagini, Swish & Flick, and Draco and the Malfoys!

This event should be awesome, and combined with the Boston Yule Ball the next evening it would make one heck of a weekend. I myself am not 100% sure if I can go yet (it depends on my mother’s treatments). But, whether I go or not, it would be great to get a group of people together to either carpool or take the train or bus. There is a thread about this weekend on the forum. If you are thinking about going let us know!

The Boston Yule Ball-

When: December 20, 5:00PM

Where: Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge

What: 5th Annual Boston Yule Ball with Harry and the Potters. More details to come!

January:

Ice Skating-

When: January 2, 6:00PM-9:00PM

Where: Frog Pond, Boston Commons

What: Ice Skating on Frog Pond….in costume! (I shamelessly stole this idea from TGTSNBN)

January Meetup-

When: January 10, 4:00P- 6:00P

Where: Pandemonium Books, Cambridge

Topic: TBA

Ok, that’s everything that’s currently on the calendar through January. I have quite a few ideas for February and January and will be getting more onto the calendar soon. As I have said before, if you have any ideas for meetup topics or group activities/events, please don’t be shy! Let me know!

Some other things:

February Meetup- The second Sunday in February falls on Valentine’s Day. Should I change the meetup to the first or third Sunday that month?

Reading Groups-

There are some members interested in starting a fanfic reading group, and along the same lines, there are some interested in a book club (starting with a series re-read). I think it might be good to either do monthly meetings of each, or do alternating months? Anandani has started a thread on the forums in regards to the fanfic group and I will start one about the book club. Please let us know if you are interested in either and how often you would like to meet.

Weekly Forum Discussions- beginning next Friday (November 13th) I will start posting a weekly discussion topic on the forum. The topic should be posted no later than noon on Fridays. I think that this would be a fun way to generate chatter in between meets and for us to get to know each other further.

OK, I’m going to end this never-ending email now. Just please check the site and RSVP for anything you’d like to attend.

Thanks!

Amanda

It has been two months since I started this group and I think we are off to a very promising beginning! We have had one official monthly meet up with a showing of 16 members! It was a lot of fun and I can't wait for all of the upcoming fun we have planned!

I have updated the site calendar with details for upcoming events. Please visit and RSVP in the comments of each event.

Here's a run down of upcoming events:

Saturday August 1st- Picnic in Boston Public Gardens! 2PM-6PM. Bring a sandwich )or other main course of your choosing) and beverage as well as a side or dessert to share with the group! Also feel free to bring along games for playing or fanfic for reading. This will be a very relaxed and casual social event!

Sunday, August 9th- 2nd Monthly Meetup at Borders Books in Downtown Crossing! 5PM-7PM. Be sure to RSVP for this! The conference room at Borders holds a maximum of 20 people, so there is a cut off!

Friday, August 28th- Canobie Lake Park! 5PM-10PM. My boyfriend will be visiting the last week of August, and I have plans to drag him around New England for all of the summer fun. Perseus had suggested a small HP group outing to Canobie would be fun. And it would! I hope people will join us! We have room for 3 more in our car for anyone who is interested but doesn't drive.

Sunday, September 13th- 3rd Monthly Meetup (location TBD)! 5PM-7PM

Sunday, October 11th- 4th Monthly Meetup (location TBD)! 5PM-7PM

The weekend of October 23rd-25th:

This is the weekend that I have a hall booked for a Wizards and Muggles Costume party (come dressed in your favorite wizarding wears or in your favorite muggle halloween costume!), and now it is also the same weekend that the MOS exhibit opens. With both events during the same weekend, it looks like we will have some out of town visitors coming from the NYC group!

All of this is still quite tentative. But the current thought is to have an event/outing on all three days:

Friday, October 23rd- Salem trip! 7PM-11:30PM.

Saturday, October 24th- Costume Party! 7PM-12:00 AM.

Sunday, October 25th- MOS Exhibit! As far as the exhibit goes- tickets are already on sale, so decisions will be made shortly as to what time we want to visit. I am hoping the museum will be willing to block a time slot of at least a half hour that only our group will be able to purchase tickets to enter the exhibit. I am just not sure that this is likely due to it being opening day. Look for an announcement soon either way!

On top of all of this I also have other plans in the works! For one I am trying to get a small private theater booked at the Coolidge for a screening of The Wizard Rockumentary. This would hopefully occur in September, and will be a limited space, ticketed event (7.00 a person) so that I can cover the cost of the rental. Look for an announcement in regards to this as well!

I also plan to register our group as a chapter of the HP Alliance.

Another thing I would be interested in is arranging a cosplay/photo event for the group. I know many member of the group enjoy cosplay and this would be very fun. I am wondering if any one would like to volunteer for coordinating something like this for sometime this fall?

I am also looking for a volunteer for quidditch. I am not sure how many member of the group are interested in quidditch at this time, but as we grow the interest will surely grow. However, I am not a sporty person myself, and am at a loss when it comes to coordinating something like this. I am looking for someone who would like to take charge of forming our own quidditch team! If you are interested, please contact me!

Lastly, I have big dreams of a large event next May- Hogwarts Prom. There would be dinner, live wrock, dancing, and hopefully some sort of after party as well. I have already started looking into venue options, but this is also an event that I will definitely need assistance on. Anyone who is interested in volunteering on this project please get in touch with me!

OK. I think that's all! Sorry it was so long! Hope to see everyone soon!

Hey Everyone!

It has been a VERY busy week for our new group! I just made this website and started recruiting for members a week ago and we already have 38 members here and 35 on our facebook group. There are overlaps there, but I think our current number is around 55-60. Personally, I think that's pretty amazing!

I am currently busy plotting some meetups and events as well as figuring out where and when our monthly meetup should be. I am also still searching for all the New England Potter Heads I can find! You can help with that! Tell your friends! Pimp us on your facebook, LJ, Myspace, Twitter- whatever! I've been spamming people all over lj, myleaky, and mugglespace and I plan to take the recruiting live at the two upcoming HatP shows.

I'm really pumped and excited at how great a start we are having! Hopefully it will just keep getting better. I can't wait to start having meetups and getting to know everyone!. The first thing on our calendar is the HatP show next Tuesday, the 9th, in Cambridge. I hope some of you can make it. Please RSVP to that or any other events you are attending on our calendar!

Thanks everyone, and see you all soon!

<3 Amanda