DiaCon of the Ozarks Perfect Fest for Potter Fans

Photos courtesy of A Squared Photography DiaCON Alley of the Ozarks will feature a kids' costume contest at 10 a.m. and an adults' costume contest at noon.
Photos courtesy of A Squared Photography DiaCON Alley of the Ozarks will feature a kids' costume contest at 10 a.m. and an adults' costume contest at noon.

Rest easy, Harry Potter fans: The team that's behind the first "DiaCON Alley of the Ozarks" -- a Harry Potter festival that includes 37 vendors, costumed characters, live performances and themed contests -- are determined to get every detail of the event right. After all, says Summer Allen, one of the co-founders, for her -- as with many fans of the fantastical wizard series written by J.K. Rowling -- the world of Harry Potter went far beyond the pages of a book. It was almost an instruction guide for life.

"It's not just a book about good and evil," Allen says. "It's a book about how you have to have friends to help you."

DiaCON Alley of the Ozarks

WHEN — 10 a.m.-7 p.m., March 17

WHERE — Fayetteville Town Center, 15 W. Mountain, Fayetteville

COST — $12 general admission; $9, kids ages 5-12; free, kids 4 and younger.

INFO — Tickets are sold out, but a waiting list is available at diaconalleyoftheoza….

This is the first event of this kind Allen and her fellow Potter fan Staci Bell have attempted, but you wouldn't know it by the robust way they took on the daunting task. They have help from Kelli McGarrah, a volunteer coordinator who has rustled up nearly 130 volunteers, and Bell's and Allen's spouses. In fact, Roland Bell -- Staci's husband and the only non-Potter fan of the bunch -- serves as the event's programmer.

Allen says she was hoping they might have 200 people show up for the event, so imagine her surprise when the event sold 2,000 tickets in three hours.

"We had to limit it," says Allen, a note of disbelief in her voice. "The Town Center is only so large, but we also, as fans, didn't want people to feel as though they're being herded through. We wanted everyone to be able to experience everything."

The vendor's list includes charmingly mysterious titles like "Fisher's Fantastical Wands" and "Mage's Emporium." Another highlight will be the appearance of live owls from Rafter Rescue, a rescue agency from outside of Searcy.

The biggest part of the charm, Allen says, "is to be around like-minded people. A lot of people would call us nerds, but we're nerds that stick together. To see other people interested in what you're interested in -- it's the energy that you build off of. For us, that's the driving force, all the support of all the people out there is really helping it come together."

NAN What's Up on 03/16/2018

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