The Hogwarts choir performs during Hogwarts Day.

By Courtney Kovacs

In honor of the bestselling Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Lyon College Mortar Board and Big Brothers Big Sisters hosted Hogwarts Day for the children of Batesville. Hogwarts Day was held in the Lower Union on Sunday, April 6.

Beginning at 1 p.m., children were sorted into one of the four Hogwarts Houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, or Ravenclaw). The Houses competed in different games and activities for points to win the House Cup.

At 2 p.m. the Houses were organized into a scavenger hunt around campus, racing each other to try to find the Sorcerer’s Stone. The Houses also competed in an egg race and a game of Harry Potter trivia. Later, the points were tallied, with Gryffindor the winner (although Slytherin grumbled that the games were rigged). The Hogwarts Choir (a portion of the Lyon College Concert Chorale), decked out in Gryffindor’s red and gold, then sang “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble” before the children sat down to play one more game, Pass the Parcel.

In the Lower Union, there were several booths sponsored by different Lyon College organizations. These included Ollivander’s Wand Shop, a Potions booth (by the American Chemical Society, Herbology, Muggle Studies, and booths to make candy wands, capes, snitches, bookmarks, and origami wizard hats.

Photos by Tori White