The brand new Secrets of Dumbledore wand tour has hit Stoke On Trent as fans gather for this magical spectacle.
Stoke On Trent was chosen as one of four locations in England to host this promotional display for the upcoming film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
People can visit the wands in Hanley from Monday, March 21, to Sunday, March 27 and there is also Harry Potter themed cocktails for sale inside the Hilton Garden Inn hotel next door to the wand display.
Potteries Potions have also set up a small stall inside the hotel selling all sorts of Harry Potter themed merchandise as they promote their own store based in Longton.
The wands are highly detailed replicas of character wands from the franchise and I was very impressed by the display.
At night the wands come alive and perform a routine with lights and smoke effects but after the first night the smoke effects were turned off due to interference with the wiring.
The light display was, well, disappointing, to say the least as the lights didn’t exactly light up the night sky nor were there lights shining on the wands themselves after opening night which was a shame but it was great to see them regardless.
Having something like this in Stoke On Trent is a pretty big deal.
A great thing to have for the city when normally it’s huge cities that get to benefit from these kinds of film promotions.
Local businesses had decorated their shop windows and the Potteries Centre was hosting numerous wizard-themed events and activities for all the family.
The one incredible thing about this is that there is a similar display at the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. This is a big city event and the fact it came to Stoke on Trent was quite a privilege whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or not.
The wands will be illuminated every evening from 6:30pm to 10:30pm with the light show along with the music showcasing every half hour.
I’m looking forward to seeing what other travelling public shows come to Stoke on Trent in the future and I loved even more how there was 24-hour security guarding the wands eagerly waiting to cast a spell on any troublemaker that stepped within the wand boundaries after hours.
