Jourdan Dunn (left) and Karlie Kloss, neither of whom, refreshingly, are trying to pull that “I’m such a Ravenclaw” bullshit. 10 points to Gryffindor and Slytherin. (Photo: Annalora von Pentz)
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, December 28. All times are Eastern.
Movie Night With Karlie Kloss: Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Freeform, 6:30 p.m.): At any given time, on any given day, the channel formerly known as ABC Family (f.k.a. Fox Family Channel, f.k.a. The Family Channel, f.k.a. “flipping past The 700 Club to get to Nickelodeon”) is showing one of the eight entries in the Harry Potter series of films. Sometimes they’re showing out of order, sometimes it appears that another channel has secured the cable rights for one of the middle films—but always, there’s a Harry Potter movie playing. Recognizing that fantastical tales of wizards, witches, mythical beasts, and epic battles between good and evil might not be enough anymore, tonight’s presentation of the franchise’s worst installment—Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, where there’s a flying car, an origin story, a giant snake, and little else—is also the launch of Movie Night With Karlie Kloss, in which the supermodel/coder invites some famous friends to chit-chat and play games during breaks from the film. And if for some reason you miss it, don’t fret: Believe it or not, the far superior Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban is on deck for tomorrow night.
Regular coverage
Great News (NBC, 9:30 p.m.)
Wild card
Apple Music’s Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story (Fox, 8 p.m.): Sean “Diddy” Combs didn’t become 2017’s highest paid musician and a prospective NFL owner by passing up on a promotional opportunity when he sees one. Case in point: This special presentation of the Bad Boy Records retrospective/reunion-tour film boasts an in-title reminder of the exclusive home for a commercial-free, streaming version of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop. Though, if you watch it that way, you’re bound to miss a few promos for The Four, Fox’s new music competition whose judge’s panel includes, you guessed it, Diddy. Trying to get your hands on some Grants like Horace? There are probably some tips to be found in Can’t Stop Won’t Stop—the content, as well as the packaging.
How many of these 99 Harry Potter characters can you name?
After drawing a sellout crowd this year, organizers are planning an expanded Harry Potter Festival in Aurora in 2018.
The festival will be held June 9 and 10 at Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora. This year's one-day event was so popular it drew more than 5,000 people and caused organizer Kate Purl of Aurora to issue social media posts alerting those thinking of coming that there was no more room.
Purl said the decision to add a second day to the festival after its initial launch in July was based on the huge response it generated.
"We wanted to more than double the number of people who could get tickets this year," Purl said. "Space and safe transit between venues limits how many people we can squeeze into downtown at one time, so we can't just sell 50,000 tickets for the day. Expanding to two days allows us to welcome a lot more fans."
The event is also being expanded to include both morning and evening events, which Purl said will allow "for a full weekend of experiences."
A middle school teacher in West Aurora School District 129, Purl said she herself is a big Harry Potter fan and thought from the beginning that the Water Street Mall would be a great place to mimic Diagon Alley, the shopping area in the Harry Potter books.
Purl said she knew of other successful Potter events around the country and wanted to bring one here.
"I had read about the wild success of Harry Potter festivals in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New York, and I wanted to bring lots of people into downtown Aurora," she said.
She said she sees "some thematic similarities between Aurora and Harry Potter."
"I want to show people the extraordinary magic we have in downtown Aurora," she said.
Folks attending last year came from as far away as Minnesota, Missouri and Kansas. Purl said she learned that a member of the armed forces, who had returned from a deployment in Iraq shortly before the festival, traveled to Aurora just for the fest.
"There was also a family from India who arranged their annual visit to Chicago to coincide with the festival," she said.
Plans for the two-day expansion are still in the works but will include new classes and activities. Purl said all the details should be confirmed by March.
Aurora Downtown, a local nonprofit organization made up of business and property owners, will be a partner in presenting the 2018 festival. The group was a major sponsor for this year's event and will provide logistical support in 2018.
Marissa Amoni, events and community outreach director for Aurora Downtown, said this year's festival "was very successful and we are happy to add this to our roster of 2018 events."
"This is something families and people of all ages enjoy and we're excited to team with Kate Purl and have this nonprofit partnering and bring this festival back for two days," Amoni said. "Adding more people to the downtown adds energy and enthusiasm."
Amoni said interest in Harry Potter has achieved a status similar to the "Star Wars" films, which were launched in 1977.
"The Potter stories allow people to use their imaginations and the creative magic is unique," she said. "People of all ages like to immerse themselves in it and it allows them to escape to another universe."
Tickets for this year's two-day festival will go on sale March 24 at 9 a.m. through EventBrite. Information is available at auroradowntown.org or cityoflumos.org/info/
In addition, a fundraiser to offset festival costs is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. Jan. 28 at Ballydoyle, 28 W. New York St. in downtown Aurora.
Purl said the event will "offer some Harry Potter-themed fun during what is typically a cold, drab season" and that any funds would help make things easier in the early planning stages of the 2018 event.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Here’s the thing, right.
Loki loves all of his children, despite what everyone else may think. He loves them, birth defects and all.
So when he finds out he has another son, well.
It looks like it’s time to use those secret pathways again.
Or: Harry is Loki's son.
