harry potter and the symphony.

Judah, Amie, and I got an early Christmas gift from our aunt to a showing of the movie Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone accompanied by the Charleston Symphony.

We drove to North Charleston Saturday afternoon and I downloaded our current read-aloud, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, on audiobook from the library beforehand, so we could enjoy the road trip.

We stopped for dinner at one of our favorite Tex-Mex spots, and arrived a the coliseum just in time to find our seats before the movie/concert began. It was a jovial, festive atmosphere. Lots and lots of people were dressed up in their favorite Harry Potter garb, grown-ups included.

The orchestra conductor opened the evening by encouraging audience participation. He invited everyone to cheer for their favorite Hogwarts houses and characters. It was a packed event, and there’s nothing like watching one of your favorite movies with hundreds of people having just as much fun as you are.

The movie was shown with captions, but we had no difficulty hearing the dialogue over the orchestra. It was seamless.

It was a late night, so I was thankful for the coffee kiosk at Intermission. And Judah and Amie were thankful for popcorn and peanut M&M’s. We loved every second of the performance; the symphony played the entire score including the credits: it was a 3-hour show! By the end, the audience was on their feet clapping and cheering. I was reminded of the power of live music, and am still scratching my head at the conductor’s ability to time the performance exactly with the movie.

No pun intended; it was truly magical.

Saturday went down as our favorite night of 2017!