ROSCOMMON – Treacle Tart, Pretzel magic wands, cockroach clusters and butter beer are just a few of the menu attractions for the Murray family’ annual Harry Potter celebration.
Annette Murray, an avid reader of anything Jane Austin to Ray Bradbury, didn’t immediately adhere to the Harry Potter book. Now, she and her family are hooked and have July 31 parties to celebrate.
‘I love them,’ said Roscommon native Murray of the annual celebrations with her family and growing number of friends.
Murray was not a Harry Potter fan. Then her oldest daughter, Arielle, who was in elementary school at the time, told her mother her teacher, Carol Fitzgereld, was reading the books to the class. Arielle went home talking non-stop about the book and encouraged her parents to read them. Murray noted the smile and enthusiasm on her daughter’ face.
‘She kept telling us to read them, and we would just smile and nod at her enthusiasm,’ Murray noted.
At the time, there were only three books out.
‘I realized that I needed to read them as well. I was hooked. I passed them on to my husband, and he was hooked, and as a result my whole family became addicted, plus extended family members,’ Murray said.
Then the fourth book came out. When Murray saw that on the news she wanted to get it. She waded through the enormous lines of young children lining up to purchase and read a 700 plus page book.
As the books, and then the movies were released, Arielle and Murray’ niece, Leah Thomas, would go with groups of friends to Traverse City dressed as the different characters. Arielle’ grandfather, Bill Murray, even made her a butter beer necklace when she dressed as Luna Lovegood.
‘It became such a fun adventure that when the last book came out, even though we had preordered copies, I decided to take my younger kids (Gwyenth and Katie) to get their books. (They) dressed up as well as it was their last chance,’ Murray said.
‘We looked forward to the release of every book and every movie, and when they were all done we felt a bit sad.’
It was during that time, Murray decided it would be fun to celebrate Harry Potter’s July 31 birthday. She said it was a nice family celebration.
‘I special ordered golden syrup so I could make Harry Potter’s favorite dessert, treacle tarts. I tried every year to make some other British cuisine for the main meal, though I would not make kidney pie.
‘It was just us, and the meal, and a movie marathon.’
Then Thomas came over two years ago, and others wanted to join also.
‘So we decided to make it bigger and added games like finding the snitch on broomsticks, playing quidditch with water balloons and so on. I gave up on the treacle tart because it just wasn’t that great tasting,’ Murray said, ‘and instead started making cauldron cakes with different colored insides, and depending upon the color, you were put under a spell. (Quack like a duck, oink like a pig, sing, etc.) The meal became simpler, shepherd’s pie and a Leek side dish.’
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