For US resident Jonathan Chambers, a Harry Potter-themed Christmas was the way to go. This year, Chambers, an architect by profession, has recreated his front driveway into Diagon Alley, the famous wizard hangout in the Potter universe.
The Diagon Alley is open to all for Christmas and even features an Albus Dumbledore Santa Claus. “My girls and I had a brainstorming session in the summer about what we could do for Halloween this year to get more trick-or-treaters. They suggested “Diagon Alley”, which seemed like a perfect fit for our long driveway and a set in the Harry Potter series that I am particularly fond of. So I said yes immediately. The girls then ran outside with their sidewalk caulk and started planning out the alley,” said Chambers, while speaking to DNA via email.
Chambers says that prior to this project, he had not done anything big, primarily due to the hectic schedule he and his wife have in Seattle. “I then decided to take a break from my hectic schedule and recreated the alley,” he said.
Photos and video of the installation, located in Chambers’ neighbourhood squeezed into Chambers’ interpretation of Diagon Alley. These include the Eeylops Owl Emporium, Ollivanders wand shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Magical Menagerie, Flourish and Blotts bookshop and Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. In addition, several people have cosplayed as characters from Harry Potter to give a more real feel to the entire experience.
Chambers says that the donations for the cause will go into pancreatic cancer research. “When I started building this on Oct 14th, 2017, I knew that I wanted to put out a donation bucket for a cause. So I gave the task of selecting a cause to my girls, Haley (11) and Avery (8),” he said.
It so happened that Matt Benke, the CEO of one of the company’s that Chambers’ wife’s company invests in died of pancreatic cancer. “The news of his passing upset my girls, and they were confused why Matt’s children had to lose their father so quickly. So they decided to put out a donation bucket in his honor, to fund pancreatic cancer research,” he added.
So far, the initiative has raised $18,000, with a donation bucket full of cash still left to count and submit. “100% of these proceeds are going pancreatic cancer research and are being submitted to a Seattle Cancer Care Alliance website that is sponsored in Matt’s name. In total this site has received over $1,15,000 in total donations,” Chambers added.
After the Harry Potter mania ends in Christmas, Chambers will take it down in January, and rebuild it at a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. “We will expand on what we already have,” he added.
Next year, Chambers says he wants to do something Star Wars related. “I am drawing up plans for that experience currently,” he said.
