[CALIBK12] Newspaper article Madera HPVII Party!

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Locals celebrate Potter mania
Monday, July 23, 2007
By Tami Jo Nix - The Madera Tribune  
 (http://maderatribune.com/content/img/f220640/0723tj_HP7_Beznoska.jpg)   
Jana Beznoska holds her baby Kekoa Beznoska, with  students (from left) Isaiha 
Murillo, David Armstrong and Tiffany Mejia as  they wait for the midnight 
witching hour at Thomas Jefferson Middle  School, Friday night.  Photo by: Tami Jo 
Nix / The Madera  TribuneThe wait is finally over. The final installment  in 
the popular book series staring boy wizard Harry Potter debuted at midnight  
Saturday. As millions of fans staked out bookstores around the globe, in Madera  
a group of "muggles" ranging in age from infant to senior citizens gathered in 
 the media center at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. 

For those still  wondering at this point what a muggle is, the word is one of 
the nicer  nomenclatures used in the series to describe those people who were 
born without  the power to be a witch or wizard. 

Sharon Owen, serving as head  librarian for Madera Unified School District, 
opened the media center to all  district students to await the release of the 
book. Criteria for borrowing the  book was simple. All students who had read 
the first six books in the series at  least once, were allowed to check out one 
of the 30 copies ordered for the  district's libraries. 

"I have read all the books twice," said MUSD  student Ashley Smith. 

Not only had this high-energy lady read the first  six books twice, she is on 
her third reading of the series and on the second  book for this go round. 

The students and guests snacked on popcorn,  chips and candy washed down with 
sodas and bottled water as they awaited the  midnight release. 

As the hands on the clock swept slowly towards  midnight the students were 
given supervised access to school computers to check  news of book release 
parties around the globe. Others in the group played a game  of Scene It, the Harry 
Potter edition or worked special word search games  provided by Owen. 

Leslie Hill and Bianca Chavez, "best friends forever,"  and freshmen at 
Madera High School, spent the evening chatting and laughing as  they waited for 
their copies. The girls, friends since first grade at Lincoln  School, enjoy 
reading books from a variety of genre. 

"I enjoy the  classics," Chavez said. 

Books she has read include "Pride and  Prejudice," Dickens‚ "A Christmas 
Carol," and "The Good Earth," by Pearl S.  Buck. Her current summer read is "Jane 
Eyre." 

Hill enjoys biographies  and mysteries. 

As the magic witching hour approached, the Potter fans  gathered under the 
clock for a group picture and at 12:01 a.m. the books were  checked out, then 
were the drawings for door prizes. Prizes included gift  certificates to Cole's 
Books and Bagels, hats from the new movie "Harry Potter  and the Order of the 
Phoenix," and a 2008 Harry Potter calendar. 

The  library had enough copies of the books to send everyone who wanted one 
out the  door with a copy. Several of the students came to the party just for 
fun because  they already had copies of the new book on order at Cole's.

 
____________________________________
  Tami Jo Nix
Tami Jo Nix is a senior staff writer,  photographer and community / features 
writer for the Madera Tribune. You  can contact Tami Jo at 559.674.8134 ext. 
231 or e-mail at tamijo (at)  maderatribune.net

Tami Jo also handles community calender items and  wedding announcements.   
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© 2007 Madera Tribune - All rights  reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or  redistributed 
without prior written approval from the  publisher



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