Source: Karin Westman, 785-532-2190, westmank@k-state.edu,
and Emily Midkiff, emidkiff@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Rosie Hoefling, 785-532-2535, media@k-state.edu

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011

HARRY POTTER AND LITERACY ROCK AT FOURTH ANNUAL HALLOWS AND HORCRUXES BALL

MANHATTAN -- Wizards, muggles and those who enjoy music and reading can make an evening of it at the Hallows and Horcruxes Ball 4: A Wizard Rock Concert for Literacy at Kansas State University.

Inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, the wizard-themed ball is from 7-11:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in the K-State Alumni Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

This year's performers include The Remus Lupins, Ministry of Magic, The Moaning Myrtles, Draco and the Malfoys, Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills, The Whomping Willows, and Gred and Forge.

"Wizard rock celebrates reading, but it also celebrates the themes of Rowling's series, which include the importance of community, literacy and social justice," said Karin Westman, head of the K-State department of English.

The concert benefits FirstBook, a nonprofit organization that provides disadvantaged children with books, with funds this year specifically targeting the local FirstBook advisory board of Geary County. Westman said last year's event raised $1,300 for the cause.

"The English department is happy to support a fourth benefit concert so Harry Potter fans can enjoy an evening of music and raise money for the advocacy efforts of FirstBook in Geary County," she said.

Emily Midkiff, master's student in English, Blairstown, N.J., and co-president of K-State's Children's and Adolescent Literature Community, said this event celebrates literacy as power for good.

"Books like Rowling's Harry Potter series are a wonderful example of how children's books can reach across generations and art forms to express a message, in this instance one of understanding and love," Midkiff said.

Tickets to the Hallows and Horcruxes Ball are free to K-State students with a valid ID and $12 for the general public. Tickets are available at the Union Program Council office on the third floor of the K-State Student Union, by calling 785-532-6571 or by ordering online at http://www.k-state.edu/chalc/HHBall.html.

Event sponsors include K-State's Children's and Adolescent Literature Community, the K-State Harry Potter Alliance, the department of English, the Student Governing Association, the Union Program Council, the Dow Chemical Multicultural Resource Center at Hale Library and the Manhattan Music Coalition.