The Mount Kisco Manticores and the Bedford Hills Blast-Ended Skrewts will be mounting their brooms for Harry Potter's favorite game—and in turn are helping out the
"We always like celebrating the terrific books, and the wonderful reading that thas come out of this," said the library's story teller, Kathy Storfer.
Her son, Daniel Storfer, 18, was the inspiration for this day.
He and his friends were looking to get a game together when his mother proposed the idea of helping out the library at the same time.
"It kind of worked out because while we help the library we can play a game that a lot of people really wanted to try—but never really had the chance to play," he said, noting that Quidditch has very recently become a popular college club sport. Storfer recently graduated from and will attend Weslyan college this fall.
Game day is Mon. July 25 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at .
Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's birthdays are coincidentally, the following week.
Kathy Storfer hopes for a day of good weather, fun, "and a little bit of magic."
She describes this famous sport as a combination of volleyball, rugby, and dodgeball. There are three rings at opposite ends of the field and players known as "chasers" try to balls into the hoops; "bludgers" try to block them, and a "keeper" defends the hoops. Points are scored when the "seeker" snatches the golden snitch.
And—almost magically—an office of the International Quidditch Association (IQA) has set up an office in Bedford Hills and offered to help out with the event.
"We’re going to be providing official equipment," said Alex Benepe, CEO of the IQA who was approached by Kathy Storfer only a week ago. Broomsticks, deflated volleyballs and dodgeballs are some of the items wielded by players in a typical game.
Benepe said he was happy to see Quidditch grow since the IQA's inception in 2005, and to see it evolve into a sport and a Harry Potter pastime.
The Storfer's expect 20-plus players to show up Monday to play on teams of seven; many wannabe witches and wizards are friends and former classmates of Daniel Storfer's. All are avid Harry Potter fans—one so intense about the series that he selected his college based in part on the fact the school had an excellent Quidditch team.
"Because that's the most important part," he quipped about his friend.
Rachel Joseph of Mt. Kisco, 19, also plans to help with the event Monday.
"I love it [Quidditch], it’s a great way to have fun and being able to help the library is just a plus; it’s more then just a Quidditch game that the nerds are playing—we’re actually going to help the community," said Joseph, who also recently graduated from Fox Lane and will attend SUNY Binghamton this fall.
She said she was surprised to learn the IQA had an office in Bedford Hills, but it was "great to know that the creators of this game are supporting such a small town."
To help raise funds, a bake sale will occur simultaneously while the match is played.
"We raise money for literacy programs, so we do anything we can do to support library events," says Benepe. "The game came from a book and by supporting literacy we feel like we’re giving back to the realm of which the game started."
For more information on the game, contact the or visit the IQA's website.
