EVENT DETAILS:

When: Saturday, October 19 – 12 pm – 5 pm (Pub Crawl October 18, 2019)
Where: Throughout Chestnut Hill
Cost: Free to attend. Festival includes both free and paid/ticketed activities.

FESTIVAL REGISTRATION & TICKETS:

This fall, Chestnut Hill renews its seasonal tradition for the charming urban village that unites mischief and ghosts of wizards-past, with family fun for an action-packed Witches & Wizards Festival weekend. Kicking off with Brews and Broomsticks Pub Crawl on Friday, October 18 and continuing with a day full of family-friendly programming on Saturday, October 19 – the 2019 Witches & Wizards Festival promises spooktacular entertainment and activities in a whimsical community setting.
Fun for the entire family, Witches & Wizards is a day full of autumnal festivities for a pre-Halloween celebration. Locals and visitors can enjoy hands-on craft activities, live entertainment, themed shops, and more throughout the Chestnut Hill community. Other perennial favorites include the 10th Annual Brotherly Love Cup Quidditch Tournament and Woodmere Art Museum’s Straw Maze.

FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES:

A complete listing of confirmed Festival activities can be found here.  Check back in October for a downloadable Festival Map showing the locations of all activities in Chestnut Hill!
  • Wizarding Run  **NEW!   Saturday, October 19,  9 a.m., 8000 St. Martins Lane
    • The Wizarding Run is coming to Chestnut Hill! Grab your wand, hop on your broom, and join fellow witches and wizards on a magical 1 mile or 5K journey through Chestnut Hill with wizardly sights and sounds along the way. Every registrant receives a one of kind event shirt in 4 color options, a custom wand, a commemorative bib, and a FREE butterscotch soda. Participants of the 5K will also receive an amazing owl finisher medal at the finish line.  Register today!
  • 10th Annual Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup Quidditch Tournament: Saturday, October 19, 10 am – 4 pm, Chestnut Hill College, Cost: Free to attend.
    The 10th Annual Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup Quidditch Tournament returns with teams from visiting colleges and the local community team competing in round-robin style Quidditch matches.  Visit https://www.chc.edu/quidditch-tournament-information in the coming weeks for additional details and a list of participating teams.
  • 8th Annual Harry Potter Academic Conference: A non-profit annual academic conference hosted by Chestnut Hill College, this interdisciplinary conference provides a forum for scholarly presentations arising out of J.K. Rowling’s literature.  The conference is open to the public, with a registration donation required. See http://www.harrypotterconference.com/ for more information.
  • The Jenks Academy for Witchcraft and Wizardry will feature bouncies, a DJ, arts and crafts stations, games, food trucks, a bake sale, wizard chess, face painting, and cotton candy.
  • Chestnut Hill Escape Room will test your fear level with a haunted adventure at Chestnut Hill Escape Room, visit the The Haunting of Chestnut Hill, the spine-cHILLing mystery room).  If you’re a fan of scary movies or TV shows, This is the adventure for you. Just the right mix of fun and fear in a ghostly adventure you won’t soon forget! (purchase tickets at https://www.chestnuthillescaperoom.com/)
  • Woodmere Straw Maze: Built from massive straw bales, this year’s maze is fun for all ages. Designed by architects Peter Everett Brown and Barbara Ann Sprague of BrownSprague LLC. Sponsored by Michelle McFarland. Ages 4-11 with adult. $8 per child ($6 members); $20 ($18 members) for families of three or more; multiple weekend passes available.  Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Entrance to the Museum is free to parents and guardians whose children have tickets to the Straw Maze.
  • Hocus Pocus Headquarters: Returning for a second year, the Festival’s immensely-popular children’s craft and activity area will include seasonal stations for slime-making, potion-making, pumpkin-decorating, and more!  Hocus Pocus Headquarters sold out in 2018, so pre-register to guarantee your space at https://chestnut-hill.ticketleap.com.
  • Costumed actors on the Avenue: An annual tradition from festivals past, our troupe of professional actors fans out across Germantown Avenue in spooky and magical attire, offering free scares and photo ops for participants.
  • Professional caricaturists: Take home a keepsake sketch from one of our two professional caricaturists.
  • Secret Circus aerialists: An annual tradition returning again in 2019, our circus aerialists put on an impressive street show featuring aerial feats, trapeze, and dance.
  • Slow Motion Booth: Act out scary and magical fantasies with your friends in slow motion at this unique video booth by SlowMo2Go.  Additional props and costume accessories are available on-site.
  • Fire-breathing: Spinning torches and blowing fire are some of the daring feats demonstrated by our stunt performer, a fan favorite in 2018.
  • Face painter: Kids can impersonate their favorite spooky or magical character with the help of our two professional face painters.
  • Philly Ghostbusters: Complete with their unmistakable car and costumes, the Philly Ghostbusters are returning to the 2019 festival to rid Chestnut Hill of supernatural visitors.
  • CH DanceFit Performance: Don’t miss the talented dancers of Chestnut Hill DanceFit
  • The Franklin Institute: Don’t miss the real-life magic of science at The Franklin Institute’s special festival booth in Chestnut Hill.
  • The Insectarium: If creepy and crawly is a must for your Halloween  fun, don’t miss this station by The Philadelphia Insectarium, the city’s only bug-centric science museum.
  • NEW! Dark Magic Scavenger Hunt:
    There’s sinister stirrings in Chestnut Hill at the Wizards and Witches Weekend! A series of dark and cursed items have made their way into the shops and stores, and your help is needed to locate them all before the evil awakening spell is activated.
    Grab your wand, broomstick, and your friends, and prepare to race through the streets, follow the clues, and find all of the items before it’s too late.
    TICKETS INCLUDE:
    – Game admission
    – Magical map of the area
    – “Magic Words Daily” Newspaper containing clues to the locations
    – A magic spell sheet with information about the dark objects you’re searching for
    – Prizes for successful completion of the game!
    *Note: there is no limit to the number of participants who can work together, but each individual must purchase their own ticket.

VISITOR EXPERIENCE

Chestnut Hill is hard at work creating another year of fun for visitors during Witches & Wizards. As in 2018, please note that Germantown Avenue will not be closed to traffic for the 2019 event.
Parking
Five public paid parking lots will be open throughout Chestnut Hill during the event. Lot locations and pricing can be found at chestnuthillpa.com/parking. Limited street parking is also available.   Parking for the Quidditch Tournament will be available on the grounds of Chestnut Hill College.  As parking capacity is limited, visitors traveling to Chestnut Hill for Witches & Wizards are strongly encouraged to utilize public transportation.
Transportation
Public transportation is the most convenient way to travel to and from Chestnut Hill. SEPTA (Philadelphia’s regional transit system) has two station stops in Chestnut Hill located just a short walk from the heart of the community: Chestnut Hill West and Chestnut Hill East. This train system provides roundtrip transportation from Center City Philadelphia and Chestnut Hill. Visit www.iseptaphilly.com for complete schedules and details.
Join the conversation on social media with @chestnuthillpa and be sure to share the love with the hashtag #chestnuthillpa.