A live-action role playing (LARP) troupe has created the ultimate "Harry Potter" experience inside a castle in Poland. It offers fans the chance to study at an institution just like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Last month, a Nordic LARP group hosted the four-day event where participants attended The College of Wizardry at the Czocha cast in Poland, according to The Telegraph. Almost 200 people from 11 countries enrolled for the first session. Participants acted as the students while the LARP members played the faculty and staff roles at the magical university.
"It is a collaborative experience in the Nordic larp tradition, and is created by the players and organizers together, with everyone pitching in and helping make the magic come alive," the website for the event reads.
The LARP communities Liveform, from Poland, and Rollespilsfabrikken, from Denmark, combined forces to create the experience. Neither anticipated the response they have received from excited participants.
"We got swamped by sign-ups and in two days the event was sold out. None of us had seen that coming," Claus Raasted of Rollespilsfabrikken told The Telegraph. "And here we are now with quite a bit of global interest for something that is in essence just a small, fan-made event."
The College of Wizardry provides students with robes, a house tie, books for studying as well as lodging and meals for 280 euros ($348.17). The school wants participants to feel like they're stepping into the actual wizarding world that J.K. Rowling created in her books and to instigate the same "emotional drama" experienced by Harry Potter and his peers.
"We cannot recreate the special effects of the movies, but we can recreate quite a lot of the visual feel," the website reads.
Much like Hogwarts, students are split into the five Houses of Czocha: Durentius, Faust, Libussa, Molin and Sendivogius. They have the option to pursue five fields of study including Aurors, Curse Breakers, Healers, Magizoologists and the Unspeakables.
The College of Wizardry will host two more events, one as a follow-up to the November session and another for new participants. The sequel session will take place between April 9 and 12. The new session will run between April 16 and 19 and registration starts on Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. EST.
