The latest wave of Harry Potter mania makes its way Duke University this weekend with the first official Intercollegiate Yule Ball of the Carolinas.
Rebecca Kuzemchak, the Duke student who planned the event, wants students from various schools to come together for a night of fundraising and frivolity with a Harry Potter theme.
“This event is mostly just for fun. We have a Great Hall at Duke that looks exactly like the one in the Harry Potter movies, so it just seemed like a fun idea,” Kuzemchak said.
The event occurs Saturday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. There will be a charity dinner held at 7 p.m. that costs $20 a plate; the semiformal dance begins at 8 p.m. The Facebook page dedicated to the event currently has over 850 confirmed guests from various schools. Most of the schools represented on the Facebook registry are in North Carolina.
“This is a good opportunity for intercollegiate bonding as well as a chance to raise money for a good cause,” Kuzemchak said.
The event had a relatively small budget, according to Kuzemchak, and music will be provided from a playlist played over the sound system.
“The planning was mostly people from Duke. I have five people on committees who are helping put everything together. Everyone has done a really good job so far,” Kuzemchak said.
Tickets to the semiformal are free, but students are required to reserve tickets in advance. Word of mouth and Facebook, according to Kuzemchak, have mostly advertised the event.
Several N.C. State students are scheduled to attend the event. According to the event’s Facebook page, there are about 30 N.C. State students listed as “attending.”
Allison Sams, a freshman in environmental engineering, thinks it will be beneficial to all students who attend the event.
“I heard about it through the Quidditch team here at State; we played Duke’s team and their players told us all about it. It’s definitely a good idea,” Sams said.
According to Sams, the charity dinner is the most exciting part of the event, despite the cost of $20 per plate.
“Since I’m a freshman, I always eat at the dining hall,” Sams said. “I’m already going to be there, so why not have a nice dinner too?”
This event only took about a month to put together, according to Kuzemchak. Six students from Duke, including Kuzemchak, have been involved in all of the planning details for the event.
“We’ve only been working on it for about a month and we have a pretty small budget, but it’s all coming together now,” Kuzemchak said.
Many of the members of the University Quidditch team are planning on attending the event, according to Shannon Robinson, who is a member of the team.
“Everyone I know from the Quidditch team has talked about going,” Robinson, a freshman in biomedical engineering, said.
The Harry Potter theme of the dance has been well-received by most people, according to Kuzemchak. Duke’s Great Hall will be decorated in tribute to the movies.
“Surprisingly, a lot of people are really into the whole Harry Potter thing. It’s a really fun and different idea to go out and have a good time,” Robinson said.
