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Fast times, no rain for inaugural Strive Olympic Triathlon

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Community appreciation event in Wilkes-Barre emphasizes diversity

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Fans of the lightning bolt wizard dashed in and out of Barnes &amp; Noble at the Arena Hub Plaza this weekend, hoping to wave their wands - or wallets - in search of the latest book in the Harry Potter series, which was released a minute after midnight on Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I &amp; II&#8221; is the eighth and latest book in the Potter series, written by Jack Throne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. But unlike the novels of wizardly past, this one has a twist.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a play, it&#8217;s not like a regular novel,&#8221; Barnes &amp; Nobel assistant store manager Sean Yustat said.</p><p>The book, which is set almost 20 years after &#8220;The Deathly Hollows&#8221; and focuses on the children of Potter and more - is written as a screen play and includes narrations and stage directions.</p><p>The bookstore giant kicked off the release with multiple events - a Countdown to Midnight Party on Saturday night, with the fun continuing throughout the day Sunday, when a local theater group offered a little help.</p><p>Members of Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre gave guests of the bookstore a table reading of selected scenes on Sunday afternoon.</p><p>&#8220;We didn&#8217;t want to reveal spoilers, and the book is full of spoilers,&#8221; Maureen Hozempa, of Dallas, said as she discussed how the group decided on scenes to read.</p><p>Members of the group, which included Hozempa, Alison Scott, of Wilkes-Barre; Natasha Bogutzki, of Shavertown; Kalen Churcher, of Plymouth; Meg Davis, of Wilkes-Barre; and theatre choreographer Dan Pittman, of Chambersburg, expressed that the general public may be caught off-guard since the book is not a typical novel. But they say the script is easy to follow and allows the reader to use their imagination.</p><p>&#8220;People that aren&#8217;t used to reading scripts - it may be an adjustment,&#8221; Pittman said, with the group adding that the script allows fans to see the story from a different perspective.</p><p>&#8220;We got the book here last night at the release, we started reading it this morning,&#8221; Hozempa added. &#8220;It&#8217;s really, really good. I&#8217;m one act in, and I can&#8217;t put it down.&#8221;</p><p>Fans were able to sign up for a pre-order list, which Barnes &amp; Noble had enough books to cover. However it wasn&#8217;t long after noon on Sunday that the bookstore was already sold out.</p><p>But Yustat told disappointed fans not to lose hope - they&#8217;re expecting a re-stock Monday.</p><p>The store is currently taking reservations for the re-stock, and is including a 20 percent discount on the book until Aug. 8. Normally, &#8220;Cursed Child&#8221; retails for $29.99, and with the discount it drops to $23.99. Yustat also added that members can receive an extra 10 percent discount, which can drop the price further.</p><p>Even though some didn&#8217;t get what they came for, many still stayed to enjoy the multiple activities that were set up in honor of the release.</p><p>Coloring stations for each &#8220;house&#8221; of magic were available, as well as a photo frame reading &#8220;Have you seen this wizard?&#8221; resembling the wanted poster from the movies.</p><p>Molly Verbyla, of Mountain Top, came to the store with her daughter in hopes of snagging a copy before it sold out. Although she was unlucky, she opted to sign up for a book reservation and stuck around to watch the table readings.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a longtime fan,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve read the stories multiple times.&#8221;</p><p>Although she loves the novels, Verbyla expressed concern with the new script setup.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very weary. I tried to read a script book from Stephen King when he did it, and I just didn&#8217;t care for it. But I&#8217;m willing to give it a shot.&#8221;</p><p>Krista Jackson stopped in with her family while visiting the area from Effort to see if a copy was still available.</p><p>Jackson said her older daughter had pre-ordered online, but her younger daughter wanted a book for herself. She missed out, but said she&#8217;ll just order it online, and is interested to see the new script form.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s neat to see it in a different way,&#8221; Jackson said. &#8220;Everyone will have their own interpretation of it.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL080116HarryPotterParty1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Performers from The Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre read as characters from the book &#8216;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One &amp; Two&#8217; at Barnes &amp; Nobles on Sunday afternoon. From left are Meg Davis, Maureen Hozempa, Dan Pittman, Alison Scott, Natasha Bogutzki and Kalen Churcher. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL080116HarryPotterParty1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Performers from The Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre read as characters from the book &#8216;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One &amp; Two&#8217; at Barnes &amp; Nobles on Sunday afternoon. From left are Meg Davis, Maureen Hozempa, Dan Pittman, Alison Scott, Natasha Bogutzki and Kalen Churcher. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL080116HarryPotterParty3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Meg Davis, an actress with Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, reads from the newest release in the Harry Potter series, &#8216;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I &amp; II&#8217; at Barnes &amp; Nobles on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL080116HarryPotterParty3-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Meg Davis, an actress with Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, reads from the newest release in the Harry Potter series, &#8216;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I &amp; II&#8217; at Barnes &amp; Nobles on Sunday afternoon. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_harrypotter01-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mattingly Vandenberg, 7, of Mountain Top, makes a face while posing for a photograph on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_harrypotter01-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Mattingly Vandenberg, 7, of Mountain Top, makes a face while posing for a photograph on Saturday night. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_harrypotter02-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Fans of the Harry Potter book series gather at Barnes &amp; Noble on Saturday night for the Harry Potter Countdown to Midnight Party. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_harrypotter02-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Fans of the Harry Potter book series gather at Barnes &amp; Noble on Saturday night for the Harry Potter Countdown to Midnight Party. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_harrypotter03-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Harry Potter fan Lindsey Jorda, 15, of Dallas, writes a message on the &#8216;Muggle Wall&#8217; during Saturday&#8217;s Harry Potter Countdown to Midnight Party at Barnes &amp; Noble at the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_harrypotter03-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Harry Potter fan Lindsey Jorda, 15, of Dallas, writes a message on the &#8216;Muggle Wall&#8217; during Saturday&#8217;s Harry Potter Countdown to Midnight Party at Barnes &amp; Noble at the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL080116HarryPotterParty2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">An actress from the Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre reads from J.K. Rowling&#8217;s newest addition to the Harry Potter series &#8216;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I &amp; II&#8217; at the Barnes &amp; Nobles in Wilkes-Barre Township on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL080116HarryPotterParty2-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>An actress from the Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre reads from J.K. Rowling&#8217;s newest addition to the Harry Potter series &#8216;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I &amp; II&#8217; at the Barnes &amp; Nobles in Wilkes-Barre Township on Sunday. </caption5><photoCredit5>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Book store holds ‘Harry Potter’ party for ‘Cursed Child’ release