Friday, March 13th

Dark Wizards’ Ball

Come dance the night of Friday the 13th away with us! Music provided by DJ Jason Antalek and Empire Entertainment.

Saturday March 14th

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Hieroglyphics 101

Does the magic of Egypt fascinate you? Would you like to be able to read and write hieroglyphics? Then come study the writing of the Ancient Egyptians and its application to magic. In the class activity, you shall create your own Shield to take home with you. Taught by Avistrum Headmaster Clark Dowling.

Quidditch Panel

“Quidditch Crash Course”- Are you not sure what exactly a ‘Quaffle’ is? Do you know the origin of the ‘Golden Snitch’? Then our “Crash Course” is just for you! Come join us in an exploration on the wonderful sport that is Quidditch. We shall cover all the basic aspects of the game, including it’s rich history, the positions, and the equipment. After the lecture we will be moving on to the activity of the panel, the creation of Golden Snidgets! Presented by Parador Student Amelia Emberwing.

Dueling Tournament

Come test your might in magic at Avistrum’s first Dueling Tournament! Best two out of three falls, winner takes all! Come register at the Avistrum Table and see what fabulous prizes we have for the winner! Presided by Avistrum Head Boy Solace Mare and Parador Prefect Rein Darkshine.

Sunday, March 14th

Avistrum Q & A: Behind the Scenes

Ever wondered what we’re like when we’re not playing wizards? Interested in how characters and props were thought of? Come join us as we answer your questions about the origins of Avistrum and spin some tales and anecdotes.

Harry Potter Movie Panel

What do you think of the movie series? Do you love them or hate them? Come and argue about your likes and dislikes in our Movie Panel. After the discussion, we will take a vote as to which Harry Potter movie we shall watch to close out the day.

Discounted Registration

Through March 12, you can get $10 off the at-the-door price using discount code “avistrum” at EventBrite. Hope to see you all there!

The festival has moved this year. We will now be located at the Hyatt Regency DTC, 7800 East Tufts Avenue, Denver (Google Maps, MapQuest, Yahoo! Maps).

Schedule

Students will be sorted on Friday night into one of Avistrum’s four houses, and will enjoy a special dessert buffet, with a chance to meet and mingle with your fellow students and the faculty and staff.

Beginning Saturday morning, you will take several classes throughout the weekend in topics to include Divination, Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Beasts, Potions, and Defense Against Dark Magic. You can qualify to be your house’s champion in the Quidditch Tournament finals Saturday evening. Saturday night, our castle is taken over by the Death Eaters for a Dark Wizards’ Ball.

Sunday, classes resume, and you will continue to earn (or lose) points to help your house win the House Cup. The Cup will be awarded at a special close-of-term ceremony Sunday evening.

Be alert! The dark witch Persephone’s minions have been lurking, and you never know when strange things might happen in the castle! The professors are always vigilant, but you might be called upon to help defend the wizarding world!

Registration

Registration is for the entire weekend, and includes full admission to OPUSFest, a student ID badge, tuition for all classes, dessert Friday evening, and admission to Saturday’s Dark Wizards’ Ball. The price for adults is $70, and $60 for children ages 5-12. There is a special $5 discount for online registration (via Mollyguard) before May 18, 2006.

Children under 13 must be acompanied by a registered adult. Children under 5 may attend free of charge when accompanied by a paid adult.

If you cannot register online, you can send your registration by mail. Please include your real name, the number of adults and children registering, and check or money order (do not send cash) to:

Avistrum registration inlcudes OPUS registration! If you’ve already registered for OPUS 2006, please don’t pay twice! Contact us by email and we will give you instructions on how to register with us.

Special Workshop

There is a special robe-making workshop Saturday morning with Mistress Craefter, where you can make your own set of school robes! Registration for this special event is limited to 20 students. You must register separately for the workshop.

You can view the video via the Internet Archive.
It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

You will need Quicktime to view the video. There are three sizes depending on your connection speed.

A Special Note for Potential Students

We at Avistrum recognize that not all witches and wizards discover their talents at a young age. Therefore we accept students of all ages, young and old.

The Schedule

(All Times Subject to Change)

Friday, May 20

• 7:00 PM – Sorting Ceremony (followed immediately by the Start of Term Announcements, and The Feast)

Saturday, May 21

• 10:00-11:30 AM – Charms
• 1:00-2:30 PM – Divination
• 3:00-4:30 PM – Defense Against Dark Magic
• 5:00-6:30 PM – Transfiguration
• 7:00-8:30 PM – Quidditch Tournament (on Sony PlayStation2)
• 9:00 PM-??? – Dark Wizards’ Masquerade Ball

Sunday, May 22

• 10:00-11:30 AM – Potions
• 1:00-2:30 PM – Care of Magical Beasts
• 5:00 PM – End of Term Ceremony