The ARC was transformed into a scene from Hogwarts Saturday as roughly 300 Harry Potter fans attended the Harry Potter Alliance’s first Yule Ball.

According to Jerold MacayaCC, freshman in LAS and marketing executive of Harry Potter Alliance, the RSO sold 350 tickets bringing in $3,500 in revenue.

“We didn’t expect that many people would want to go. We were thinking maybe 100,” Macaya said.

Vidushi RaiCC, freshman in Engineering, said the ball was beyond her expectations.

“It was amazing,” Rai said. “I’m proud of the Alliance themselves. They had all of the Harry Potter-themed drinks and food. Even if you’re not into dancing, you could end up eating and take pictures. There was stuff on the walls and pretty lights and little Christmas trees. It lived up to its name. I thought it would be a really cool thing but was still better than I expected.”

Macaya, who was the DJ for the event, said the music that was played was a mix of the Harry Potter soundtrack, EDM, alternative, Top 40 and wizarding rock, a Harry Potter-themed genre of music.

Food and drinks included cauldron cakes and cake pops decorated to look like golden snitches, pop made to look like Polyjuice Potion, as well as other treats and confections.

In addition to food and dancing, a horcrux hunt took place where students would search for hidden horcruxes and win prizes, which included handmade wands and a Harry Potter sticker book.

Macaya was pleased with how the Yule Ball turned out.

“Harry Potter fans are enthusiastic,” he said. “Having the whole dance floor crowded for a whole hour and a half was a great thing. There was a constant atmosphere of ‘we are here to party and have a good time.’ The theme of Harry Potter didn’t permeate the entire thing.”

Nick LuedtkeC, junior in LAS, said he enjoyed dressing up with friends and was impressed given that it was the first year for the ball and that the budget wasn’t very big. However, he does see room for improvement.

“I think they could have improved a little bit more on some of the music section,” he said.

Macaya agreed with Luedtke about the music, as he wanted more wizarding rock songs. He also sees other areas that the Harry Potter Alliance will work to improve for next year’s Yule Ball.

“We should have more involvement with people in terms of activities,” he said. “It was hard to communicate with people that the horcrux hunt was happening because people were busy dancing on the dance floor. There should be more balance of dancing and partying and Harry Potter activities. (With) it being our first time, it wasn’t so bad, but for future reference we should find that balance.”

Rai noticed that some activities didn’t end up coming to fruition, such as a raffle or a “spin the glasses on Harry Potter” game.

Both Macaya and Rai think that the venue needs to accommodate more people in the future, and Macaya said that’s a major goal for the Alliance next year.

Overall, it proved to be a magical night, and Rai and Luedtke said that they want to go to next year’s Yule Ball.

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