Boozy B’s in Midtown Village celebrated their third annual Wizarding Weekend from Friday through Sunday.
Kevin Carroll | Weekender
Fans swarm downtown alcohol-infused ice cream shop
Matthew MacDonald gets a game in with his daughter Kaelyn in Midtown Village on Sunday.
Kevin Carroll | Weekender
MilliAnna Worthy gets her face painted at the “Face Paintings by Nick” stand.
Kevin Carroll | Weekender
Laura Williams (second from left) orders herself a butterbeer float from Boozy B’s.
Kevin Carroll | Weekender
A look at the scene in Midtown Village on Sunday, the final day of Boozy B’s Wizarding Weekend.
Kevin Carroll | Weekender
WILKES-BARRE — An enchanting experience was in store for the area’s witches and wizards, as Boozy B’s hosted their third annual Wizarding Weekend in Midtown Village.
The three-day event kicked off on Friday afternoon, Oct. 8, and even with a light rain falling on Sunday, the Village was still packed with Harry Potter enthusiasts and Halloween fans alike, browsing the vast selection of vendors and making sure to stop inside Boozy B’s for a tasty treat.
Inside Boozy B’s, flags adorned with the crests of the four houses of Hogwarts hung in the window, while cardboard cutouts of popular characters from the series greeted customers all around the shop.
Among the shop’s new items served up specifically for this weekend: a butterbeer float inspired by the popular drink featured in the Harry Potter series, pumpkin juice floats and pumpkin cookie ice cream sandwiches (for the underage crowd, non-alcoholic offerings were available).
The butterbeer floats were certainly a hot seller on Sunday, as a second line of customers outside the ice cream shop remained full of enthusiastic customers all afternoon.
“This is really good,” said Laura Williams as she tasted her float. “I love it.”
Williams and her friend Holly Diehl both drove up from Allentown to check out Wizarding Weekend. Williams proclaimed herself a huge Harry Potter fan, but couldn’t say the same for Diehl.
“I don’t think she’s [Diehl] ever even seen the movies or read the books,” Williams said. “I’ll have to let her borrow mine.”
While the Potter shirts and hats were out in full force, there was also a more general fall vibe throughout some of the vendors scattered around Midtown Village.
Fresh bread, soaps and candles and some other crafts were for sale at every turn.
There were also plenty of fun activities for the children, including cornhole boards, a Jenga tower and a facepainting vendor.
Jennifer Barnwell watched and smiled as her granddaughter, MilliAnna, got her face painted.
“(MilliAnna) is visiting with her family from North Carolina,” Barnwell said. “It just so happened to be on this weekend, and the kids all love Harry Potter, so I brought them here.”
Bianca Lupio, one of the co-owners of Boozy B’s, hardly had time to speak with a reporter on Sunday; the line waiting to get their hands on one of the ice cream shop’s Harry Potter-themed alcohol-infused ice cream selections ran all the way outside the shop.
“It’s been like this since we opened on Friday,” Lupio said. “It’s been crazy.”
