GGB Pittsburgh’s Happy Birthday, Mr. Potter Brunch
We held our second annual Harry Potter picnic and House Cup this July. Because this is an extra special year for Harry Potter fans, we tried to go big. We moved our activities to North Park where we had more room to run around and be silly muggles, and we added fun new things like a photo booth of Platform 9 3/4s and an extensive scavenger hunt.
All 45+ Brunchettes in attendance self-sorted into their houses, and each lady wrote their name of a scrap of parchment and threw it into the Goblet of Fire (which we used later to draw names for prizes).
Give-aways included t-shirts, coloring books, handmade throw pillows sewn and donated by one of our amazingly talented Brunchettes, mystery bags full of goodies, and more! The potluck style picnic brought out everyone’s amazing cooking skills. We feasted on everything from Mexican street corn to German potato salad, Golden Snitch cake-pops and Sorting Hat cupcakes. It was truly amazing!
The House Cup was heated. Defending champions Ravenclaw came out strong with heavy competition from Slytherin, but the unassuming Hufflepuffs and underdog Gryffindors showed up with fight in them.
“Last year we were at a severe disadvantage,” Gryffindor and GGB PGH Officer Jocelyn commented. “There were only two, three of us? I showed up late. We were definitely a threat to no one. But this year we’ve regrouped and are ready to give it our all.”
“I feel pretty confident that we’ll come out on top again this year,” said Ravenclaw Jamie. “Us Claws train hard all year long. We know what it feels like to be the best, and we like it.”
When asked about the steep competition surrounding them, Hufflepuff and GGB PGH Officer Laura commented, “Listen, the Puffs are here for a good time. We know what we’re up against, and we wish them all good luck!”
“Hahahahahaha,” was the only comment from Slytherin’s Katie Dee and GGB PGH Officer Kristin, sly smiles plastered on their faces.
The cup started in the woods with a scavenger hunt for seven house keys and three wild card keys. After several drinks, it was a challenge. While Ravenclaw came back with all three wild card keys, giving them bonus points, Gryffindor was the only team to produce all seven of their keys AND returned to Hogwarts’ Great Hall first, tipping them just over the edge into the lead. Trivia was next, and it was heated to say the least. Teams volleyed back and forth, challenge and stole questions, but when it came down to it, Gryffindor came out ahead yet again. The final challenge of the day was a balloon toss, and while Gryffindor was in the final three, it was Hufflepuff that dominated. In the end, however, after a very tight competition, Gryffindor rose up from the depths of obscurity to claim the cup from Ravenclaw. All houses are excited for a rematch in 2018.
The Happy Birthday Mr. Potter Picnic is one of the few events we host yearly and don’t put a cap on. It is a chance for us to get as many of our Brunchettes together to hang out as we can, and this year we had some multi-generational attendees with mothers and daughters coming together. We always have a blast, and this year being the 20th anniversary we all felt it was an extra special event.
We have a pretty crazy fall that us officers are very busy putting together for everyone, so we hope you can join us for the last half of 2017! Thank you to our amazing Brunchettes, the city of Pittsburgh, and as always, to HQ for providing great support. See Yinz soon!