Harry Potter book worms came to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book release at the Drumheller Public Library on June 28, 2017.

The library was transformed into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with assorted props, costumes, signs and enthusiastic volunteers.
“We are so thankful to everyone that supported the event with donations, prizes, props, costumes, and everything else like time,” said April Harrison, head coordinator of the event. “We are so thankful to everyone that gave up their time and their energy to really support this event.”
The night unfolded with a sorting ceremony for each of the four houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.
“It was really great, we had a good turnout of adults and loads of kids,” said Harrison. Participants of all ages were whisked away after the sorting ceremony to discover their fellow house members and explore the transformed library.
“I think they were so thrilled to be sorted and all the kids in the house welcomed them and really kind of took them under their wing,” said Harrison.
Beginners Quidditch was instructed by University of Calgary Quidditch head coach Sam Mills. After a quick training session on basic rules, the individual houses were teamed up to play, ultimately gaining more points.
At the end of the night, Ravenclaw was able to claim the house cup for this year.
“We loved seeing the enthusiasm and creativity of the volunteers who helped bring this story to life,” said Emily Hollingshead, Director of Library Services. “The response from the attendees was wonderful, and we look forward to preparing new surprises for them next time.”

Nic Hewitt and Amy Hewitt dress up like Harry Potter for the fun filled evening. 

(l - r) University of Calgary Quidditch Head Coach Sam Mills; Volunteer Professor Dumbledore Lothar Malmberg; Volunteer Slytherin house leader Sarah Boe; and FCSS event coordinator and Professor McGonagall Volunteer April Harrison.

The Martian landscape of Drumheller was used to the fullest last weekend as the first Canadian International Rover Challenge took on the hills.
The University of Saskatchewan Space Design Team has organized the weekend. There was also a team from Carleton University in Ottawa and observers from the Missouri Institute of Design and Technology.
“The premise of the competition is there is an establishment of habitation on an extraterritorial body, in this case, Mars, and the university teams have to design a rover that assists that establishment,” explains Justin Gerein, a member of the Saskatchewan club.
The rover teams were challenged with tasks such as retrieval of items in rough terrain or simulating prospecting for things such as resources or signs of life.
This is the first year of the Canadian event. Many of the students have traveled to other competitions including the United Kingdom, and the premier University Rover Challenges at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.
Gerein said Drumheller is well suited for the competition.
“It offers more opportunities for terrain that would be like on Mars; the dry, the rough, the iron rich soils,” he said. “We could have gone to the Badlands of Saskatchewan and found similar terrain, but there is infrastructure here to support attendance.”
The challenges took place throughout Saturday and Sunday at Midland Provincial Park and McMullen Island. Spectators came out to check out the action.