Potter fans fill Palmer

Nearly 300 books sold in two hours at Fireside Books

July 17, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- On Friday evening, just 10 minutes before midnight, nearly 400 people gathered on the sidewalk outside Fireside Books.

Dressed in wizard suits, cloaks, witches' hats and British school uniforms, grown men and women stood side by side with children and teens, waiting to buy copies of J.K. Rowlings' much-anticipated book, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.'

Costumed volunteers stood guard at the bookstore's entrance, waiting for the clock to strike midnight before letting the eager crowd enter. Necks craned and children pressed noses against the bookstore windows in efforts to catch a glimpse of the thick, green-covered novels that were stacked in neat, unopened piles throughout the store.

Inside the bookstore, the slightly nervous but smiling owner, David Cheezem, made final preparations before welcoming the Potter fans.

"I'm feeling a little stressed, but it's a good stress," he said, glancing at the clock with only nine minutes before showtime.

"People cut short fishing trips and people came all the way from Anchorage and Whittier for this," he said. "This is a huge community event."

In the hours before midnight, hundreds of people, graybeards and toddlers alike, wandered through a transformed downtown Palmer, collecting clues from shop venders as they completed an elaborate scavenger hunt called the "Wizards-in-Training Comprehensive Exam."

Decorated downtown shops helped make the town look like Diagon Alley, a famous street from the Potter series.

When the scavenger-hunters finished, they could only wait outside the bookstore and wonder what secrets the newest book would reveal.

Bookstores across the globe agreed not to sell, read or even peek at the book until midnight, July 16. That meant Alaskan readers had to wait longer than anyone in the continental United States before cracking open the secretive story.

Seven hundred copies of the 672-page book arrived at Fireside on Thursday afternoon. From that time until Friday evening, they were locked up and hidden away.

"You sign an affidavit in blood saying you won't release the book and staff won't look at them," Cheezem said.

Outside the store, toward the middle of the pack, 8-year-old Zachary Dennis could hardly wait.

"I have every single book," he said, adding that he planned to stay up late reading the first chapter of the new release.

A few minutes later, a costumed grown man yelled out, "Five minutes -- get ready, everyone!"

The crowd stirred, a few members began chanting "Harry, Harry," and cameras flashed as people checked wristwatches and inched a little closer to the doorway.

The very first person in line was 30-year-old Palmer resident Thadd Bruck. Standing just 10 feet from the bookstore entrance, he held his son and waited for the signal to enter.

While Bruck's enthusiasm for Harry Potter seemed just as fervent as the next guy's, he was also looking to the future, when his seven-month-old boy would finally experience the magic of Potter.

"By then, all the movies will be out and he'll be ready," Bruck said, smiling. "He'll watch all the movies and read all the books."

Finally, when midnight came, the doors opened and hundreds of Mat-Su Potter fans joined millions around the globe for yet another fantasy adventure.

About 10 minutes after midnight, Bruck walked out of the store with the first purchase held high over his head.

By 2 a.m., when Fireside finally closed, nearly 300 books had left the store.

The next morning, dozens of messages covered the empty sidewalk in pink, blue and yellow chalk.

One message captured the evening's essence -- "Harry is my hero."

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266.