For one night only, magic folk and muggles will join forces when Quidditch meets baseball. On July 31, which also happens to be Harry Potter’s birthday, the Round Rock Express will be holding Harry Potter Night at the Dell Diamond, and Texas Quidditch will be onsite offering free Quidditch practice.
As part of a partnership with Do512, Texas Quidditch -- the official University of Texas Quidditch team -- will be offering free “Kidditch” lessons on the field from 6 to 6:20 p.m. before the Round Rock Express take on the El Paso Chihuahuas.
“Muggle Quidditch is very similar to the game in the Harry Potter books,” said Jane Walton, treasurer of the Texas Quidditch Organization. “Sadly, our brooms don’t really fly and the flying snitch from the book is replaced with a person but almost everything else is the same.”
Walton said the Texas Quidditch team plans to change things up a bit to make things simpler for the kids.
“We plan to go over basic positions and rules and then go directly to playing a game, which is the fun part,” said Walton, who is also a member of the Texas Quidditch varsity team. “We've found that kids pick up the simplified game quickly.”
Walton added that around six Quidditch experts will be on hand to teach kids about the sport, along with equipment like hoops, quaffles, bludgers and “brooms.” She said all the kids will need in order to participate is comfortable clothing and tennis shoes.
“Kidditch is always a fun event for us because we're excited to introduce kids to Quidditch,” she said. “This year we're especially excited about Kidditch opportunities since the US Cup will be in Round Rock April 2018. We hope to have many supporters of the Austin teams come out to cheer us on at that tournament.”
As part of Harry Potter Night, Do512 also has other Potter-themed activities planned, including potions class, a sorting hat, crafts and a photo booth. Walton said Texas Quidditch members will be hanging around their booth until around 8 p.m. to talk with anyone interested in the sport as well.
Do512 encourages kids to come dressed up in their favorite Harry Potter costumes and said special discount tickets -- $5 lawn seating or $11 infield reserve seats -- can be purchased here with the coupon code “HARRY.”
Another magical benefit, concessions will be selling $1 hot dogs and sodas presented by Mrs. Bairds.
