I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you my experience at LeakyCon 2019 in Boston. This was my first Harry Potter convention and I had a blast. I loved it so much I'm considering going back in 2020! Here are my thoughts on the whole weekend!

This past weekend, I was given the opportunity to be a vendor at LeakyCon, the biggest Harry Potter convention in the U.S., and I jumped at the opportunity! Although two conventions in one month definitely added a lot to my to-do list, I am grateful for having spent the weekend in Boston with Wizards and Muggles for LeakyCon’s 10th anniversary.

This was a special occasion, indeed, as I met a few fans who traveled across the country to attend this event. For LeakyCon’s 10th anniversary, the convention came back to Boston, where it first started in 2009. It’s always a privilege to be able to meet die-hard fans and bond with them over characters, plot predictions, and just fangirl over new things coming out in general!

"Can I get one of your ribbons?"

One of the new things I saw at LeakyCon that I had never seen before at any other convention was badge ribbons. Badge ribbons are collectibles, much like trading cards or pins.

Many attendees brought them to trade with each other or to give away in good spirit. Vendors had these badge ribbons as well and they became an additional activity at the convention. Many attendees worked really hard to collect all of the ribbons and others wanted to have enough to reach the ground!

I brought Lumos! ribbons, which every Harry Potter fan knows is the wand-lighting charm that illuminates the tip of a caster’s wand and helps them to see in the dark. For my next Harry Potter convention, I may bring a mix of Lumos! and Nox ribbons-- Nox being the charm used to extinguish the light from a caster’s wand--to add to the fun! These ribbons are sure to get some attendees trying to extinguish each other’s wands!

Besides the ribbons, other attendees brought pins, paper flowers, and stickers to trade. It was a fun and cute way for not only attendees to bond with each other, but also us vendors to connect with the attendees.

Let's CosPlay!

One of my favorite parts about LeakyCon was seeing all of the cosplayers. The dedication that they have to their costumes-- some of which are so elaborate-- is such a joy to see! A few of the cosplays I saw were Harry Potter, Hagrid, and Dolores Umbridge! You can follow me on Instagram to see additional pictures of cosplayers from Leaky Con.

"Oh! This totally smells like Hufflepuff!"

The enthusiasm that attendees have for their fandom is infectious! Not only will you find dedicated cosplayers at LeakyCon, but also fans that just understand what you do, what crafts you’re selling, and are thrilled about it all! 

Out of all of the Harry Potter candles that I sold at LeakyCon, the one that got fans super excited was Sorted, which is a candle based off the famous Sorting Hat in Harry Potter that starts off white and changes to reveal your house color after burning. I had a lot of fans wondering if they could persuade the Sorted candle to sort them into the house they wanted (they could!) or if they were in fact part of the Gryffindor house or a Slytherin like this guy with his biker patches! (isn't this soooo cool!)

As a business person, it's also great to get product feedback from the fans face to face. The best seller of the weekend was Evening at the Burrow . This yummy fall fragrance was a hit!

Want to join in on all the Wizarding fun? You can find my other Harry Potter-inspired hand-crafted candles for purchase here.