Photo Album: Annual Quidditch Festival

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Hundreds of Harry Potter fans converged on Battell Beach last Saturday for the annual Middlebury Classic quidditch festival. The event attracted college teams from across New England to compete in the full-contact land version of the sport made famous in J.K. Rowling’s books.

In addition to the fierce competition of the matches, which included inter-commons rivalries, Middlebury student organizations hosted Harry Potter-themed children’s events, including potions demonstrations, face painting, and quidditch workshops.

“Muggle Quidditch,” as its known, was created at Middlebury in 2005 and has enjoyed widespread popularity among high school and college students. Its estimated to have more than 500 teams in 26 countries.

Photographer Jon Olender captured some moments from the weekend for this slide show.