Thursday-Sunday, July 12-15 – Ascendio 2012
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Universal Orlando
5601 Universal Blvd.
hp2012.org
$50-$250
We wish we could be all blasé about the end of the Harry Potter series in book and film form, but hard as we try, it’s just not happening. Letting go of the Boy Who Lived is even tougher for certain diehard Potterites, and for those fans, author J.K. Rowling continues to actively serve, from the magical digital journey of Pottermore to increasingly credible cons like LeakyCon in Chicago and Ascendio right in our (and, thanks to Universal Islands of Adventures’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the scarred orphan’s) backyard. From well-known YA authors like Lev Grossman, Beth Revis and Libba Bray on the Quill (lit) track to an appearance by Team StarKid, the collegiate musical theater group co-founded by Glee’s Darren Criss, who first gained attention thanks to StarKid’s self-penned Potter musical, to a Rowling-contributed art gallery, a musical revue and a fashion show, Ascendio 2012 offers everything a not-ready-for-detox fan could want in a celebration of the phenomenon they just plain need. – Justin Strout
