Last year’s Diagon Alley creation in Ballard was a huge hit: thousands of people from around the city came to visit Jonathan Chambers’ Harry Potter installation at his home in Whittier Heights. Now, he’s building another Diagon Alley installation at Camp Korey in Mt Vernon, which will be open for a preview this coming weekend at their fall festival.
After the Ballard Diagon Alley’s massive success, Chambers decided he wanted to donate the creation to an organization. He put the offer on Twitter last November, and the first response was from Camp Korey. Camp Korey is geared towards kids and families with serious medical conditions — they provide year-round programs, totally free of charge.
“After a visit to the camp later that month it was apparent that this is where I wanted the alley to live on,” Chambers tells My Ballard. “I have an older brother with special needs, and if Camp Korey was around when he was younger, he would have qualified for enjoying summer camp like other kids his age.”
In January, Chambers and his wife created a nonprofit called Constructing Community to build the new project, and got the go-ahead from Warners Bros. to build the Diagon Alley replica at Camp Korey.
They started the build in April, which consists of 14 shop exteriors — more than double what he had in his driveway in Ballard. They’re building out the shop interiors as well, and even constructing The Leaky Cauldron, with a real fireplace and rooms to sleep in, Chambers says. There will also be a Gringotts Bank Playhouse and Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.
“This version will be fully interactive with doors, windows and shop interiors,” Chambers says. “We built two massive buildings, both 12-feet-wide and 12-feet-tall, one 52-feet-long and the other 44-feet-long to house the new Diagon Alley experience. Each building will have two wheelchair-accessible entrances. In general the build is much larger in scale!”
The camp opens just a couple times a year to the public — the fall festival will provide visitors an opportunity to see a preview of the new Diagon Alley, as it’s still under construction.
Camp Korey’s fall festival is this coming Saturday, Oct. 20 from 11am to 4pm, and in addition to the Diagon Alley project, they’ll have tractor rides, a reptile show, a pumpkin patch, and more.
Chambers says they’re still looking for some volunteers to help out with the build — if you’re interested, contact Chambers through the Constructing Communities’ Facebook page.
Dear “Adults”,
Your obsession with space operas and teen wizards is embarrassing. Please stop referencing children’s entertainment when talking about political issues. Also, skip the cargo shorts and please stop taking your dogs into places where food is sold or served.
Thanks for Growing Up,
Ballard Neighbors
I think someone’s heart is two sizes too small
Why does he have to “grow up” I mean if all of us thought more like kids and had more fun in our lives there would be less chaos and stress and probably more acceptance in our world! I like the way he thinks I wish I could find someone like him to pal around with because he’s cool 😎 in my opinion!
“cool” says the haus frau that spends all day on Facebook.
How do you know the person making the ‘Dear Adults comment is a male?
Agreed. It’s a shame people don’t have better things to do with their time.
The infantilization of America. Now even our president is a wailing 2-year-old. Where does it end?
Not sure where that criticism was when it was Obama. Oh wait, its only ok to bash white people.
Dick
You sound like a very sad person that needs some love. Sorry you are so disgusted by creative and fun people that you can’t appreciate the happy things in life. Your loss bud and you should be embarrassed for creating negativity in a community that embraces the opposite
Dear Sockpuppet,
Your obsession with posting idiotic comments such as this on a neighborhood blog, over and over and over again, is just plain embarrassing. Please stop thinking that you speak for even a single other person in this City, because no one else thinks like you. Also, go outside and live a little.
Thanks for getting a life,
Truth
That’s pretty rich, coming from the most tiresome and predictable commenter on this blog.
Your heart is all black and cold inside, Sadly sometimes mine is too.
Dear Sad Person,
You need a hug.
Sincerely,
All of us
This is awesome! I am so happy for those kids!
So wish I could afford to come visit you and see this place or stay and help you out it would be so much fun!
Good……need special housing for the impaired kids and not the drug addicts and lifer hobos ! Which I heard Lipton springs tiny houses project for homeless drug addicts and alcoholics not fairing so we’ll do to LiHi which promotes the activity not helping them !
This is so cool! Where do you find this? Someone needs to build 23 1/2” Space Needle named Chester
Such a waste to put the effort into building fake homes, when we have a housing crisis.
Don’t criticize the kidults, or they will curse you with their magic wands or swing a foam sword at you.
Ah, I see we’re building more affordable housing in Seattle. Is this more of those “tiny homes” for the drug addicts? Cute theme!
Homeless people!
Isn’t it?
Good lord, what is wrong with you people? This family is doing something very imaginative and creative, you should be happy for them. Why are you so hell bent on negative thoughts and belittling people that try to do something for the community?
Can you please tell me what you have done that enhances the way of life that we have and made our world a better place top live in?
I get the feeling you want to live in what I can only describe as “hell on earth”.