By Leah Elison
Thanks to Harry Potter, many a child got to stay up past their bedtime, dress up in costume and see a little magic this weekend.
All over Provo and Orem, stores offered customers more than just books, and the fans came ready for more than just a line.
'Even if the people weren''t dressed up, they had scars on their forehead or had knitted scarves like Gryffindor or Slytherin,' said Michael Terry of Orem.
Terry attended Midnight Madness at the Barnes and Noble bookstore, which was one of several events held during the hours preceding the midnight release of the book.
Leeann Brown, manager of the Orem Barnes and Noble, said more than 2,000 fans showed up to buy the book, and sales had hardly slowed Saturday morning.
The store is selling fast enough that they do not plan to total sales until after the weekend is over, Brown said.
While waiting in line to purchase the book, fans could get their faces painted, drink wizard potions, enter a coloring contest, compete in the look-alike contest and take their picture with a wizard.
Brown said face painting started out mostly with scars on foreheads and the Hogwarts house symbols, but soon fans were getting their whole faces painted.
Customers were dressed up as a variety of characters, and the costumes paid tribute to every detail.
'I saw this one kid who looked so much like Harry Potter - glasses, wand, costume and all,' Terry said. 'There was a girl that looked a lot like Hermione, and an elderly lady who had a Professor McGonagal look with the broach and everything.'
University Mall had a look-alike competition Saturday morning as part of its Potter celebration, with awards, including best costume, best accessories and funniest costume.
'We even had a Jenny Weasley look-alike,' said Marisa Smith, marketing director for the University Mall. 'There was a really cute girl who was Moaning Mertle with piggy tails. Her mom made her a toilet seat out of cardboard to carry around with her.'
The events at University Mall took place from 9 a.m. to about 11 a.m. around the tree house.
A book reading in the tree house kicked off the festivities, followed by the look-alike contest at 9:30.
The winners of the contest won Harry Potter gift bags with a variety of Harry Potter products, including books and dolls.
A magician, Paul Brewer, preformed a Potter-themed magic act for the children, and two bird handlers from the Tracy Aviary wandered around the mall in full wizard costume with owls that looked like Hedwig.
All through the morning, children could design their own wands out of a dowel and decorations at a booth near the food court.
Silver glitter was unicorn hair, red feathers were phoenix feathers and gold tinsel was sparks.
'It was cute because I could hear the kids saying, ''Pass me the unicorn hair,'' and other things,' Smith said.
While children dominated the University Mall celebration, many adults and teenagers showed up at the Barnes and Noble event, said Terry.
Brown said the line for the book started to form between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., and by the time they began to sell, the line wrapped around Barnes and Noble and part way around Office Max.
'I went there at 11 p.m. thinking I would be pretty much in a good part of the line,' Terry said. 'By the time I got there, there were a lot of people there. I thought I would be early, and I was one of the latecomers.'
Potter''s appeal is difficult to explain, but Terry said he likes the books partly because they are well written and partly because he likes Harry.
'It is kind of like how girls want to be a princess someday,' he said. 'Everyone wants to be Harry Potter.'