On a gloomy evening, I ventured to the stately ‘Moonlight Manor’ (part of the Wyreena Community Arts Centre in Croydon) dressed in my Slytherin finery for an evening of “Magic and Alchemy”. Curious classes and interesting characters within a fun evening awaited all!
Upon arrival, the larger group of attendees were split into two smaller groups and let to separate classrooms. We then all met a very wise fairy queen and were led into Miss Mossy’s herbacious Herbology room. Miss Mossy is ever the gracious and knowledgeable host, offering us plenty of adult drinks (cocktails) with us (her students) learning some nature facts during our stay in her classroom. Miss Mossy had some fun games to play with her students and some other surprises which I very much enjoyed. I was genuinely sad when I had to leave her class – I would have happily spent all evening there.
After a brief pause, the groups switched rooms and we began our curious adventure into Divination class with Professor Weatherwax. This was hosted in the dimly lit potions room. We each sat at a desk with a cauldron in front of us, which felt very authentic! This portion of the evening featured different methods of divination, featuring tea leaves and other methods. Professor Weatherwax carefully explained that this sort of magic wasn’t stage magic or a showy presentation but the methods she was presenting were seriously conducted by people in the present day. This wasn’t said to dampen any spirits, rather, it was mentioned so that we could take extra care and thought as Divination is strongly open to both intuition and personal interpretation. Like in Herbology class, Professor Weatherwax also had a delicious cocktail to share with her students….which was heartily enjoyed by all.
I feel it’s important to mention here that the full enjoyment of this evening could be reached without being a Harry Potter fan. While the theming is reminiscent of Harry Potter themes / classrooms, out of the group / class I was in I was the only one dressed in Harry Potter house colours. No Harry Potter content was covered during the event, so no research or effort is required to attend an event like this one. Many of the attendees were with friends, however everyone was so welcoming that there are no issues if you attend an event like this alone. I attended alone and had a wonderful time meeting new people. I also loved the characters we meet during the evening. It really felt like I was a world away from my normal life as soon as I stepped into Moonlight Manor. The teachers felt very authentic and it was clear that they were enjoying the evening as much as we were.
VERDICT: If you’re looking for a fun cocktail evening with some magical twists, then I highly recommend “Magic and Alchemy”. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, you’ll truly feel transported into another world. Performers and characters are fun and engaging, an easily enjoyable evening of magic and merriment.
“Magic and Alchemy” is just one of the public events run by Curious Events Co. Other public events run at the same venue include Paint and Sip evenings. Check out the website and socials for all the details.
Tay Around Town 