Wizard News

Dallas cultural institutions jump on Harry Potter celebrations

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Dallas movie theaters are gearing up to for an annual celebration dedicated to witches and wizards by airing Harry Potter-themed marathons — culminating on September 1.

For the uninitiated, September 1 is "Back to Hogwarts Day," an informal celebration first created by Harry Potter fans in 1997, marking an iconic moment in the books and films — the day Harry is due to board the Hogwarts Express and go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry for a new year.

As WizardingWorld notes, over the years since the Harry Potter books and films were released, fans around the world have found all sorts of ways to celebrate this significant moment in Harry’s story: from dressing up Hogwarts robes to throwing a magical bash to rewatching a movie.

To that end, Dallas movie theaters are hosting marathons, executed in one way or another. The Angelika has been doing a slow version, screening one Harry Potter film per month over the course of eight months.

Cinemark theaters are doing it all in eight days, with an eight-day movie marathon, screening all eight films in the franchise from August 25–September 1.

This is not the first year Cinemark has hosted such a marathon (nor is this the first movie marathon ever hosted by a theater chain). But new this year at Cinemark, the film series will be available at select theaters in D-BOX motion seats, so fans can feel like they are flying on their own broomstick alongside Harry and friends.

The Cinemark schedule is as follows:

August 25 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
August 26 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
August 27 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
August 28 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
August 29 – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
August 30 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
August 31 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
September 1 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Select theaters will also be selling a Harry Potter pillow, so fans can take the magic home with them (for $20).

DSO
Meanwhile, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is getting in on the fun with a 4-day Harry Potter-themed movie-and-music event: Called Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert, it'll allow audiences to relive the magic of Harry Potter soaring across the big screen in high-definition with a screening of Goblet of Fire, accompanied by a live symphony orchestra performing Patrick Doyle’s unforgettable score, led by guest conductor Lawrence Loh.

The concert will take place August 29-31 at 7:30 pm plus a matinee showing on September 1 at 3 pm.

Shop
If you're in need of a Gryffindor robe (in both Adult and Kid sizes!), a Ravenclaw notebook, or a packet of Hogwarts puffy foam stickers, then head to Muggle Hut, a Harry Potter-themed store that opened a year ago in Frisco, at 2930 Preston Rd. inside The Painted Tree Boutiques, where Muggles, Witches, and Wizards can find magical gifts, crafts, and collectibles.

event-planner movies

Book News

Barnes & Noble to open 2 new Dallas-area stores but will close Plano

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, new look.

There's good news and sad on the bookstore front: Two new locations of bookstore chain Barnes & Noble are opening in the Dallas area, one soon and one very soon, but a third is closing this week.

Closing
The store in Plano at 801 W. 15th St. is closing on Sunday, June 15. According to a company representative, the Plano store is an older, larger store model that the chain is turning away from, in favor of a new smaller model it's embracing for all new stores.

This Plano store is also within close proximity to three other Barnes & Noble locations: West Plano, Richardson, and Allen which just opened in 2024.

Other Barnes & Noble locations with that same older/larger floorplan include Preston & Park in Plano; Prestonwood Center in North Dallas, and Lincoln Park in Dallas across from Northpark Center.

Opening
On the bright side, there are two new Barnes & Noble stores opening in summer/fall:

Rockwall, at 1009 E I-30, will open in late summer in the space formerly occupied by Staples, which closed in January 2025.
Prosper, at 1191 Gates Pkwy., in the newly developed Gates of Prosper, will open in the fall.

According to a spokesperson, both stores will follow the chain's new design seen in their most recent store openings, featuring "all the best books, toys, games, vinyl, and gifts our customers have come to expect." They will both span approximately 20,000 square feet, and will both house a B&N Café.

In August 2019, Barnes & Noble was acquired by Elliott Advisors (UK) and taken private. Elliott’s acquisition of Barnes & Noble followed its June 2018 acquisition of Waterstones, the largest bookseller in the U.K.

Barnes & Noble is experiencing a period of growth, the result of a strategy to hand over control of each bookstore to its manager. They're enjoying strong sales and have opened many new stores a comeback after 15 years of declining store numbers. In 2022, they opened more new bookstores in a single year than in the entire decade from 2009 to 2019.

They've continued to open more locations, including three in the DFW area in 2024: the store in Allen, as well as stores in Flower Mound and Richardson.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The company has more than 630 bookstores across the U.S., as well as its online bookstore at bn.com, the Nook Digital business which offers both e-books and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, stationery and gift retailer Paper Source, and the publisher Union Square & Co.

openings closings books