Winter At Hogwarts in ATX
Harry Potter fans, wrap up your wand, pack up your potions, and dust off your broomsticks because Hogwarts is so close, you can almost touch it!
A family in Austin has been transforming their front yard into something quite magical since 2017.
Joel Pace, part-time attorney, part-time-creator of all things magical, began transforming his front yard 3 years ago for Halloween to distract his wife during her battles with cancer. What started off as just recreating the infamous Flying Blue Anglia has blown up into a full-blown exhibit that Austin has come to know and love.
Known as Diagon Alley ATX, there is typically a full walkthrough display of Diagon Alley storefronts. A long line of visitors come and walk through the driveway to see the unique masterpiece that would get any Harry Potter fan excited--heck, I'm ready to pack up now and head over! Due to Covid, Diagon Alley ATX transformed their set up from a walkthrough exhibit to a drive-by display. The yard featured the Hogwarts castle lit up with floating pumpkins above; it really was a sight to see and stayed up from October till the end of November. Due to popular demand and some much needed holiday spirit this year, the Pace family has decided to transform Diagon Alley ATX into Christmas at Hogwarts!
The theme is the beautiful Yule Ball that the school throws every winter. Thankfully, the display is much easier on the eyes than Ron's dress robes.
The best thing about Diagon Alley ATX is they never charge or ask for any type of contribution to help pay for the display. Instead, Pace asks those who support and appreciate the work put into the magical display to contribute to several local charities that he and his family support.
This year their supported charities are:
Foster Angels of Central Texas https://fosterangelsctx.org/
Variety Texas https://www.varietytexas.org/
ZACH Theatre https://zachtheatre.org/
If you’d like to see the display in-person, their house is located in the Vintage Place neighborhood. The light shows run every half hour from 5:30-8 p.m. during the weekdays and then on Saturday and Sunday, additional shows will run at 9 and 9:30 p.m.