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Adams Residents Brainstorm Fictional Wizardry School's Possibilities
By Jack Guerino,
03:46AM / Friday, August 19, 2016
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The business group come u with possible ways Ilvermorny can spark the local economy.

The conservation group said trail safety was one of their main concerns.

ADAMS, Mass. – Adams residents are brainstorming ways to harness magic from the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to spark the local economy.

"We need to come up with as many ideas we can from the far out and the fun to the very probable, to the businesses, to people and to families and just weave this in as much as we can," Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said on Thursday night. "We can have as much fun with it as we want but there is an economic component to this as well.

A Harry Potter fan himself, Mazzucco was speaking to the "Ilvermorny Opportunities" meeting, a public gathering at  Grand Army of the Republic Hall in the library hosted by Adams Economic Development Commission. The focus was discussion of the economic opportunities the fictional school may bring.

Author of the popular "Harry Potter" series J.K. Rowling released a short story in June on her website stating the North American school of witchcraft and wizardry in her fictional universe is located on the summit of Mount Greylock.

Mazzucco noted that the franchise is worth $15 billion and that Adams has a lot to gain from the fictional landmark.

Raymond Gargan of ProAdams went over how Adams can tap into the Harry Potter franchise legally while honoring the intellectual property. He noted that it is unlikely the town will be able to build a theme park or trademarked castle without a costly licensing agreement, however, there are still ways to benefit.

He said much of Mount Greylock's place in the "Harry Potter" universe is unknown and the immediate impact will depend on what is mentioned in the upcoming Potter world movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

He said the best possible scenario is if there is a scene from Ilvermorny in one of the movies.

"In the UK, tourists go to any place where a scene from 'Harry Potter' was shot. Hogwarts is not in a specific place, but Mount Greylock is," Gargan said. "The other wizarding school that exists is in South Iwo Jima in Japan, which is an uninhabited volcanic island. So this is good."

Gargan said he has been in contact with the United States Harry Potter public relations person who, although shooting down many of his ideas, would always be willing to discuss concrete plans and possibilities.

"I think we can come up with some great ideas and some concrete ones that we can take through the official channels and see if we can create an agreement with them so they feel like we are honoring their brand and supporting their brand," he said.

He said a shop may not be able to open up and sell "Harry Potter" wands, but an unbranded unofficial wand shop is perfectly safe as long as it does not use anything advertising using the "Harry Potter" trademark.

He added that fan events and conventions also should not be an issue.

Mazzucco said if Adams can show that the community is behind bringing Ilvermorny to life and the owners of the franchise feel as though there is money to be made by investing in the community to grow the franchise, there could be many more opportunities.

Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of 1Berkshire, said the popularity of the "Harry Potter" franchise itself already took care of a lot of the heavy lifting needed to market Ilvermorny and the Berkshires.

"As soon as this news broke our work was done for us in Adams and in the Berkshires. About 25 different national and international publications wrote about it," Butler said. "Literally, probably hundreds of millions of people know about this ... we would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions to get impressions out to that many people. Essentially Rowling wrapped this up and gave us a nice gift."

He said 1Berkshire can help provide resources and assistance with larger marketing campaigns but also help with smaller entrepreneurs who would like to capitalize on Ilvermorny.

He said through 1Berkshire website, they can market Ilvermorny and what the county is doing in its spirit.

"People come to Berkshires for four primary reasons. The landscape, the cultural amenities, the recreation amenities and most recently the food ... but maybe 'Harry Potter' can be the next thing," Butler said.

Mike Case of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation said DCR also would like to support marketing efforts, however, stressed that conservation and recreation must remain in its focus.

He said even though many have come to the summit looking for the school, DCR is not going to change the name of the mountain or any of the trails.

He said DCR does worry about the additional visitation to the mountain and but there may be opportunities for a shuttle to cut down on trial wear. About 160,000 visit the summit each year.

Mazzucco said the town may be able to create a mirror trail system or a second map with "Harry Potter" themed trails.

"We can keep the DCR map with the normal names and we will have a separate wizard's map," Mazzucco said. "They won't be going on the Cheshire Harbor Trail, that will be going on Isolt's Trail up to Ilvermorny. That way fans will get something out of it but we don't actually have to change anything."

After the presentation attendees split into groups to discuss specific areas of interest that could help the town seize the opportunity.

A group focused on education said they would want to make sure that the "Harry Potter" series is available for all so everyone is familiar with the story. They would work with local librarians and teachers to make this possible.

Also, they want to work with local teachers and build the series into the curriculum. The "Harry Potter" theme can also be spread out to other educational resources.

As for the community and neighborhood group, they said they wanted to organize a reading of the Ilvermorny story at the Greylock Glen by local actors.

Also, they said they wanted to build off the annual Lions Club Halloween Parade and hold a Wizardry and Witchcraft week.

The group also has its eyes set on the Adams Station and felt it would be a good place to hold wizard-type events.

The conservation group said they wanted to focus on connecting wizard trails to the Glen and the downtown but in a safe way.

They had concerns about having two names for a trail because it may cause confusion in an emergency situation.

Also, they wanted to make sure that the trails are properly marked so a family hoping to walk an easy "Harry Potter" trail do not end up on a grueling hike.

The business group said they wanted to make sure the town respects the intellectual property of the franchise and that they always go through the proper channels.

They said it may be helpful to encourage wizard and fantasy-type businesses downtown and attempt to attract different entrepreneurs and crafters. They said this could lead to some kind of passport. Those who visit so many downtown businesses could win some sort of award.

They also felt a Wizard Tour bus that hit attractions in Adams could be beneficial.  

A group focused on bringing millennials to Adams said they could petition to make Adams the home of the Quidditch World Cup. Although the broomstick sport only exists in Rowling's series, many colleges and high schools have adopted it for muggles (non-magic folk).

The group also focused on social media and finding a way to get people to post photos from the summit with a hashtag that would promote Mount Greylock.

The group also thought it could be beneficial to expand the Bascom Lodge with wizard-themed food and drinks.

Mazzucco closed the meeting by explaining all of the information will be gathered and publicly posted. He said a future meeting will be held so the ideas can be fine-tuned and put into action.

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