DALLAS — Trick-or-treaters will be able to take a trip to Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley for Halloween (and beyond) without leaving Dallas.
For the past six years the Schaub family in Old East Dallas has decorated their yard at Beacon Street and Bryan Parkway to look like the famed wizarding shopping center from the books, complete with wooden stores and an owl that flies across the yard.
The house will be up through Nov. 2.
“Each year we have built new stores and have added more details. A couple years ago we added an owl that flies across the yard, as well as a dementor. Last year we had 21 stores as well as Hogwarts in our garage,” said Adam Schaub. “We’ve maxed out our yard space at this point. For the past few years every young wizard that visits gets a wand, and we have also added some magic spells this year, so we’re excited to see how that goes.”
He said idea for the bit of Halloween magic came about seven years ago when he and his team did a Harry Potter group costume at work.
“Each cubicle was a store on Diagon Alley. I figured I’d reuse those props and do Diagon Alley for the kids in my neighborhood,” Schaub said. “That first year was a great success, but the stores were mainly cardboard and they didn’t survive. So the next year we rebuilt the stores using wood and a lot of foam board.”
They’ve added new stores and more details each year.
This year, the Schaubs are also taking donations of food items like canned green beans, sweet potatoes, stuffing mix, and more for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.
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