Harry Potter fans eagerly awaiting the Saturday release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceΠwill be able to participate in all things magical during various release parties at several Ames locations.

Hastings Books, Music and Videos, 620 Lincoln Way, will host a party Friday, after which customers can purchase or pick up their reserved books.

We¡re the biggest party in town,Œ said Joanna Beardsley, book manager at Hastings. We¡ve been doing a lot of work.Œ

Hastings will celebrate the release of the sixth book in the series by educating fans with four different classes,Πincluding Herbology, Potion, Magical Creatures and Divination. The ISU Society of Chemistry Undergraduate Majors will perform chemistry demonstrations, and a Hastings employee will tell fortunes and read tarot cards, among other various activities and crafts. The ISU Wildlife Clinic will bring owls to the party from 8 to 9 p.m.

In addition, the store will host a costume contest in which the winner will receive a free copy of the book.

Beardsley is expecting around 150 to 200 fans to show up to the party, and she said the store has been planning the event since been planning the event since April. Hastings began taking reservations in February, and as of Tuesday, 205 reservations had been taken. The last day to reserve a book is Thursday.

Beardsley said she does not anticipate running out of books, as the store is receiving 515 copies. On Friday and Saturday, customers will be limited to purchasing three copies each to ensure supplies will last.

Borders Books, Music, Movies and Cafe, 1200 S. Duff Ave., will also be hosting a Friday party.

Sarah Laaser, general manager of Borders, said the store will have six different themed stations in which participants can have their faces painted, do crafts, watch magic ink experiments and answer trivia.

You can go from station to station as you want to,Πshe said.

Laaser could not release information on how many books the store would receive, but she does not anticipate running out.

We anticipate having enough to sell to everyone at the party and to meet everyone who has reserved to have a book,Πshe said.

Borders is also sponsoring a costume contest in which the winners will receive the first spots in line for their books.

Waldenbooks, 2801 N. Grand, will be hosting a party on Friday evening. ISU athletes will be doing readings, and the store will also have games and trivia.

The Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave., is hosting a party beginning Friday afternoon. Activities include showings of the Harry Potter movies and impersonations of the characters by Bill Boon. Jillian Duggan, community relations specialist at the library, said the library owns 40 copies to check out and holds have been placed on them for months.

I placed my hold three or four weeks ago and I¡m number 90 on the list,Œ she says.

University Book Store in the Memorial Union will be hosting a Saturday morning party for children and their parents as an alternative to the late night parties. Amy DeLashmutt, marketing supervisor at the bookstore, said the store is encouraging participants to come dressed in costume. Events include the book store¡s own version of Quidditch, tattoos and other crafts. The Great Hall will be transformed into Hogwarts. All the organizers of the various parties expect a wide range of ages. Duggan said this is part of the appeal of the series.

I think the themes are universal for all ages,Œ she said. It¡s introduced a lot of people to the fantasy genre that otherwise might not have been.Œ