![\"Hogwarts](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nHARTLAND, Wis. \u2014 Witches, wizards, and Muggles are welcome at a Hartland home where a family\u2019s love of Harry Potter is helping support neighbors in need.<\/p>\n
Laura and Alex Chandler\u2019s annual Hogwarts in Hartland walk-through features the Hogwarts Express, the shops of Diagon Alley, and floating candles inspired by the Great Hall. Visitors can explore detailed displays while contributing food or money to the Hartland Area Food Pantry.<\/p>\n
Watch this story in the video player below: <\/p>\n
Harry Potter magic comes to life in Hartland this weekend<\/p>\n
This is the Chandlers\u2019 sixth year hosting the event, carrying on a tradition another local woman started.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the quintessential millennials,\u201d Laura said. \u201cWe went to the midnight premieres with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparations begin weeks before guests arrive. Laura focuses on the details, while Alex assembles displays and handles electronics, including train sounds, hidden speakers, and a fog machine that creates smoke for the train\u2019s smokestack.<\/p>\n
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Hogwarts Express<\/p>\n
Hogwarts Express<\/p>\n
The rest of the family has roles, too. Laura\u2019s brother plays Hagrid, their daughter Lillian helps visitors explore the greenhouse, and Laura\u2019s mother serves butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.<\/p>\n
The nonalcoholic drink is made with cream soda and butterscotch syrup. In the greenhouse, Lillian introduces guests to a mandrake that shrieks when pulled from its pot.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I like asking people to pull up the mandrake,\u201d Lillian said.<\/p>\n
Admission is free, and donations are optional. Laura said visitors typically contribute enough food to fill the family\u2019s minivan. All food and financial donations go directly to the pantry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t keep anything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For the Hartland Area Food Pantry, which serves about 80 to 100 families each month, the event provides one of its four biggest donations of the year.<\/p>\n
Cheryl Gurlik, the pantry\u2019s board secretary and a volunteer for 16 years, said the support arrives during a slowdown in donations between back-to-school giving and the holidays.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis really fills in the gap,\u201d Gurlik said. \u201cOur shelves are starting to really get very low.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said canned vegetables and fruit were running particularly low, making the event\u2019s contributions especially helpful.<\/p>\n
During TMJ4\u2019s visit, Landmark Credit Union also presented the pantry with a check. Financial contributions help the organization purchase food and necessities that are not consistently donated, including toothpaste, soap, and laundry detergent.<\/p>\n
For the Chandlers, helping the pantry gives their annual tradition a purpose beyond the decorations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get to enjoy this awesome event, and then we get to go give back on their behalf,\u201d Laura said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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