The Daily O’Collegian

Wizard Rock came to Stillwater last week as part of Stillwater Public Library’s teen summer reading program.

Wizard rock is “a genre of music inspired by the works of J.K. Rowling, author of the popular ‘Harry Potter’ book series,” according to WizardRock.org, the self-proclaimed “premier Wizard Rock site.”

The theme for this year’s program is “Metamorphosis,” which was organized by Recilla Harms, teen librarian and head of Adult Services, and Carla Hickey, also a teen librarian. Ranging from sixth to twelfth graders, the summer reading program encourages teens to read with incentives such as weekly activities and prizes.

“The theme is all about change,” Harms said. “It’s not about changing yourself, even though this is the age where teenagers start to discover themselves and make life changes.”

Harms and Hickey said they heard of Wizard Rock through a friend working in the Metropolitan Library System.

“Harry Potter and magic is all about change. It fits with our theme so we invited Ginny and the Heartbreakers to play,” Harms said

Bands write songs about characters from the series and perform them from the point of view of those characters. Ginny and the Heartbreakers sing from the point of view of Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley’s little sister and Harry Potter’s girlfriend.

Ginny and the Heartbreakers consists of lead vocalist Stacy Kastner, guitarist and vocalist Seth Kastner and percussionist and vocalist Cassie Pierce.

“If you’re sad there are no more ‘Harry Potter’ books, Wiz Rock is a fun way to keep Harry Potter in your life,” Pierce said.

“Wiz Rock is about having everybody participate,” Harms said.

During the performance, Ginny and the Heartbreakers encouraged the audience to participate by clapping, snapping, singing along and even dancing.

“Don’t worry about what you look like,” Pierce said. “We are up here singing songs about Harry Potter, so coolness is already out the door.”

For the finale, teens picked a partner and engaged in a “Duel Dance.”

Lyrics to the song teach the dance: “Face your partner, take a bow, slide to the left, and turn to the right, cast a spell and dance all night.”

“We understand that some material is too dark for young kids, but we don’t use evil any more in our songs than Rowling does in her books,” Stacy Kastner said. “Before we play, we see what the average age is in the crowd and ask what is appropriate. We have never played for a crowd that didn’t know about Wiz Rock before, so this was a new experience for us. I am glad the kids got involved.”

“Our goal is to serve the underserved,” Hickey said. “There have always been children programs, but not as much focus on teenagers. Public libraries are paid for with tax dollars so teen programs have funding. The program is fun and free and we like doing it. Public libraries are not just books.”

Harms and Hickey agree that it becomes harder to keep children coming back to the library the older they get.

“In high school, we lose teenagers because they have jobs or extracurricular activities,” Harms said. “Young children are already coming. If we don’t give them a reason to come back, they won’t. We want them to read for fun, not just for school assignments.”

Because the “Harry Potter” books appeal to all ages, they may be closing the gap between generations.

“The Harry Potter books are fantastic young adult books,” Pierce said. “I think Harry Potter has made it OK for adults to read young people books. It gives children and adults something to talk about together. Series are always good because people want to have something to look forward to.”