Geeks take over Athens at Wizard Pub Crawl

By Sydney Kohne

On a fall Saturday night in Athens, one usually sees drunk football fans stumbling in and out of bars, the colors of each team mingling on the streets as they celebrate a win or drown their sorrows over a loss in Sanford Stadium. On Sept. 28, the narrative of a traditional Saturday night in Athens changed. Bar-hoppers were clad in dress robes and pointed hats, flourishing plastic wands and sipping flaming drinks as the third annual Wizard Pub Crawl took over downtown, filling the streets and bars with wizards, witches and friendly bar-hoppers just looking for a fun time. 

In a spinoff from the billion-dollar Harry Potter franchise, participants over age 21 had the opportunity to drink wizard-themed drinks, participate in costume prizes and shop around magical merchandise inspired by J.K. Rowling’s series. The crowd gathered at Rook & Pawn board game café before venturing out to bars.

While fall Saturdays in Athens are usually populated by football players and fans, a bye week in the Georgia football schedule gave a different demographic of Athens the opportunity to take over the city––the nerds and geeks. Compared to Photo: Sydney Kohne

sports at Georgia, the nerd culture doesn’t get the spotlight in the same way athletics does. The Wizard Pub Crawl served as a night for the underrated demographic to celebrate what they love.

Allison Barrow, a bartender at Rook & Pawn, describes the event as, “Sweet nerds that get to drink around Athens, Georgia.”

Barrow has worked the bar every time the Wizard Pub Crawl has come to town. As a longtime Harry Potter fan herself, she loves to see how the event unifies its participants. 

“It’s unique because Harry Potter brings a whole crowd together and proves that you can be from anywhere,” she said. “Harry Potter is something that kinda unites people and it’s great.” 

The pub crawl was produced by Markstercon.com, founded by Atlanta-based Mark Baggett. After some Georgia alumni friends suggested that he travel to Athens to expand his events three years ago, he moved the pub crawl to the Classic City. Since its inception, he’s noticed a more concentrated population of Harry Potter fans from the surrounding communities.

“A lot of people come out that are inner geeks but might not raise their flag,” said Baggett. “Nowadays being a geek is much more mainstream and they can come out and find other people like them. It’s a very social type of event.”

Athens resident Jenn Brown has been to every Wizard Pub Crawl in Athens since it began in 2017. A self-proclaimed “townie,” she enjoys attending the event because she can interact with younger geeks and different bars in Athens that she normally wouldn’t go to. 

“It was nice because it got me out of my comfort zone to bars I wouldn’t pick to go into,” she said. “I think it holds true for the younger student crowd too.”

While walking the streets of downtown Athens, one could easily spot the pub crawlers by their costumes. Many participants wore the traditional Hogwarts school robes, while others went with all black ensembles accompanied by witchy accessories, such as pointed hats and wands. The less “hardcore” fans opted for a modest T-shirt with a Harry Potter-related logo. But one part of every participant’s appearance was consistent: their smile. 

“Everyone has been friendly, [has a] positive attitude,” said one modestly-dressed bar-hopper. “Everyone’s kinda helping each other out.”

The Wizard Pub Crawl has a reputation for bringing together friendly–albeit unfamiliar–faces together. Baggett has noticed the welcoming attitude has remained constant throughout all of the events Markstercon puts on, and it all stems from the type of people the events attract. It is his favorite thing about organizing affairs like the Wizard Pub Crawl. 

“That’s the thing about people that are genuine geeks or nerds, they tend to be very genuine. They don’t have a fake element about them,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of really good friends over the years doing this.”