#87

87. Attend a movie premiere at DC's largest and oldest movie theater: the Uptown.

This summer was a bit unusual for me. I spent part of it at home, part of it in my new apartment in DC, and part of it on a road trip with two of my good friends. While living in DC, I was mostly unemployed, so I tried to go out and do free things that I had always wanted to do, like visiting different museums. However, one of my favorite memories from this summer was going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at midnight at the Uptown Theater. (see photo above, courtesy of the DCist)

When we got out of the Metro (Cleveland Park stop on the Red Line), my friends, Spencer and Greta, and myself were startled at the length of the line. It went down the block and up a side street! Luckily, our more devout Harry Potter fan friend DJ was already in line. We found him and chatted for a little while before realizing that we could run across the street to CVS to get some candy before the movie started. A line of movie goers had formed at CVS, so we waited anxiously, hoping the huge line outside wouldn't move without us in it. Just as we were checking out, people's phones started ringing and we heard frantic voices saying, "Ok! I'm coming, save me a seat!!". We ran across the street and thankfully reunited with DJ, but it was quite a scene. Once we got inside the theater (there is only one, and it's huge, like the size of a concert hall), we had little or no idea of where we were going. We just followed the crowd and seized the first three seats we could find on the upper level. It wouldn't have been so bad if the crowd had just been savagely saving seats but these people were in costume. So while you thought you could sit down in one place, a girl in a Golden Snitch costume or a Ron Granger look-a-like, would tell you otherwise--a truly odd and somewhat startling experience. We made it through the crazy dash for seats, and now it was time to wait. After all, it was only around 11 p.m. We passed the time by chatting, noticing other GW students in the crowd, and of course, by commenting on all the costumes around us. As it approached midnight, everyone in the theater was anxious and excited for the film to begin. The lights went down. The crowd silenced. The clock struck 12. But alas, no sounds of the projector starting up and no image on the large, dark screen. So, we waited. And waited...and waited. People began to jeer. It was now 12:05. Minutes passed and people were not pleased with this situation (especially since the running time of the film is so long). Finally, the projector flickered on around 12:15 and we were transported into the world of Harry Potter.

After the film, we all decided that we would walk home. The Metro closes at 12 on weeknights and technically this was still a Thursday night, so we opted to walk home, instead of taking a cab. Not only is it cheaper, but we all wanted to discuss the film further. We finally made it back to Foggy Bottom around 3:30 a.m. It was a long night, but well worth it!

--Abby