Accio, eye roll!
Entertainment giant Warner Bros. late last week slapped a San Antonio bar-ownership group with a cease-and-desist letter over its planned Harry Potter-themed pub crawl.
In the document obtained by the Current, a California attorney tells local company Boulevardier Group that its use of Harry Potter-related characters and “all other elements” of the book and movie franchise are “clear attempts to take advantage of and improperly benefit from the enormous goodwill already established in the Harry Potter properties.”Well, OK, then.
In response, Boulevardier Group — which operates Pearl-area drinkeries Hello Paradise and Three Star Bar — has changed the name of the crawl.
Its new, presumably lawsuit-safe moniker? The Traveling Wizard’s Ball.
"The last 18 months, thanks to COVID, have been pretty tough on a lot of small food and beverage business, so to get a letter like this was very surprising," Boulevardier Group owner Jeret Peña told the Current. "It seems like a minuscule issue, but I understand, and we'll do what's asked. We’re not going to let it stop us from throwing a hell of a party, though."
The renamed Traveling Wizard's Ball will still invite participants to four downtown-area bars, each corresponding to a specific wizarding house. And, as before, guests are encouraged to dress up and imbibe in specially created cocktail menus.
However, all use of terms specific to the bespectacled wizard-in-training series will be removed from social media posts leading up to the Thursday, Nov. 18 event. The crawl will take place at Grayson Street’s Hello Paradise and Three Star Bar, Rumble on the St. Mary’s Strip and Pearl’s Blue Box from 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
So many restaurants, so little time. Find out the latest San Antonio dining news with our Flavor Friday Newsletter.
