Although some of my fellow Gapers seem to have caught Pottermania, no one has mentioned the biggest Harry Potter event taking place this Friday for the release of book five. Thousands of people are expected to flock to Oak Park on June 20 as Oak Park Avenue between Lake Street and North Boulevard is transformed into Diagon Alley. The streets will be closed to traffic beginning at 7pm, and the event takes place from 9pm to midnight. Hosting the festivities, the Magic Tree bookstore in Oak Park will become Flourish & Blott's. Other participants include US Bank, which will be featuring goblin-led tours of the basement vaults of "Gringott's Wizarding Bank." Read more about it in the Chicago Sun-Times, Pioneer Press, and this recent mention in a New York Times article.