A TON of Harry Potter fan sites (and sites for other fandoms) have banded together to create a massive fund-raising event that will take place tomorrow, Saturday, starting at 2pm EST!  Even though MM isn’t an official part of the fundraiser it is still important for us Potter fans to come together and support the people of Haiti!

This Saturday, January 23rd, at 2 P.M. EST, HPA’s PotterWatch, PotterCast, MuggleCast, Hogwarts Radio, and FictionAlley will come together for a live fundraising webcast here on Livestream to benefit Partners in Health.  This four hour live event will feature a donation drive where donors have the opportunity to win prizes, live performances from many wizard rockers; leaders in fan communities; personal interviews with Haitian-Americans about the importance of giving to Partners In Health; human rights activists; a representative from MIT’s Media Lab discussing ways that we can donate our time using new media; and much more.

Help spread the word by Tweeting the following:
We’re Helping Haiti Heal – learn about a huge fandom event happening Sat. from 2pm to 6pm ET! http://bit.ly/5603s6 #hhh

For more information you can head over to The Harry Potter Alliance Website!

Stephen Fry (narrater of the UK audiobooks) was given the Special Recognition prize at the National Television awards. Daniel Radcliffe contributed to a tribute video that was played during the ceremony. You can watch it below:

Dan had this to say:

• 1:18 – He’s a director, he’s an actor, he’s a writer, I’ve probably missed things out
• 1:50 – I love, love, love A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
• 2:30 – I do think Stephen is an absolutely perfect Jeeves, and I would want him to be my Jeeves in real life. He’d be rather wonderful.
• 2:50 – There’s something about him which is warm. Just having him on television makes life brighter for everyone.
• 3:20 – I do think the program QI is one of the greatest educators in the country. I don’t think you can watch that show and not smile.
• 4:45 – I’ve got a very good friend who, every night, after coming home from university goes to sleep listening to Stephen read the Harry Potter books on tape because he just does it so wonderfully.
• 5:46 – Once you are in a position where people will watch something because of you, you have to become even more selective about what you do. Like drawing attention to bipolarism.
• 7:18 – I think that he’s one of the most important people in the country. He’s one of the reasons we are great. Just occasionally, our country produces people like him.

Thanks SS!

Univeral Studios Orlando and USA Today have announced that they have partnered to create a new augmented reality experience that you will be able to experience if you have a computer, webcam and the paper.

With just a computer, webcam and the newspaper, you can make this one-of-a-kind theme park experience appear before your eyes.

Augmented Reality blends real-life environments with computer animation allowing you to explore things in a completely new way. For the first time, guests can explore The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in a unique way – before experiencing it firsthand.

By rotating the map, you can take a closer look at this 20-acre magnificently themed environment from all sides and angles. Hogwarts castle will appear before your eyes. Hold the map closer to your webcam and explore Hogsmeade and see the Hogwarts Express. Blow on your computer’s microphone and the banners on the map will wave.

This will be available on Thursday, January 28th in the USA Today newspaper!

Thanks to @thierrycoup and Mugglenet!

As I posted 2 weeks ago, Half-Blood Prince was long-listed for a few categories in the BAFTA Awards (Make-Up & Hair, Special Visual Effects, Sound, Costume Design, Production Design, Cinematography).  The full list of nominees is now online and Half-Blood Prince has been nominated in the following (the movies next to the title are what the film is up against and in parenthesis is who in the HBP crew would receive the award):

• Production Design (Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan) – Avatar, District 9, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Inglourious Basterds
• Special Visual Effects (John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi) – Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Star Trek

Sadly, Alan Rickman did not get nominated for Supporting Actor (he was long-listed)

The ceremony will be at the Royal Opera House in London, England on February 21st.

Hey everyone, do you think you are one of Emma’s or Evanna’s biggest fans?  If you do I have a job/contest for you!  Noahus Magazine – a Danish online publication – is looking for Emma and Evanna’s biggest fans to participate in a small e-mail interview about Emma and Harry Potter, and also Evanna and Harry Potter, and have asked for our help in finding you.

What you need to do is explain in 250 words or less why you’re Emma OR Evanna’s biggest fan.  Make sure to tell me your Name, Age, and Country (these have nothing to do with winning, we just want to know where all the great fans are).  Email these to me at webmiss[at]magical-menagerie[dot]com with the subject “I’m Emma’s Biggest Fan” or “I’m Evanna’s Biggest Fan”. (replace [at] with @ and [dot] with . )

Let’s get those entries coming! The deadline is February 15th!

Also, I am holding the same contest for Matt fans at Lewis Lovers!  Tom Felton Online is also holding a similar contest!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince received a Visual Effects Society nomination for Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture for the 8th annual VES awards. The movie is up against Star Trek, Avatar and Franklyn.

The ceremony will take place on February 28, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

Thanks to UHP!