Portus 2008

Countdown the weeks and days until Portus by joining your fellow attendees and the Portus chairs for the last live chat before Portus!

Discuss everything from your best Quidditch strategy to your theory on the deconstruction of magic theology in Book 7. The Portus Live Chats are also a great way to talk to the Portus chairs about the latest programming and ask questions about anything and everything Portus.

The Portus Live chat will be taking place via Yahoo Instant Messenger from 8pm to 10pm Eastern Daylight Time tonight - Tuesday, July 1st.

To participate in the chats, you will need to have yahoo messenger and a username, which you can download for free here: http://messenger.yahoo.com/

The moderator for the chat will have the username of PortusPublicRelations. To join the chat, send an instant message to PortusPublicRelations requesting access to the chat and you will receive a notification inviting you to the chat. Press "Accept" and you'll be chatting with the rest of us in no time!

If you have questions or concerns regarding the Portus Live Chats, please feel free to email us at pr@portus2008.org.

We hope to see you there!

Best Regards,
Aziza Aba Butain
Chair of Public Relations

On June 20th, 21st, and 22nd, Barnes & Noble will host a Bookfair benefiting Portus & HP Education Fanon. Every purchase made that day and attributed as a Portus/HPEF purchase will have a portion of the sale donated to Portus/HPEF. You may purchase anything in the store or anything available through the store to have shipped to your home.*

Do you have books, CDs, or DVDs you want to buy? Save your purchase for the above days! When you make a purchase at a participating Barnes & Noble during those days and use the Bookfair voucher or the Portus Bookfair number 310268, a portion of your sale will go back to Portus/HPEF to help us continue our literacy endeavors.

Here’s how you can help…

1. Go to any Barnes & Noble and shop for any product you wish to buy, including books, CDs, DVDs, gift product, magazines, and café items.* When you go to the cash registers, give the cashier your Portus voucher or the Portus Bookfair number 310268, and make your purchase. You must have the voucher or Portus Bookfair number to have your purchase count towards the Portus Bookfair. Feel free to use your Barnes & Noble Membership card or Educator Discount card to save on your purchase. Don’t forget to use the voucher/Bookfair number at the Barnes & Noble Café, too! Every purchase counts!
2. Call our designated Barnes & Noble host store at 817/472-7559 to make a purchase over the phone. To get your list of product ready for the phone order, you may go to your local Barnes & Noble and make a list of titles and ISBNs (the 10- or 13- digit book number unique to each book) or UPCs (product number unique to CDs and DVDs) you wish to purchase, OR you can browse online at BN.com for your list of titles. Then call the store, ask for the Portus phone order bookseller, and have them place your order. You may use your Barnes & Noble Membership card to save on your purchase. Give the bookseller your shipping address (which must be the same zip code as the billing address), and make your purchase over the phone using your credit card or Barnes & Noble gift card. (You must have the gift card or credit card available and have the security code and billing zip code.) Orders will be shipped directly to you. In addition, if your order is over $25, shipping is free!

For added fun in the DFW metroplex, join HPDFW on Saturday, June 21st at the Parks at Arlington Barnes & Noble for the HPDFW First Birthday Party! Details to come.

As an additional literacy benefit, make a purchase from our Wish List table at the Parks at Arlington location, and donate the book to LIFT, our designated auction charity, to help two organizations at once!

Want to help even more? Forward this information to your friends, family, co-workers, or anyone you think would make a purchase to support Portus and encourage them to make a purchase. Again, anything* available at a Barnes & Noble Bookstore is eligible for the Bookfair.

Please note that only sales made through a participating Barnes & Noble will count towards our Bookfair. Online purchases are NOT eligible for the Bookfair.

Any questions? Please contact our host Bookfair Barnes & Noble at 817-472-7559 or post on the Portus message board, and we will promptly reply. Thank you for your support.

*Gift card and Membership card, as well as magazine subscriptions and textbooks, activation purchases are not eligible for the Bookfair. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please visit our webpage located here.

Countdown the weeks and days until Portus by joining your fellow attendees and the Portus chairs for live chats taking place each month leading up to Portus.

Discuss everything from your best Quidditch strategy to your theory on the deconstruction of magic theology in Book 7. The Portus Live Chats are also a great way to talk to the Portus chairs about the latest programming and ask questions about anything and everything Portus.

The Portus Live chats will be taking place via Yahoo Instant Messenger from 8pm to 10pm Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, May 19th; Thursday, June 5th; and Tuesday, July 1st.

To participate in the chats, you will need to have yahoo messenger and a username, which you can download for free here: http://messenger.yahoo.com/

The moderator for the chat will have the username of PortusPublicRelations. To join the chat, send an instant message to PortusPublicRelations requesting access to the chat and you will receive a notification inviting you to the chat. Press "Accept" and you'll be chatting with the rest of us in no time!

If you have questions or concerns regarding the Portus Live Chats, please feel free to email us at pr@portus2008.org.

We hope to see you there!

Portus is only 36 days away and approaching fast! With a month until the festivities begin on July 10th, it seems like plenty of time to procrastinate on booking those hotel rooms. Don't delay! The Hilton Anatole is offering a special room rate for all Portus attendees if booked by June 7th (this Friday). Please visit our group reservation page to book your hotel today. 

Discuss everything from your best Quidditch strategy to your theory on the deconstruction of magic theology in Book 7. The Portus Live Chats are also a great way to talk to the Portus chairs about the latest programming and ask questions about anything and everything Portus.

The Portus Live chats will be taking place via Yahoo Instant Messenger from 8pm to 10pm Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, May 19th; Thursday, June 5th; and Tuesday, July 1st.

To participate in the chats, you will need to have yahoo messenger and a username, which you can download for free here: http://messenger.yahoo.com/

The moderator for the chat will have the username of PortusPublicRelations. To join the chat, send an instant message to PortusPublicRelations requesting access to the chat and you will receive a notification inviting you to the chat. Press "Accept" and you'll be chatting with the rest of us in no time!

If you have questions or concerns regarding the Portus Live Chats, please feel free to email us at pr@portus2008.org.

We hope to see you there!

If you have questions or comments concerning the Portus programming, please contact us at info@portus2008.org.

If you have any questions or comments about The Portal or the Portus Previews, please feel free to contact us at portal@portus2008.org.

Letter from the Editor

The seasons are changing and spring is upon us! Already, we're less than three months away from Portus and each and every day we're brewing up something new for you all to enjoy this July. In another first for HPEF, Portus is glad to announce its Young Adult Author Reading Series.

Many of us came upon Harry Potter through our love for Young Adult fiction. Whether you are an evolving writer or an avid reader, everyone can appreciate a good story. Join us on the morning of Friday, July 11th and Saturday, July 12th to hear excerpts of original fiction from your Portus peers and revel in the satisfaction of a good story. Meet authors including Rachel Caine, author of the popular Morganville Vampires series. For more information on the Portus YA Reading Series or to find out how YOU can read an excerpt from your original story, check out the feature on the program later in this newsletter.

On another note, our La Esquina Meet & Greet Recap is finally up on YouTube! Click here to see a review of our recent visit with some of the Chairs and Dallas attendees.

On behalf of the Portus staff, we wish you a happy spring!

Best Regards,
Aziza Aba Butain
Editor-in-Chief

Interview with Jim Dale

This past weekend, The Portus Previews & MuggleCast had the honor of interviewing acclaimed narrator of the US and Canadian Harry Potter books, Jim Dale.

Mr. Dale is a Tony and Grammy award winning actor and will be presenting at Portus this summer in Dallas. For more information on Mr. Dale’s presentations at Portus, you can read the latest edition of the Portal here.

There are several ways you can listen to our interview with Jim Dale:

1. You can subscribe through iTunes by searching for "Portus Previews".
2. You can enter the following: http://www.hp2008.org/podcast.xml into your podcast player’s "Subscribe" field.
3. For some users, clicking the link directly will work too.

Letter from the Editor

February was quite a busy month here at Portus headquarters. The team has been working very hard, and we are glad to report a very successful site visit to the Hilton Anatole. The weekend was filled with creativity and additional planning, so be on the lookout for lots of new and exciting announcements in the upcoming months. The first additions to the Portus lineup are the Portus Premium Packages.*

The premium packages are a great way to attend your favorite events and stay at the Anatole for discounted prices. We are pleased to announce two great new packages this month with more coming soon, so stay tuned.

Happy New Year from all of us at Portus! The year 2008 has finally arrived, which means we have just six months until Portus is at our doorstep. However, we just can’t wait that long to meet all of you.

On Saturday, February 23rd, the Portus staff  invites you to join us for a get together at Portus’s home, the Hilton Anatole. Come and share some dinner with your fellow Portus attendees and chairs at La Esquina restaurant from 8pm to 10pm. We will have giveaways for everyone and some special prizes for pre-registered attendees.

La Esquina is located in the Hilton Anatole’s Atrium II near the Clock Tower Entrance. The Hilton Anatole is just off Stemmons Freeway (also known as I-35E) at the Market Center Boulevard exit. Casual Muggle dress or your finest wizard robes are welcome. Prices range from $10.00 to $30.00. (Be sure to exchange your knuts and sickles before you get here.)

You can RSVP for the event by emailing us at portal@portus2008.org with your name and the number in your party. Feel free to bring your friends.

Best Regards,

Aziza Aba Butain
Editor-in-Chief