It looks like the Okotoks Arts Council was able to conjure up a successful event with the first ever Wizarding World of Okotoks.

Of course, it took a lot more than magic to create the event, which was held at the end of October and is estimated to have attracted 18,000 people to downtown Okotoks.

Katie Fournell, event chair, says they figure the Harry Potter-themed festival injected about $300,000 into the local economy.

And the Wizarding World of Okotoks received a thumbs up from both visitors and local businesses as well, according to a survey of 465 people.

"In an overall rating, out of five, we got 4.3 from the survey of attendees and 4.75 from the businesses, because they were all very excited to be creative for the arts," Fournell points out.

The streets of downtown Okotoks were filled with visitors during the one-day event and many businesses enthusiastically jumped on board, transforming their shops into some of the familiar landmarks found in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Fournell says one of the highlights for visitors were the volunteer performers, including a magician and storyteller, which all helped contribute to the festival atmosphere of the event.

Based on the survey, 41 per cent of event attendees who responded said they had never been to Okotoks before. Of that number, Fournell says 99 per cent indicated they would like to return to the Town. Also, many residents of Okotoks said they enjoyed discovering downtown businesses they had never visited before, and were looking forward to returning to those shops.

"Everybody was so excited to participate which was absolutely amazing and more than we could have asked for," Fournell says. "Some people were skeptical, they're like 'I'll do it, because everybody else is doing it.' After the day happened, I think next year we'll have even more buy-in because everybody is that more excited to be part of the day."

Plans are already in the works for the second Wizarding World of Okotoks, which will likely be held sometime in the fall of next year, and there are no current plans to change the theme of that event.

Fournell presented the Wizarding World of Okotoks wrap-up to Town Council at Monday's meeting, on behalf of the Okotoks Arts Council, and received a standing ovation from the mayor and councillors in recognition of the hard work that went into the successful event.

"It's absolutely phenomenal to have their support and realization of the importance of the arts in Okotoks," Fournell says.

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