Hot Cup
On October 17 , 2011 , Hot Cup , a coffee shop in Logan , WV , opened its doors as a bohemian location unlike anything else in the small town .
Hot Cup is known for its nerd cave and cupboard under the stairs reading room . Both spaces are filled with movie prop replicas , posters and memorabilia .
Photo by Dylan Vidovich .
“ While I was renovating this place , I discovered this hollow wall over the stairs ,” Owner Michael Cline recalls . “ It was a cupboard that someone had used as a storage unit when this was a drug store . I thought , ‘ Let ’ s make a cupboard under the stairs using all this wizarding memorabilia .’”
Inside the cupboard , there is seating , plenty of books to read and a variety of wizarding world tokens , including a set of well-known glasses , an invisibility cloak and wands .
In the summer of 2022 , a social media influencer from Florida visited Hot Cup , and her post went viral . Cline was suddenly host to hundreds of tourists .
“ Over the summer , tourists from out of state would walk in with their kids wearing full robes and carrying wands . They came just to see the cupboard ,” he says .
Another way in which Hot Cup honors the wizarding world is with its best-selling drink .
“ Our number one selling drink in the house is , was and probably always will be the iced butterbeer macchiato ,” Cline says .
Hot Cup also hosts live music , book signings , author meet and greets , writing workshops , standup comedy and poetry readings .
While the event did receive some community support , Maxwell hopes to see participation grow in the years to come .
“ The Capitol Market was a huge help in us pulling this off , and we also had themed treats and drinks and a few activities at local spots like Taylor Books , where we held story time and a free movie screening . We want to work closer with the businesses downtown this year .”
While details are tentative , the Charleston Wizarding Weekend committee plans to host the 2023 event on October 21-22 , growing into a two-day event . Committee members have a lot of ideas for expanding the festival ’ s offerings .
“ We already plan to expand on the artisan market and how many vendors we accept next year , but we also have ideas to possibly add a dance and / or feast ,” Maxwell says .
Photo by Corey Zinn .
To prepare for the event , guests can visit its website to learn more about The Vandalia School of the Arcane Arts — the committee ’ s fictitious wizarding school — and be sorted into one of four houses : Puddledwarf , Blackbriar , Staggenhart or Toddrick .
Maxwell is passionate about the event and its importance to the Charleston community .
Photo by Corey Zinn .
“ We are really trying to create an all-kinds-welcome event ,” she says . “ We need more all-ages friendly events , where adults and younger generations feel safe to be themselves . We also think creating spaces for art is really important . That is a large part of our grant . We didn ' t charge our vendors a table fee . We created numerous art opportunities with two different contests , a slime activity and a clay / painting mandrake activity .”
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