Fans can ride the 'Hogwarts Express' to annual Harry Potter Festival in October

Chesnut Hill, Philadelphia will shut down to traffic an entire six-block area for the festival, filled with activities and shops

2016 is a pretty special year for Harry Potter fans - between the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone's cinematic release, the release of Cursed Child, and the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

And what better way to celebrate than attending the annual Harry Potter Festival in Chesnut Hill, Philadelphia; seeing the area transformed into Hogsmeade Village, complete with its own Quidditch tournament.

Attendees will be able to practice their skills at Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, undertake the Sorting Hat ceremony, take a ride on the Knight Bus, embark on a Butterbeer pub crawl, and have tea at Madame Puddifoot’s Tea Shoppe. Chesnut Hill will be shutting down traffic in an entire six-block area for the festival, to fill it with activities and wizard-themed shops for fans.

Guests are also invited to take Chesnut Hill's own equivalent of the Hogwarts Express, the local SEPTA train, to the festival; accompanied by hosts of fellow fans and Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore lookalikes.

Admission to the street fair and Quidditch tournament is free, though tickets for the Butterbeer pub crawl go on sale 28 September at 10AM. There is also an academic Harry Potter conference taking place at the local college, which requires a $10 registration fee.

The Chesnut Hill Harry Potter Festival takes place between the 21-22 October.