WESTERVILLE — Otterbein University and the Westerville Public Library have partnered up to create a magical surprise this October.

Westerville Public Library is hosting its second annual Wizards & Wands Festival from 5-9 p.m. on Oct. 25. The library on this magical night will be transformed into a wizarding world.

To kick off the beginning of that Halloween season and the Wizards & Wands Festival, The Point at Otterbein created a 33-foot dragon that is perched on the roof of the Westerville Public Library, 126 S. State St., Westerville. The dragon will breathe smoke every 30 minutes from 5-9 p.m. all month.

“With the tremendous excitement around our first Wizards & Wands event, we wanted to do something that would bring even more attention to the event and to Midnight Madness in Westerville. What better way to do that then to put a giant, smoke-breathing dragon on the roof?” said Westerville Public Library Executive Director Erin Francoeur.

Engineering students from Otterbein built the dragon at The Point with faculty supervision of Maker Space Director Curtis Smith. The massive dragon is made out of three separate pieces and includes a special smoke feature added, the dragon will then appear to be breathing smoke.

This special project has been in the works for about six months. The support and work of The Point at Otterbein, City of Westerville, and Friends of the Westerville Library have all made this idea come to life.

Throughout the entire month of October leading up to the Wizards & Wands and the Midnight Madness event, the library has more magic up their sleeve with interactive displays, a scavenger hunt, Harry Potter-inspired collections, a sock drive to benefit the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM), and other activities.