The folks at Turbine write: Turbine continues the first anniversary celebration of the award-winning The Lord of the Rings Online with a “Welcome Back Weekend”. Starting Thursday, May 8th until Monday, May 12th Turbine invites all former North American subscribers back to Middle-earth to play for free.

Former subscribers can play their old characters, check out the LOTRO Anniversary celebration events, explore new areas, and tackle new quests. To take part in the Welcome Back Weekend, players can simply log into their LOTRO account from May 8-12, 2008.

Some of the updates & enhancements to The Lord of the Rings Online since launch include:

  • New Region – Explore the icy reaches of Forochel
  • New Quests – Over 100 new quests
  • Hobby System – Feel like going fishing?
  • Enhanced Monsterplay – New monster class: the Orc Defiler

Looking For Fellowship Enhancements – Mustering Horns and UI improvements
More customization options – cosmetic clothing, traveling clothes, and barbershops!

New PvMP dungeon – The Delving of Frór
Return to Angmar – completely overhauled to enhance playability and fun

More information can be found at www.lotro.com/welcomeback.