Tolkien fans in Southern California will have an embarrassment of events to attend to share their love of all things Tolkien. From conventions and film screenings to enjoying the source material, here is a little rundown of events to attend and enjoy in the month of March.
First up is a Literary based Science Fiction convention in San Diego called Condor, taking place this weekend. TheOneRing.net will be hosting several discussions on Saturday and Sunday about The Hobbit, TheOneRing.net and Middle-earth. This weekend will be full of lots of interactive programming, so come on down and join in the fun.
On the following weekend, the American Cinematheque will be hosting a screening of The Hobbit and the LOTR Trilogy in a full day and night Middle-earth Marathon. This will be on Saturday, March 16 at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. TheOneRing.net will be there to talk Tolkien, run trivia contests and play a game or two. And to help some lucky Tolkien fan to OD on Middle-earth, we have a pair of tickets to give away. Go to our Event Page on Facebook, RSVP to attend the screening and leave a message stating how you plan to survive the 15 hours or so that this marathon will take, and we’ll randomly award a pair of tickets to one lucky person. Hurry, this contest will close on Saturday at Midnight.
Just a week later, on March 23, Tolkien Forever will be hosting their annual Tolkien Reading Day event. This event is typically held on March 25, the Middle-earth New Year after the Destruction of the Ring. But March 25 is a Monday, so the event in Los Angeles was moved to the Saturday before, and is going to be at what looks to be a wicked cool used bookstore in Downtown LA called The Last Bookstore. Selections of Tolkien’s wide range of works will be read to any and all who show up, spreading the love for his written word. Visit the Facebook Event Page to see more details.
The final event for So Cal Tolkien fans to attend and enjoy will be Wondercon in Anaheim at the end of the month. This convention is typically held in San Francisco, but moved to Anaheim last year and this year because Moscone Center in San Fran has been undergoing renovations. Wondercon is a spin off from San Diego Comic Con and is run in a similar manner, but on a much smaller scale, making it more accessible for fans to enjoy all that the con has to offer. TheOneRing.net will have a panel at Wondercon, but the schedule is still pending, we will announce when and where you can find as soon as we know.
And there you have it, 4 weekends of Tolkien fandom, fun and friendship. What more could wee little Hobbits hope for?
In case you haven’t already done so, here’s a quick reminder that today is the last day to enter TheOneRing.net and New Zealand Post’s “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey” Contest.
We asked fans to make box art for the forthcoming Blu-ray (and DVD) release and you responded! We received hand-drawn entries, lots that used featured go-to images of characters and scenes from the film and a few that did things a bit differently. Thanks to all of those who took the time and effort to participate. One entry even requires 3D glasses to see properly. Some entries came in for the extended edition cover as well.
While the official art is obviously solid and professional, we believe a lot of these submitted covers can go toe-to-toe with the official art work. Maybe Warner Bros. should turn these things over to fans and let the people decide the cover they are willing to pay money for! (At least one staffer was really hoping for the lenticular images viewed last year at Comic-Con.) Thanks to everybody who entered. If you click on any of the images below in a completely random display, you can see a larger version. We did reduce the published size to make them mostly uniform. The winner, selected by TORn staff (most of them haven’t seen all these either) will receive a TORn t-shirt package. The decision of the judges is final. Enjoy!
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Fan made box art for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Blu-ray cover.
Early in October, TORn announced the release of the New Zealand Post’s exclusive commemorative stamps and coins for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Today we’re giving you the chance to win some of the best of these commemorative items for your personal collection.
Simply answer the questions provided in the contest entry form below, fill in your details, and check back here on February 17th to see if your name is among the winners. Entries with correct answers to all questions will be entered into a lucky draw that will result in FOUR LUCKY WINNERS.
We are very excited to announce the winners in our ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ Giveaway! But before we do, we want to thank our sponsor Warner Bros for providing these two amazing prize packs and affording us this wonderful opportunity to give them away to two lucky Ringers! Don’t forget to visit the official website, The Hobbit facebook page, and Twitter: follow @wbpictures!
To see the prizes and prize-packs, please see our original post here. Without further delay, the winners are…
Grand Prize – Xavier K of Montana, US Runner-up Prize – Melinda G of Kansas, US
Our two winners will be contacted via email. Stay tuned to TheOneRing.net for upcoming giveaways!