We are so happy to be hosting an ‘offsite event’ here at San Diego Comic Con, and can’t wait to party like Hobbits and Dwarves with you all. So here are a few fast little facts you all need to know about the party.
1) The Laketown Luau is located at the Kona Kai resort and runs from 7pm to 10pm. 1551 Shelter Island drive, San Diego, CA 92106.
2) The Kona Kai is on the TEAL shuttle route, which takes about 30 minutes drive time, each direction. Or you can drive there in about 20 minutes, just take N. Harbor up past the airport, turning left on either Scott road or Rosecrans, the left again onto Shelter Island drive, with the Kona Kai being the last hotel on the island.
3) We are Sold Out. If you did not buy tickets on the Eventbrite page, or get an email from me (Garfeimao), you are not on the guest list. There will be no additional ticket sales at the door beyond those who have received an email from me. The one exception is a contest we are currently running on our Facebook page. Simply leave a comment on the post regarding our newest sponsor, Jens Hansen Ringmaker, and a winner will be chosen and contacted shortly after Noon. They are hosting a complimentary Photo Booth at the party, but were unable to actually attend the party, so they wanted to offer you, the Fans, their tickets. You must either be in San Diego, or able to get here in a rather short period of time in order to take advantage of these tickets.
4) There will be games and contests and prizes, lots of prizes. Everyone will walk out of the party with something, maybe several somethings. Of course, you have to play the games and enter the contest to win the good stuff. Games include: Golfimbul (Goblin head Golf, with a baseball bat), Pin the Black Arrow on the Dragon (try and pin the Dragon in the heart), The Hula costume contest (see below), and there may be a few other little games tossed in for good measure. There is also a Tiki Piñata and the Photo Booth, so lots of fun and games to be had by young and old. This is a Family Friendly event.
5) The one contest that seems to have several people scratching their heads is the Hula dancing costume contest. But it’s quite simple, wear a costume, dance the hula, win something. There will be a prize or three for the best costumes, Tolkien themed and non-Tolkien alike. But there will also be prizes for the best Hula, or the funnest, or funniest, and non-costumed folk are eligible for this aspect. But the thing to remember is everyone entering the costume contest will be asked to Hula, solo or en masse, as you all see fit. We’ve posted Hula tutorials previously, and instead decided to post a general WikiHow post on how to Hula. Check it out at Dance Hula Wiki/How
6) Our Sponsors – This party absolutely would not have happened if a few of our friends had not stepped in to sponsor and support us. In addition to the aforementioned Jens Hansen Ringmaker as a Sponsor, we are also Supported by our long time friends, Badali Jewelry, who have been with TheOneRing.net since the very beginning. Our Co-hosting Sponsor for the party are the good folks over at WETA Workshop . They are graciously bringing several artists and numerous prizes to the event, you are sure to be blown away by some of the items prizes WETA is bringing with them.
7) Autographs – Don’t do it. This is a party, if any cast or crew should show up, be mindful of this fact and just chat, laugh with, and in general have fun with our special guests. Don’t be snapping photos without asking permission first, especially if using a flash. This statement is not an acknowledgment that any special guest will attend, just that it might happen and we’d appreciate you being respectful of this casual atmosphere.
We are going all out with our Luau theme for the Laketown Luau, including a Lei for every attendee. This in addition to our Tiki Piñata and the Hula costume contest, including a mundane category for those not in costume. Don’t worry, there will be props to help you along. Continue reading “Laketown Luau – Get Lei’d at San Diego Comic Con”
We are very excited to announce that our long-time supporters, WETA Workshop, have come on board to Co-Sponsors the Laketown Luau – A Tolkien Celebration! Weta will be sending a few little prizes to the party, along with a few of the artists attending the convention. This will be a great chance to hang out in a more casual environment with some of the people responsible for the look and feel of Middle-earth. Their sponsorship also allows us to drop the pricing down to $30 a person. Yup, you heard that right! For those who already have tickets, you will be receiving a $10 refund per person, and for those who were still on the fence, jump off that fence and join us at the Kona Kai for a night that will be truly memorable! [Buy Tickets]
We are also excited to announce Badali Jewelry is also participating at the Supporter level and will be providing some great shiny prizes for you to win during one of our gaming activities. More on the games and activities later on, but first, let’s get a little history on why a Luau.
It is now just a little over 2 weeks from the start of San Diego Comic Con International, the biggest and most talked about Scifi/Fantasy convention on the geek calendar. We at TheOneRing.net have been busily planning for an epic week of Hobbity goodness to share with all of you, attendee and stay-at-home fans alike. This is your handy dandy little guide to when and where you can find us throughout the convention.
This year we will only be at one location on the Exhibit Hall floor, sharing space at the WETA booth #3613. We won’t have a huge amount of room in this booth, but then that is because WETA is pulling out all the stops for the final Hobbit film and ‘Bringing It’. You will want to make Booth #3613 a ‘must see’ location, even your non-Tolkien fan friends will want to visit WETA. So stop by the booth, say hello to TORn and WETA folks alike, buy some stuff, have your camera ready and enjoy the geekiness of all things Hobbit.
The full SDCC panel schedule will officially be announced beginning this Thursday, but here is advance notice of when our panel will take place.
An Unofficial look at the final Middle-Earth Film “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Thursday, 7/24/14, 5:00p.m. – 6:00p.m., Room: Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront
The Hilton Bayfront is next to the Convention Center down near Hall H, and the Indigo Ballroom is probably the biggest room we have yet had at SDCC, so don’t be late and risk missing our sneak peek at the final film in the series.
Edited to Add 7/8/14: Warner Bros. has announced their slate of films for SDCC and The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies will be among them. Their panel will be at 10am on Saturday, July 26 in Hall H. Peter Jackson was confirmed to be attending, and will be joined by Director George Miller with Mad Max Fury Road. Also mentioned was Jupiter Ascending and there will be a sneak peek screening of Richard Armitage’s Into the Storm on Wednesday, July 23 at 10pm at the Reading Gaslamp Theater, but no word yet on how to snag tickets for that.
Throughout the weekend TORn staffers will be tweeting, posting pics and videos to Facebook, posting stories here, live streaming, and giving you as much Hobbit news as we possibly can. This will include some of the new projects the actors are working on that are also at SDCC, such as “The Strain” with Sean Astin, “Legends” with Sean Bean and “Outlander” starring Graham McTavish. See the video below for a message from Graham regarding SDCC:
Graham McTavish has confirmed he will be at SDCC, so consider this your official invite to our Laketown Luau on Friday night, beginning at 7pm at the Kona Kai resort on Shelter Island. The SDCC website has finally posted the shuttle routes and we can now announce that the Kona Kai is on the Teal shuttle route. You can find the shuttle schedule here and remember to click on the PDF link at the bottom for the map of the hotels and route information. The Teal route is set to take about 30 minutes to get you between the convention center and the hotel, but if you have a car, the distance is only 6 miles away.
You can only attend the Laketown Luau by purchasing a ticket at our Eventbrite page. With loads of games and a relaxed, outdoor environment, this will be a family friendly party, so bring the kids.
We will update this post or make a new one as soon as we have confirmation of what Warner Bros. might be doing for film previews, including “The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies” and whether PJ will put in an appearance. Same goes for confirmation on other film projects, such as Richard Armitage’s ‘Into the Storm” and Luke Evans’ “Dracula Untold”. We already know Outlander will have a premiere event during SDCC.
Empire Magazine grabbed Elijah Wood for a forty-minute live interview and Q&A at the Edinburgh International Film Festival just the other week. At around 30-minute-mark they asked him about The Hobbit.
Empire: Speaking of tiny, tiny independent productions, what can we ask you about The Hobbit?
Elijah Wood: You can ask me anything. I don’t know that much. I don’t know that much about it, but you can.
Empire: There must be a kind of joy to that with people going “Oh go on, spill us a secret”. “Nothing. Got nothing”.
Elijah Wood: I kinda don’t have anything. *pause* I know how it ends.
Empire: Woah.
Elijah Wood: That is actually a secret I do hold. So I do know that. And it’s great. Oh, it’s good. It’s really good.
You have to listen to this just to hear the way Wood teasingly says Oh, it’s good. He’s so evil! 🙂
Big tease aside, this must surely re-open thoughts of a book-end conclusion that mirrors the opening of An Unexpected Journey? Thanks to Ringer Martin for the heads-up!
There is a lot of very important info. Please take note of the following:
-To join the TORn Cosplay group, simply email me at Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net to RSVP for everyone in your group, and then follow the below instructions on when and where to meet up. You can also stop by our booth #519/521 to sign up on Thursday.
-The parade is on July 4th at 8:30 am.
-Fantasycon goers get free parking at Gateway Center
– We will start staging at 7:30 am. Please arrive as close to 7:30 am as possible. I will be dressed as Bilbo after the spider fight (think cobwebs), so find me to check with me, and then I will check in for the whole group.
– If you are a walking group, you MUST be in the staging area by 8:10 am. *If you are not in the staging area by the allotted time, you will NOT be able to participate in the parade!
– You will only be allowed to drive up/down 50 North until 8:00 am.
– The staging will take place in the North-West corner of the parking lot on the corner of 50 North and 500 West.
Check-in will be at the staging area. Please send ONE person to check-in as soon as every member of your group has arrived in the staging area. Again, find me in this staging area (look for other denizens of Middle-earth) and then I will check in for the group at 8am sharp. Our group number is 27 and there will be roller skaters behind us.
– Every member who participates in the parade will be receiving one (1) free one-day pass for Friday, July 4th. You will receive them at the parade check-in.
**When marching, please keep 2 – 3 car lengths between your group and the group in front of you. Please also be aware that we have many varying groups that will be on roller blades, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, etc. that many need additional space to do tricks or performances.
If you are confused, or need any help the day of the parade, find someone in a FantasyCon volunteer t-shirt. They will be more than happy to provide any needed assistance.
The parade line-up is as follows:
Police Car
Royd Tolkien
Bagpipes & Drummers
1 – Volunteers w/ Banner & Dragons
2 – FantasyCon Performers
3 – LARPERS
4 – Utah Film Commissioner
5 – Fear Factory
6 – Umbrella Corp.
7 – Mandalorians
8 – Jabba da Hutt
9 – Rouge Base Rebel Legion
10 – Ghostbuster
12 – Castle of Chaos
13 – Midvale Main Street Theatre
14 – NUAD
15 – VIP Limo & Voodoo Productions
16 – Fairy Cosplayers
17 – Loop & Hook
18 – Rose Court Guild
19 – Winter Faire
20 – Atomic Hype
21 – Rocky Mountain Muggles
22 – DrumBus
23 – MASK Costume
24 – Out of Shadows Theater Group & Salty Horror Film Fest/Convention/Productions
26 – Nihon Matsuri
27 – LOTR Cosplay Group
28 – Red Rockettes Roller Derby
29 – United Furry Fandom
30 – Steampunk Cosplay Group
31 – Nightmare on 13th
33 – ****Cosplay Chaos Group All solo cosplayers or small groups
****All solo or small group cosplayers, that are not listed above, will be in the “Cosplay Chaos Group”, which will be ending the parade.*** *
We are so happy to be hosting an ‘offsite event’ here at San Diego Comic Con, and can’t wait to party like Hobbits and Dwarves with you all. So here are a few fast little facts you all need to know about the party.
newest sponsor, Jens Hansen Ringmaker, and a winner will be chosen and contacted shortly after Noon. They are hosting a complimentary Photo Booth at the party, but were unable to actually attend the party, so they wanted to offer you, the Fans, their tickets. You must either be in San Diego, or able to get here in a rather short period of time in order to take advantage of these tickets.
Empire Magazine grabbed Elijah Wood 