On Saturday September 22, 2012 over 150 Southern California Ringers were treated to a party of special magnificence. Hobbits, elves and wizards gathered in Griffith Park and ate plentiful food, drank refreshing beverages, read the first chapter of The Hobbit, sang songs, played games, won prizes, received mathoms and had the most fantastic time celebrating the 10th anniversary of the event. Of course, reasons to celebrate also included the 75th anniversary of the publication of “The Hobbit” (September 21) and Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday (September 22).
LA Weekly did a story of special magnificence about the event, including background on TheOneRing.net and speculation from some well-known picnic goers about the upcoming Hobbit movies. For example, our own Cliff Broadway, a.k.a. “Quickbeam” offers this on why three movies: “A few million dollars [investment from Warner Brothers] equals another billion dollar box office,” Broadway says, explaining that with the set already built and the actors already in New Zealand, it made financial sense to expand. “But Peter, when you ask him in an interview, Peter will say, ‘I’ve got so much more story to tell.'” Continue reading for more pictures of the event, and follow the “Read more” link for the entire LA Weekly story. Read more…
September 22nd is Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthday!! But this year the day has grown into World Hobbit Day as we also salute Tolkien Week AND the 75th anniversary of The Hobbit publication! So to celebrate this perfect storm of Tolkien highlights, TheOneRing.net’s Discussion Boards is hosting a party with activities covering several Boards this weekend. Continue reading “Come celebrate “World Hobbit Day” on TORN’s Discussion Boards!”
We’ve been doing this little party for 10 years, The Hobbit has been in print for 75 years, Peter Jackon is releasing the first of The Hobbit films this year, and Bilbo and Frodo are co- celebrating their shared birthday, what better reason do you need to party like a Hobbit? This is a potluck, so bring something of your own, and be prepared to share in the feasting brought by others. Check out our Event page on Facebook, click the See More link in the description and you will see a full list of what others have offered to bring, then post a note to the event page, or email me at Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net to RSVP with what you plan to bring. Also in all that info are directions from most points in LA, including a map of the GriffithPark area. We’ve had good luck the past 6 or 7 years getting the same spot, but if our morning scouts discover the posted location is already occupied, we will update the page on Saturday morning with a new location, so you WILL NOT get lost.
Events on our rather casual schedule will include, eating, drinking, having fun, playing games, including our now famous Golfimbul tournament, and a live reading of The Hobbit. There may even be a surprise or two during the day. This is an ‘all ages’ event, there will be fun for everyone, so bring the family down. The sun will be out and warm, so hat, sunglasses and a bit of sunscreen would be most beneficial for your comfort, as well as maybe a blanket to sit on. Any questions, just post a note on our Facebook page or email me. We will also be tweeting from the event, using #Hobbitday and #TORn, so even if you aren’t able to atttend, look for posts and updates throughout the day from TORn staff and attendees alike.
We’ve been getting lots of mail alerting us to events all over the world meant to celebrate World Hobbit Day (September 22 -also Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday) and cap off a fabulous Hobbit week that included the debut of a new Hobbit Trailer. As a service to our readers, we’ve gathered information about all of the events we know about into one place so you can plan your weekends accordingly. Starting with world-wide second breakfasts tomorrow, and moving on to online events and local celebrations, the weekend promises food, friends and fun for all: what Hobbit wouldn’t love that? If you have an event that you’d like us to include, please drop us a line at spymaster@theonering.net and we’ll add it to the list.
The 2013 Tolkien calendar naturally features ‘The Hobbit’ this year including the work of Alan Lee and John Howe. To celebrate, the Weta Cave in Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand will host Lee this Sunday to sign this and others of his works.
Lee and Howe have been working on concept art for Peter Jackson’s three-part ‘Hobbit’ movie, headed for a mid-December release but found time to produce some new work for this calendar.
The calendar features 14 paintings, including some created exclusively for this calendar by Alan Lee and John Howe, the two artists whose work has defined the look of Middle-earth over the last 25 years.
This is their first-ever collaboration since the official Tolkien Calendar began publishing 40 years ago.
Each month depicts one of the most famous scenes from The Hobbit, including Bilbo outside Bag End, Smaug the Dragon, the Great Goblin and Bilbo’s Front Hall. As well as classic illustrations from bo
th artists’ celebrated portfolios, the 2013 calendar includes brand new paintings, created by John Howe and Alan Lee exclusively for this calendar.
A range of Alan’s other titles including The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook will also be available in store. For more details including a map, click here.
Welcome to our latest “Getting to know” questions that need answering. This month we’re talking to the one and only Balrog Showgirl, Nicole Roberts.
Hi Nicole and a very big thank you for taking part and for being so patient with me.
This first question is from Rosie-with-the-ribbons who’s latest costume for RingCon has been inspired by your Balrog Showgirl costume.
R-w-t-r: Do you make your costumes yourself?
Nicole: Rosie – that is awesome! Yes, for the most part the costumes I’ve been running around in for the past several years have all been of my own making. I only started sewing back in 2004, after I moved to Los Angeles and started hanging out with even more LOTR people. The first costume I made was to wear to Comic Con that year – I was the Mumak Mahud (the guy with the black and white painted face who steers the oliphaunt in ROTK), so you could definitely say I’ve always leaned towards costumes that were a little off the beaten path! I’ve done some costumes that were direct recreations (“Barf” from “Spaceballs”is the most well-known one), but as I’ve gotten more into the sewing, I really like doing things that are more of an original design, like the Balrog Showgirl. As someone who is not of supermodel proportions (and seriously, those chicks look like scary walking lollipops anyway), I like to have the opportunity to design something that I think is more flattering to me, and I always like to learn how to do something new, like dyeing feathers for the showgirl headdress.
On Saturday September 22, 2012 over 150 Southern California Ringers were treated to a party of special magnificence. Hobbits, elves and wizards gathered in Griffith Park and ate plentiful food, drank refreshing beverages, read the first chapter of The Hobbit, sang songs, played games, won prizes, received mathoms and had the most fantastic time celebrating the 10th anniversary of the event. Of course, reasons to celebrate also included the 75th anniversary of the publication of “The Hobbit” (September 21) and Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday (September 22). 
