Today (depending on where in the world you are) fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien join together in a worldwide celebration of the late author’s works for Tolkien Reading Day.
The theme for this year’s event is Love and Friendship in Tolkien’s works.
Tolkien Reading Day takes place every year on March 25, and commemorates the date on which Frodo and the Fellowship were successful in destroying the One Ring and defeating Sauron. It’s a communal and international act of fellowship in recognition of the achievements of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Anybody with a copy of his works can take part (it’s also a great opportunity to introduce for children to Tolkien’s works).
And if you happen to be in need of a copy of a particular Tolkien book, we understand that Amazon’s digital “Deal of the Day” (in conjunction with publisher HarperCollins) will be will offer up to 80% off select Tolkien books. So now might be a good time to go hunting.
Reading events are occurring today all round the globe.
For example, Tolkien Guide will be hosting a number of excellent guests for discussions of Tolkien’s life and works throughout the day (including TORn staffer Cliff “Quickbeam” Broadway). You can also always pop by our new Discord server at discord.gg/theonering if you feel like participate in some fine talk with fellow Tolkien fans.
What are you up for Tolkien Reading Day? (Or if, like me, you live in “Futureland” in the Eastern hemisphere, what did you do for TRD?)
TheOneRing.net will be at WonderCon this year, and we will be hosting two panels over the course of the weekend, April 1-3 in the Anaheim Convention Center. If you plan to attend the convention, please read through the WonderCon COVID protocols.
Our first panel, Middle-earth! Coming to your TV this Fall will be at 4:30 pm on Friday, April 1 (no joke) in room North 200A. This will be our big overview panel, with all the news, rumors, and anecdotes about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, as well as the WB’s upcoming animated War of the Rohirrim. There will be an update on any and all Middle-earth news, activities, and events coming up this year. And we can wait to see if anyone has had enough time to create a costume from the recent Amazon Teaser Trailer.
Our Second panel, I am no Man: The Women of Middle-earth will be a deep dive into Tolkien’s legendarium to discuss all the unique and wonderful women that Tolkien created. For those who have just read The Hobbit, Middle-earth feels like an ‘all males club’, but in The Lord of the Rings and some of the books of deeper lore, there are queens and warriors and creators, all women, who had a hand in shaping the Middle-earth we all know and love. The presentation is still being crafted, if there is a specific woman of Middle-earth you wish to see discussed, send an email to Garfeimao@TheOnering.net. Include the character name and a brief note about what makes her so special for you, we will include as many as we can fit into our allotted panel time.
The Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship invites you to participate in our Zoom meet-up with our special guests John Callen and Sarah McLeod from The Hobbit/Lord of The Rings Movies, on the 31st October, 2021.
Sarah McLeod – Rosie Cotton
John Callen – Oin
We are initiating this event to replace our Evening in Middle-earth which is our major annual fundraiser for Kids in Care, supporting “The Pyjama Foundation”.
Due to Covid, for the last two years we have had to cancel our event, but this year we are running it virtually, online via Zoom and are delighted that we will be joined by John Callen and Sarah McLeod.
Our event, “Evening in Middle-earth”, first began in 2013 and in that time our small club has raised over $12 000 for our nominated charity and donated many children’s books also.
We hope you can join this special online event and enjoy a conversation with our guests.
The Zoom will run for one hour but can be extended to an hour and a half if required.
Come join the Southern California TORn staff and Tolkien fans on Saturday, September 18, 2021, as we celebrate Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ shared birthday in Griffith Park. The party will kick off at Noon, and run until about 6 pm. The biggest difference this year will be NO POTLUCK. Please bring enough food and drink for yourself and the group you will be attending with. As always, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses, and maybe a popup for shade are all good things to bring in order to stay comfortable. We are returning to the Mineral Wells section of Griffith Park, which is near the Harding Golf Course. Please head to the Baggins Birthday Bash Facebook event page for directions and a map. https://www.facebook.com/events/193623342558178/
While this event is scheduled for Saturday, September 18, the dual issues of COVID restrictions and/or Wildfires could become an issue this coming week. Should LA County trigger a restriction of large gatherings or a Wildfire trigger evacuations in the region of Griffith Park, we will post a Cancelation notice to the FB page first, and if there is time, post here on the main website as well.
As for COVID restrictions, the LA County guidelines recommend masking outdoors only in the case of a Mega Event, and that has only happened once. We are recommending everyone have a MASK with them, ready to wear near groups of people and remove when eating and drinking. The outdoor setting should afford us more than enough space to social distance if it makes you feel comfortable. We would PREFER if everyone attending was fully vaccinated, but none of us are qualified to verify the CDC card, so we won’t be asking.
Come and join fellow Tolkien fans from around Australia for a Zoom get together of the 'Hern Ennorath' Tolkien group.
Tolkien fans from Australia are building an online community for Australians to discuss Tolkien and Middle-earth topics.
‘Hern Ennorath’ means South Lands of Middle-earth. The name was chosen to reflect where we Aussies live, in the great southern land, in the southern hemisphere and, so far, is made up of three sub-groups
Each of these sub-groups also have their own individual Facebook pages.
The next online meeting is on 23rd September and the topic will be “Music of Middle-earth”. It will start with a quick ‘getting to know you’, before discussing all things music in Middle-earth. From Tolkien’s lyrical poetry to music that has been inspired by Tolkien. The meeting will run for 1 1/2 hours, but everyone is welcome to come and go as they please.
Just follow these instructions to join
Times: 8pm, ACT, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania 7:30pm NT and SA 6pm WA
All are welcome, so mark the 23rd of September in your diaries, grab your favourite snacks and settle in for some “Music in Middle-earth”.
There are also plans afoot to hold an online Middle-earth Trivia Night in November, and a national face-to-face dinner and conference in 2022, so stay tuned for further details.
In a time when we simply cannot physically celebrate together, join TheOneRing.net and fans from around the globe, as we honor the legacy of The Professor with a Tolkien birthday toast on what would have been his 129th birthday. (Tolkien’s Birthday – January 3rd 1892)
Join us LIVE for our 2021 Toast to the Professor!
As part of the long-standing tradition amongst the Tolkien community, we will be hosting two LIVE events via Zoom. These two events will take place January 3rd 2021 at 8pm GMT and then again at 8pm PST. The respective Zoom rooms will open at 7:45pm, to give all plenty of time to prepare for the toast.
As we may have a rather large crowd joining in the celebration, you will be initially muted when you join the Toast. We will open the room for discussion, fun and frivolity following the toast at 8pm.
