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.
Category: Meet Ups
We must close out the group for TORn’s Hobbit Premiere Tour this week, so this is your last chance to join in this historic trip. Rooms in Wellington are in great demand right now, and we can no longer hold onto unsold space. So after Wednesday, anyone making an inquiry to join the trip will need to wait for a confirmation of space and a possible change to existing pricing. Please see our Tour Page for all the details, including schedule, contact information and the Registration Form. The tour will include 4 nights in Wellington during the time Wellington will be gearing up for the premiere, and then 2 nights in Auckland and a day trip down to Matamata, home of the Hobbiton movie set. There will be a Premiere party in Wellington, as well as the actual Red Carpet event, as seen in the photo, and a luncheon at Hobbiton. All with a wonderful Fellowship of fellow fans, visiting one of the most delightful countries you can imagine.
Don’t be left wondering ‘what if’ once November rolls around and TORn’s coverage of the Premiere kicks into high gear.
The Higgins Armory in Worcester Massachusetts is hosting a Middle-Earth Day on Saturday, September 29th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In addition to stories and games, activities include making a Gondorian shield (or designing one of your own), watching Arwen teach Aragorn the proper way to slay an orc and seeing if you can out run a dwarf! The program is free with museum admission. The Higgins Armory boasts the largest collection of medieval/ancient armor and weaponry in the Western Hemisphere, so be sure to leave time to see the museum. For information on museum hours and admission prices, go here. For more information on Middle-earth Day at the museum, go here.
New York ComicCon is coming up next month, and TORn will be there! Having had such a great time with folks last year, we’ll be hosting a party again this year – and we hope that you can join us! More details will follow, but meanwhile, put Thursday 11th October, 8pm, in your calendar – and get ready to eat, drink and be the hobbit of your choice in the Big Apple! Hope to see you!
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.
Can you believe it has been 10 years since we first gathered at Griffith Park to celebrate the birthday of not one, but two imaginary characters from a book and film? The Baggins’ Birthday Bash has always been a great way to celebrate Fellowship amongst LA Fandom, act a little goofy, and to farewell the Summer. This year the party comes just a day after the official 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit back in 1937, so we’ll have more to celebrate than just Bilbo and Frodo. Here are the pertinent details:
When: September 22 from Noon till 6pm
Where: Griffith Park in LA, just past the Carousel turnoff. There are directions and a link to a map at the bottom of the description on the Facebook Event Page. Baggins’ Birthday Bash Facebook page
What can you bring?: Take a peek at the Facebook page, and open the description fully to see what food and beverage needs we have and what you can bring. The list will be updated when people RSVP, which can be done on the Facebook event page, or by emailing Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net
Activities: There will be some trivia, we will have fans taking turns to read The Hobbit aloud during the day, and there will be a rousing game of Golfimbul, followed by a Birthday Cake.