Wellinghall, the Greater Toronto Area’s Smial will be holding our annual Tolkien Reading Day event on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 1:00pm. We will be having the event at the Elephant & Castles King Street location, near the corner of King and Simcoe Streets. We have already begun saying, “Good Morning,” so we should be ready to start reading some of our favourite passages by the 26th! Continue reading “Wellinghall’s Tolkien Reading Day in Toronto”

After lying dormant like Mount Doom for 40 years, the Third Conference On Middle-earth (C.O.M.E.) returns on March 25-26, 2011.

The weekend devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien and his works such as “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” includes papers, panels, a party, banquet, and a film screening. C.O.M.E. takes place at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts (USA), about 40 minutes northwest of Boston.

“It’s too long since I chaired the First and Second Conferences on Middle-earth,” said Peregrin Took II (aka Jan Howard Finder), who helped organize the first two gatherings. The first conference took place in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois in 1969; the second, in 1971, was held in Cleveland, Ohio. Continue reading “After 40 years in hibernation, Tolkien Conference Returns”

In another two weeks we will finally be able to price out the roundtrip air needed to get to the cruise and back again. At that time I will be able to announce the New Zealand tour pricing, with the Australian tour options to follow shortly afterwards. Please visit our special cruise website for current details on the cruise itinerary, pricing and how to contact me for more information.

*SPECIAL OFFER* And as a nice little Mathom from me, in honor of The Professor’s birthday, here is a special incentive for all new bookings on this cruise, valid January 3-9 only. In addition to the amenities already listed for this cruise, I can now offer up to $150 of additional onboard credit. This is money that can be spent onboard for items such as spa treatments, in the shops onboard, on the Celebrity shore excursions or at the bar, among other onboard expenses. The amount is determined by the cabin category you choose, so just ask me and I’ll explain all the details. This is a really great opportunity to add some real value to a trip that promises to be amazing already. Just remember, this is for new bookings this week only.

[Contact Cathy] [Cruise Website]

J.R.R. Tolkien“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”  — J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, S.A., on January 3, 1892.  He would eventually move to England, become an accomplished linguist and scholar, an Oxford professor and a beloved husband and father. While in his twenties, he began developing a series of stories that went on to become the rich, complex history of a place called Middle-earth: a world that millions would eventually visit, both on the written page and on the big screen, and come to love. TheOneRing.net raises a glass to “The Professor!” today, in honor of all the enjoyment and camaradarie his birth would lead to. Thank you, professor Tolkien!

And don’t forget, today is the annual Tolkien Society’s Birthday Toast to Professor Tolkien. For complete details on the toast, jump on over to the Tolkien Society’s website. [Tolkien Toast]

Janet writes: For any LA Ringers: members of Tolkien Forever and MythSoc will hold their monthly meeting and celebrate the life of Glen Goodknight this evening (Tuesday) at Conrad’s, 861 E. Walnut St, Pasadena CA 91101. [Map]

Announcing the Cruise to Middle-earth: The Sequel, Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Fellowship of the Ring.

TheOneRing.net staffer Garfeimao (aka Cathy) is planning our next Cruise to Middle-earth! Here’s all the details:

New Zealand will always be Middle-earth here at TORn. With that in mind, I am proud to announce a second cruise to Middle-earth. This is your chance to see the enchanting Land of the Long White Cloud and Middle-earth in the same place. Red Carpet Tours will be customizing short day tours for us from several of the ports, as well as a longer, optional post-cruise tour of locations not reachable from the ship.

This cruise will sail on the Celebrity Century from Sydney, Australia on November 30, 2011 and finish in Auckland, New Zealand on December 12, 2011. The bulk of the cruise will be in New Zealand waters, with stops at ports near several Lord of the Rings filming locations. The advantage of a cruise is that it acts as a hotel, a restaurant and transportation so that you need unpack only once during the cruise. It will give everyone in the group time to bond over dinner, to meet up during ‘at sea’ days to watch the films, and to even have a costume party. Exact optional tours are still in development at the moment, so please do contact me for more details.
Continue reading “Return to Middle-earth in 2011!”