Have you ever wished for a place where you could be Aragorn or Galadriel (or *gasp* Sauron) for a day? Well, if you live in or near Layayette, NJ, your wish could come true! “For over a decade, a growing number of people have gathered at a Girl Scout camp in the New Jersey woods to play at being elves, dwarves and goblins for the weekend. The group, called LAIRE, or Live Action Interactive Role-playing Explorers, is one of hundreds devoted to “live-action role-playing,” or LARPing.” Thanks to Robin for alerting us to this story originally reported by Wired.com. Read More

TORN  Cruise Garfeimao writes: Space will soon be disappearing from the Cruise to Middle-earth. This cruise has been on sale since August of last year, and Celebrity is very happy with how successful it has been. But the cruise line now needs some of the space back in order to follow through with some of their own promotions. This is a standard move in the cruise industry, and I am working with Celebrity Cruises to see how much space I can still hold, and for how long.

If you have been on the fence about whether or not you would like to go on the Cruise to Middle-earth in November of this year, your time is running out!. I’ve been able to set aside a few cabins in each category, but only a very few. So strike while the iron is hot, or while I still have cabins to sell to Ringers of intelligence to go on this journey, quest, thing.

You may email me at cathy.u@travelstoreusa.com or call me at 800-955-7447 ext. 19812 8am-4:30pm PDT weekdays.

Tolkien SocietyGet ready to sit down with friends and family to celebrate the 5th Annual Tolkien Reading Day sponsored by The Tolkien Society. Each year, Tolkien Reading Day is a chance for grownups and children to read together and share their thoughts about stories by Tolkien that they have read and to maybe discover new ones. Here at TheOneRing.net we encourage fans to virtually connect with our ‘Reading Room‘ discussion area and if you are planning on getting together in the real world, the Tolkien Society is offering free posters and free publicity for your event. Continue reading “March 25th is Tolkien Reading Day!”

LOTR CruiseTo Celebrate Professor Tolkien’s birthday, The Lord of the Rings Cruise and Tour are offering a 1-category upgrade for new bookings on January 3, only. So if you were on the fence, don’t delay – book today! [Cruise Details]

Tolkien Forever's Hall Of Fire, Sept 22, 2007
Arwen writes: The fifth edition of TORN’s annual Baggins Birthday picnic celebration in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park was a well attended, joyful, fun filled event. Due to the area next to the Merry-Go-round occupied all day by the UN’s “Day Of Peace” activities, the Baggins picnic had to be moved to a different location, and there was some fear that partygoers may get lost, but eventually everyone found their way to the grounds (probably guided by some wizardry from Gandalf!).

After the torrential rains of the previous day, the sun was shining. Of course there was no avoiding the usual bees and yellow jackets (our friend Saruman was stung and showed a badly swollen hand), but overall everything was ideal. There was plenty of food, and everyone ate their fill (it’s not a hobbit picnic for nothing!). Games were played (Golfimbul…), trivia questions were asked and answered, scenes from the movies and the books were re-enacted. And lots of trophies were won. Two birthday cakes were devoured, and raffle prizes were distributed.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for participating in this weekend’s events, both the picnic and the wonderful Hall of Fire organized by our friends from Tolkien Forever on Saturday. It was a great Tolkien weekend in the LA area, and we look forward to seeing everyone soon again!

Reminder to all Los Angeles Tolkien fans: This Saturday September 22nd is Tolkien Forever’s Annual Hall of Fire starting at 4pm in Glendora. It will be an enchanted evening filled with fun, food and fellowship. There will be music, art, poetry, and costumes are encouraged. The dinner is potluck, so please bring a dish to share. Please RSVP to Saystine@att.net for specific directions to the event.