Tamara writes: We are gathering on the weekend of September 22nd, to celebrate the Birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and we invite any interested Ringers to attend.

On Sunday, September 23rd, we will meet at 2PM at the Boston Common, across from the AMC Movie theater for a potluck, trivia, readings, discussion and lots of fun. Please RSVP here and join our Yahoo discussion group, onewhitetree, for more details on this and future events. We look forward to seeing all of you and renewing our fellowship!

RSVP for the Boston Baggins Birthday Celebration

Our good friend White Lady of Rohan sends along this tidbit about ‘A Long Expected Party’ coming in Sept 2008:

A Long Expected Party“Greetings fellow Hobbits and other Middle-earth denizens! Bilbo would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the celebration of his birthday, during the weekend of September 25th-28th, 2008 (( that’s next year folks )) at Shaker Village in Central Kentucky. Shaker Village is as much like the Shire as any place on Earth. We will have games, music, guests and much more! Bilbo is waiting for hear from you. Please check out our site and come join us for the fun and Fellowship!”

TORn met the organizers of this event at DragonCon and are pretty impressed with what they have planned. Check out their official website!

A Long Expected Party.org

TORN Staffer Arwen writes: Tolkien Forever and TheOneRing.net invite all Los Angeles Ringers to come and join us for a weekend of special magnificence: Tolkien weekend 2007, with two fantastic fun filled events for Tolkien fans one and all!

First we have Tolkien Forever’s Annual Hall of Fire on Saturday Sept 22nd 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.

Next we have TORN’s Annual Baggins Birhday Picnic on Sunday Sept 23 starting at noon in Griffith Park near the Carousel. There will be fun, games, trivia and prizes. The picnic is also potluck so bring something to share. RSVP to Arwen@theonering.net

So come join in the Fantastic Fellowship of Tolkien Fans!

For Sharon Kretschmar, The Lord of the Rings isn’t just a collection of stories about Hobbits and elves or a few movies with cool special effects. Kretschmar, 60, goes on the Internet nearly every day to talk with other Ringers, as fans call themselves. She’s done that for the last six years. And if you imagine that she’s chained to her home computer, living in a make-believe universe, consider this: Kretschmar has made a whole new circle of friends that she has visited in the United States and abroad, in places as far afield as Ireland and New Zealand. [More]

Richard writes: Maybe you could help spread the news about an interesting event in Poland on July 12-15. “Gondolin – the city found by Turgon – the one of the Noldors – hidden in the Tumladen Valley, guarded by the eagles. There was only one entrance leading to the city strongly guided by the residents. Unfortunately, envy and the will of possession among the elves caused the fall of Gondolin When the secret way has been given away, Melkor’s armies supported by the Dragons and the Barlogs destroyed the city. The ruler has also been killed. You also can act out this history. The topic of the IX TOLK FOLK is preparation and taking part in an open-area performance The Fall of Gondolin. Anybody can take part in it. The organizer secures more part of costumes and props. On the website you can load down an incidental music for the performance.” More can be found at Elendilion’s English (Westron) department website. [More]

Ian Collier sends this along: In response to calls for more events around the world the Tolkien Society Seminar for 2007 is happening in two parts, one “up here” and the other “downunder”. The seminars are being arranged by the Tolkien Society in partnership with The Cambridge Tolkien Society and Tol Harndor: The Australian Tolkien Society.

The Northern Hemisphere Tolkien Society Seminar

Women in Tolkien, Saturday, 16th June

Wolfson Court, Girton, Cambridge

The ‘northern’ seminar in Cambridge has the theme of “Women in Tolkien” and the weekend will also include an evening mead tasting (for those who are over eighteen years of age) and a punt-moot on the Sunday to Grantchester complete with a picnic lunch.

Interested in Giving a Paper?

Papers should be either 20 or 45 minutes long to fit into half-hour or hour slots with time for questions or discussion. There may also be scope to accommodate a number of short 10-minute presentations. Please send the title, a short summary/abstract and the intended length to the Seminar organiser:

Helen Cousins e-mail

Registration Costs: Tolkien Society members: £28.00 & Non-members: £30.00

The registration fee covers attendance at the seminar, a light lunch and morning and afternoon tea and coffee. The mead tasting is £5.00 per head for members and £7.00 per head for non-members.

The Punt moot will be £15-£20 for punt-hire depending on numbers.

The closing date for registration is 6th June, however spaces are limited so to secure your place please book early.

The Southern Hemisphere Tolkien Society Seminar

The Art and Science of Magic in Middle-earth

Saturday, 25th August, NSW Writers’ Centre, Sydney, Australia

This significant annual event in the Tolkien calendar is being held overseas for the first time in Sydney, Australia. With attendees travelling from around the world this will have an international festive feel. The magic of Middle-earth is wide-ranging in scope and can cover not only all aspects of magic in the works of Tolkien but also the enchantment that Tolkien’s writings have instilled in Tolkien fans far and wide. The seminar will be held at the NSW Writers’ Centre, the Centre was established to promote writing-based culture and the rights and interests of writers and offers literary resources and professional information to established and aspiring writers of all kinds.

Interested in Giving a Paper?

Some potential topics for consideration might be:

  • The limitations or laws of magic in Middle-earth
  • The various forms of magic
  • The supernatural
  • Tolkien’s magic compared to other authors of ‘modern’ fantasy
  • Is Tolkien’s magic mystical and without explanation or is there evidence of science? How did the Inkling’s view magic/science?
  • The magic of words, spells, music and language
  • The presence of magic in the classics such as Beowulf, The Kalevala, and Edda.
  • The effects of magic on events during the Ages. Was it pivotal?
  • The differences in how magic was used and viewed by the various races
  • The enchantment of Tolkien’s writings
  • The dark arts of Middle-earth and the corruption of magic
  • Magic in a religious context

Papers should be either 20 or 45 minutes long to fit into half-hour or hour slots with time for questions/discussion. There may also be scope to accommodate a number of short 10-minute presentations. Please send the title, a short summary/abstract and the intended length to the Seminar organiser:

Michael Kennedy, e-mail

Registration Costs:

Registration costs for Tolkien Society members are: Aus$25.00, or GBP £10.00, or US$20.00.

Non-members rates are Aus$30.00, or GBP £12.00, or US$24.00.

Lunch and refreshments are included in the registration fee. There is an option of a Sydney Harbour cruise on Sunday if there is sufficient interest.

The closing date for registration is 25th July, however, spaces are limited so to secure your place please book early.

To register please bear in mind Cambridge by 6th June & Sydney by 25th July

All enquiries about bookings for these events should be directed to The Booking Officer:

The Booking Officer, 7 Rievaulx Drive, Morton-on-Swale, Northallerton, DL7 9UE, UK.

E-mail: bookings@tolkiensociety.org

For the Sydney Seminar only, please contact Michael Kennedy if you live in Australia:

Michael Kennedy, 27 Hennessy Lane, Figtree, NSW, 2525, Australia.

E-mail: pacific@tolkiensociety.org

For the Sydney Seminar only, please contact Anne Riney if you live in the USA

Anne Riney, 5241 College View Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90041, USA

E-mail: usd.bookings@tolkiensociety.org