Our staffers are warming up their speaking voices, brushing up on their Hobbit knowledge and getting ready to head for the Anaheim Convention Center for WonderCon in less than a week. Friday March 16, at 12:30 p.m. (lunch time) TORn will start programming at the convention that will surely take over the title “Happiest Place On Earth,” from neighboring Disneyland for three days.

We will explore the latest news from New Zealand and The Hobbit film that is currently in overdrive filming. We will discuss news, rumors and have a wealth of opinions and speculation about what fans can expect this December and next. On hand will be staffers Justin, Garfiemo, MrCere, Ostadan, Quickbeam and Saruman as either part of the panel or part of the day. Continue reading “TORn ready to kick off WonderCon in Anaheim”

Today we are proud to formally announce a new feature on TheOneRing.net called ‘T.I.M.E.’ – the Today in Middle-earth Calendar! Created as a Google calendar (so you can subscribe, set reminders and share) we hope this calendar will serve as your one-stop reference point for Middle-earth events on any given day of the year. From The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings and beyond, we’ve got significant events galore. But wait…there’s more! The project does not simply tell you about the event, it also links you to discussion threads on our very own forums, allow you to discuss the history of Middle-earth with over 7500+ of your closest Tolkien fanatic friends. This calendar came together thanks to the extremely hard work of staffers Magpie, Grammaboodawg and Kelvarhin. So dive on it, and make it a habit to check our Today in Middle-earth Calendar! [TIME Calendar]

On March 25, a date designated worldwide as Tolkien Reading Day, The Grey Havens Group will share our love of Tolkien with the community by hosting a Tolkien Open Mic event from 12:00-4:00 p.m. at Barbed Wire Books, 504 Main Street in Longmont, CO. The family-friendly celebration will feature costumed characters, a costume contest and quizzes with prizes, crafts, a silent auction, light refreshments and, most importantly, an opportunity for folks to share their favorite passages from Tolkien’s works or to perform Tolkien-themed songs. This is the second Tolkien Reading Day event for our group but the first to be open to the public. We hope that the event will become an annual tradition in Longmont. See you there!

News crossed our screens, courtesy of Veldrin, that an international online War of the Ring tournament is currently accepting sign-ups. Sponsored by Ares Games, this is an annual event meant to bring novice and experienced players together and offers prizes for people in each category. The following is some of what they had to say:

“War of the Ring has a dedicated online community and every year they get together to run the largest War of the Ring tournament in the world! It brings together both veterans and novices alike, awarding victory plaques for the overall winner of the double elimination event, as well as the best performing novice player.” For full details, just click right here.

Bilbo and Smaug
Denmark is hosting a Tolkien event, a reading from The Hobbit no less, approved by royalty. While we really wish we were in the neighborhood, it might be a little distant for our staff to drop in. However, for readers in Europe, this sounds pretty great! The info we received:
“The royal Danish Court has approved of Bri – The Tolkien Society of Copenhagen doing a reading from the Hobbit at the art museum Arken for this year’s Reading Day, by the LotR-inspired art of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. We hope to see as many interested and inspired people as possible there, in your finest get-ups. We can’t wait to meet you!
The event will be marts 25, 13.00-15.00.
Skovvej 100
2635 Ishøj
Denmark”
Further info can be found here and here.

Join us LIVE at 5pm Pacific Standard Time tonight as we welcome the lovely and talented Simone Boyce (host of our very own “HOBBIT In 5” podcast and for Game of Thrones fans on Winteriscoming.net)! Simone will rap with TORn TUESDAY host Clifford Broadway, aka Quickbeam, and you can also join the fun live! We will  be discussing the pros & cons of 3D fantasy movies and how Peter Jackson is bringing THE HOBBIT production into its final months of principal photography. Today’s live webcast launches at 5:00pm PST — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype in TheOneRing.net’s Stickam page. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE Event section right here every week! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)