Fantasy-Con’s official mascot!These dwarves aren’t afraid of Smaug!
The first annual FantasyCon was an amazing weekend! Tens of thousands of fans from around the country and many actors from around the world traveled to beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah for an engagingly fun weekend of group panels, signings, photo ops and fireside chats. Here is a recap of some of the fun from several TheOneRing.net staff members who made the journey there.
Elijah Wood Hosts Kickoff Party
Starting off the week was an amazing dance night hosted by Frodo himself DJ ElWood!
Elijah Wood is on the right in the center of the stage. Frodo has some groovy tunes!Official Fantasy-Con photographers got better shots than we did 😉
Middle-earth Kick-Off!
To start FantasyCon with a celebrity blast, an all-star group of Tolkien guests took the stage including:
Sean Astin (Samwise)
Adam Brown (Ori)
Billy Boyd (Pippin)
Jed Brophy (Nori)
John Callen (Óin)
Peter Hambleton (Glóin)
William Kircher (Bifur)
Sylvester McCoy (Radagast)
Graham McTavish (Dwalin)
Mark Ordesky (Executive Producer LOTR)
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)
Ken Stott (Balin)
author Doug Adams (‘The Music of The Lord of the Rings’)
Wednesday in Salt Lake City was set up day for FantasyCon at the Salt Palace convention center. The FantasyCon people have been setting things up for days, and when you see some of the images of the sculptures, you will know why. They have gone all out to achieve a rocking cool Fantasy atmosphere, and with the various fan groups they’ve brought in, this promises to be a memorable weekend.
They then closed the hall today at 5pm to allow vendors to leave, or go eat and come back later for the charity event. At 7pm, the doors were opened again for numerous kids and their families who are beneficiaries of various charities, including Angel’s Hands Foundation, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Kids on the Move and Hope Kids. The children and their families were escorted in by a Piper past a processional of costumed warriors, fairies, stormtroopers, Hobbits and wizards. It made for a joyous entry as they were then lead to the main stage for the unveiling of Volos, the King of all the dragons attending the convention.
There are numerous costumed combat troops that will be demonstrating and teaching during the con, there is Dragon training going on, gaming, actors on panels, loads of cosplay everywhere, a Castle, numerous Dragons, giant Sentinels, and last but not least, a Rock Monster.
Panels begin in earnest tomorrow morning, with a Red Party capping off Thursday’s schedule. Friday opens with a Costume parade and Saturday ends the whole convention with a bang, and really really Big Bang of the Fireworks variety. Should you find yourself anywhere near Salt Lake City in the next couple of days, this may well be the funnest way you will find to spend your July 4 holiday. http://www.fantasycon.com
In addition to my Denver Comic Con Recap a few days ago, Fili edited together a splendid video so that we could share our wonderful DCC experience with you all.
We also have an announcement… Happy Hobbit will be at FantasyCon!
Our first glimpse of Colorado came with the Rockies where what appeared to be the Lonely Mountain peeked out of the cloud-cover. As the three of us travelling together (my sister, Fili, and our mother “Dis”) are known by Dwarven names, we took this as a good omen. After all, the people of Colorado are mountain folk.
Upon descending on our eagles, we took some time to adjust to the lay of the land before the start of the convention. Having only really experienced the 150k strong crowds at San Diego Comic Con, we didn’t know what to expect from DCC. As it was, the massive line waiting to get in on Friday morning was intimidating. However, upon seeing a Gandalf among the cosplayers, our nerves were set to rest. We were among our people. Our mom even made up her own Dwarven costume for Dis!
We joined up with Bofur (Justin!) and hosted our first panel of the day that discussed the history of TheOneRing.net. Given that this year is the site’s 15th anniversary, there was a lot to cover! Many of the folks who attended enjoyed reminiscing about the old days of anonymous set reports that often spurred fan rage online. With time comes perspective, and it was fascinating to look at the response Arwen’s intended presence at Helm’s Deep received vs. the introduction of Tauriel in the new Hobbit films.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Just that happened to my sister and me exactly a year ago, however we never even stepped out our door! One June 11th, 2013, the first The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer hit the internet in the U.S. and since we didn’t have time to write up our responses for TheOneRing.net, we decided to film our reaction to the trailer (watch here).
We never expected more than our 15 “hardcore” fans to watch our reaction video at the time, much less ever thought that PJ and the cast and crew would not only see it, but film their own response (watch Happy Elves)! For two young women who didn’t even know that posting trailer reactions was a “thing,” getting launched into the international news was even more unexpected, but it has been such an amazing unexpected journey. To be rewarded for being our unrestrained, embarrassing selves (see just how so in our reaction to the cast’s reaction here) is a boon to not only our little show, but to our souls.
We are forever grateful to Jackson and his team. As a result, we celebrate the support our Facebook page has received (3k likes!) and that of our YouTube channel (5.5k!) by sharing this video that is a compilation of the “deleted scenes” from our reaction videos that we had cut out at the time. Enjoy!
A year after that fateful night, we are now packing and preparing to leave for Denver Comic Con, not as attendees, but as panel participants. We will have our own Happy Hobbit panel and fan table and are so excited to meet as many of our viewers as possible. This path has led to San Diego Comic Con 2013 where we got to meet Evangeline Lilly and Manu Bennett and to the DOS World Premiere in Hollywood in December where we had a blast chatting with the cast and crew.
People always ask us what it feels like to live a Middle-earth fan’s dream, and the answer is simple: It hasn’t sunk in yet. One year later, it all still feels so blissfully surreal.
We wouldn’t have had this adventure of a lifetime without TheOneRing.net, our viewers, and of course, Peter Jackson, Weta and their team. As Gandalf says in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” What was a small act of kindness from Peter Jackson’s team and the cast sent ripples of joy through our lives and by extension, through the lives of the thousands experiencing the adventure alongside us through our videos.
Hannon le.
Happy Hobbit is still going strong and we have many episodes planned for this summer, including our first ever Happy Hobbit movie! While fandom has given us uncountable joys, one of the greatest is building a community with our fellow Tolkien fans and knowing that, even if only for a moment, we have made you smile. I’ve lost track of how many messages we’ve received from people saying that the best cure for a bad mood is to watch Happy Hobbit! Perhaps our fan Ian McDermott summarizes it best:
‘Happy Hobbit’ has become a haven for me, a gentle and caring respite for the jaded, world-weary traveller; a place where good cheer and whimsy rule for no better reason than to bring happiness to others. Hannon le, ladies.
Please note we will also be participating in TORn’s panels at Denver Comic Con throughout the weekend, including the big party Friday night at the Dino hotel (the Best Western Southwest), so keep your eyes peeled for our coverage on Facebook and Twitter! I will also be participating in several writing panels, including one about the making of my book Darkling.
TheOneRing.net and Happy Hobbit are coming to Denver Comic Con next weekend, June 13-15 with a packed schedule full of Middle-earth fun for fans including a preview of what we expect to see in THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES with Sylvester McCoy (Radagast)!
Join us for an amazing weekend of activities including:
TheOneRing.net exclusive T-Shirt at the WETA booth
Hobbit: BOFA preview with SYLVESTER MCCOY in person
