TORn’s LA staffers hosted their 11th annual Baggins Birthday Bash today in Griffith Park. We’ve always held it here, but have been a couple different positions over the years. Today, we moved over to the Mineral Wells area, past the Harding Golf Course, and it finally afforded us some much needed room, since the party has been expanding the past couple of years. There must have been close to 150 folks eating, drinking and having a Tolkien Good Time.
The design motif this year was definitely Dragons and Spiders, we had spiders all over the cake and cupcakes, they were on every table, in the trees and all over the food tent. But there were also dragons, also on the tables and in the trees, but it was Smaug sitting on his pile of gold that got the most attention. You may not be able to notice it, but there are some jewels under his belly in this image, look closely and maybe you will see them. Nothing remains of Smaug, he was desolated when one child ate his head and another ate one of his wings. Someone else asked for a foot, no word on what happened to the tail. There was plenty of Dragon Gold to go around as well, thanks to Wonderland Bakery and their amazing cake designers.
Many games were played, including everyone’s favorite Hobbit game, Golfimbul. Prizes of Hats, Bags and Shirts were given out to winners of Golfimbul, both in the Adult and Youth divisions. There was also a very interactive Trivia game contest, two rounds, to determine who knew their Hobbit material best. There are only a few images here, check out the facebook page to find the Baggins Birthday Bash photo album to see the rest. In the crowd, you will notice many Hobbits, Elves, Dwarf women and Gandalf, among other Middle-earth notables.
Yes, we will be hosting this party again next year, so if you find yourself in Los Angeles the weekend of Sept. 20/21, look for the Party Sign and party like a Hobbit, or Dwarf, or Elf, or even a Wizard or two.
The Eiger. Photo by Wunderalpen.com One of the most glorious aspects of reading The Lord of the Rings, is his abiding love of nature — and particularly of mountains.
`Only once before have I seen them from afar in waking life, but I know them and their names, for under them lies Khazad-dûm, the Dwarrowdelf, that is now called the Black Pit, Moria in the Elvish tongue. Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanuidhol the Grey, that we call Zirak-zigil and Bundushathûr.
Gimli, The Lord of the Rings.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
In just one week, the LA TORn staff will be hosting our annual Baggins Birthday Bash to help celebrate the shared birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. In recent years, the tradition of Sept. 22 as ‘Hobbit Day’ has spread to Tolkien fan groups around the world, and there are a variety of ways to celebrate. Some cook up Hobbity feasts, others do readings from the books or movie viewing parties, while some focus on Tolkien inspired games, contests or costuming. Here in LA, we’ve combined all these events and more, then added some prizes and mathoms to create one of the signature Tolkien fan events in the area. It all comes down to good food, fine Fellowship and lots of geeky Tolkien fun for ALL ages, so please come on down and get ready to have fun. The party will start at Noon on Sunday, Sept. 22 in Griffith Park, but in a new location, so please read the directions listed in the Facebook Event page and to RSVP your attendance. This is a potluck event, so check the party description for a list of items being brought and items needed. If you are unable to see the Event page or don’t do Facebook, just email me at Garfeimao@theonering.net to RSVP and I’ll get you the appropriate directions.
As you know, we’re currently conducting our pledge drive to raise funds and keep our servers running. We also have some very exciting auctions going on over at Ebay.
There are some fabulous, exclusive pieces up for grabs – including some things which, usually, money can’t buy! Time is running out on some of our auctions too, so best check them out now. Here are just three that might tickle your fancy:
I wanted to hightlight a few more of the awesome items that have recently gone up for order via our Light The Beacons Auction.
We recently added a couple of amazing items from our friend artist Jerry Vanderstelt covering his The Lord of the Rings Trilogy prints as well as his newest print of Dwalin the Dwarf from The Hobbit Trilogy. We’ve also added a couple of autograph items from Graham McTavish and William Kircher who play Dwalin and Bifur in The Hobbit Trilogy.
This auction offers a beautiful three-piece set of The Lord of the Rings Collector Edition Lithographs by prominent artist, Jerry VanderStelt. Best known not only for his works inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, he also captures the worlds of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and much more in the Fantasy/SciFi genre. Each Lithograph of the three-piece set has a unique Remarque or sketch drawn on the bottom left corner, signed separately from the normal signature and a certification of authenticity.
This is a new copy of TheOneRing.net’s premier magazine tribute to The Hobbit! A collaborative effort between Topix Media Lab and your friends here at TheOneRing.net, it covers everything you need to know about The Hobbit movies from a fan perspective. Side-bars and feature articles, contributed by our own volunteer staff, include interviews, a feature on book versus the movie, articles on games and collectibles, a Middle-earth timeline, and much more! The high-quality, glossy paper used for this magazine is also packed with colorful pictures of cast and crew members, locations, collectibles, gorgeous fan art and a few exclusives! One thing that makes this truly a collector’s edition is that there are only two ads in the entire 82-page magazine.
Jerry Vanderstelt is also offering the winner of this Auction the choice of the frame-ready canvas or to have the canvas Gallery Wrapped. The two images displayed with this Auction show the raw, canvas form and also how the Gallery Wrap option gives it a mounted, more dimensional look. The canvas measures 18 x 24 inches, NOT counting the border that is designed to be Gallery Wrapped. Once it is Gallery Wrapped, the canvas will measure 18 x 24 inches. Please allow 2-3 weeks for completion. The work uses the finest materials available of archival inks as well as Breathing Color’s exclusive “Lyve” canvas and “Timeless” protective finish.
This is a NEW paperback copy of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien with a movie tie-in picture from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film released in December, 2012. This copy has travelled to DragonCon 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia and has found itself autographed by two Dwarves (William Kircher and Graham McTavish) for TORn’s Fundraiser Auction.