# Tolkien Festivals



## Barliman Butterbur

This thread is to publicize various Tolkien-related festivals, lectures and events taking place around the world. Hopefully many of you will be able to attend them.

For openers:

The *Vacaville Middle Earth Festival* will be held in downtown Vacaville April 2-9, 2005.

Full details at http://www.thereporter.com/Stories/0,1413,295~30195~2520011,00.html

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## Astaldo

Unfortunately is alittle far for me.


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Denver fans to Toast Tolkien*

Xoanon @ 11:26 am EST

The Misty Mountains Smial Tolkien Society of Denver is planning a party of special magnificence to celebrate the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien on January 3rd. Food, drink, readings (bring your favorite to share) entertainment and fabulous prizes for kids and adults alike are all part of the program.

The Misty Mountians Smial will host a celebration of J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday on Monday, January 3, 2005 at the Celtic Tavern, 1801 Blake Street, Denver, CO, 303-308-1795. The festivities will start at 6:30 p.m. and last until a little after 9:00 p.m., the traditional time to toast "The Professor."

We will be serenaded by Marianne Goodland on the harp, will learn how to sing "Happy Birthday" in Elvish and will toast the professor in both English and Mandarin Chinese in honor of our sister-smail, Tol Eressea, in Taiwan! A generous buffet of hearty appetizers will be served.

Best of all, there will be mathoms for all and fabulous prize giveaways! Our Grand Prize will be Sideshow/WETA's High Elven Infantry Helm (this is a sold out item!) donated by our good friends at The Mathom House (www.the-mathom-house.com) who carry some of the best deals on weapon replicas on the internet.

Other fabulous prizes include a copy of "The Atlas of Middle-earth," personally signed by Karen Wynn Fonstad to the winner of our drawing, a beautiful, hand-made Hillman knife from Angmar forged by our very own president Walt, t-shirts, toys, posters, movie passes, books, and more!

Full details at http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1104078414

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Program will explore 'Lord of the Rings'*

WRENTHAM - Michael Drout, associate professor of English at Wheaton College, will present "Understanding J.R.R. Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings" at Fiske Library on Jan. 11. Drout has edited works with others and is currently working on a J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment.

Drout attributes the popularity of the Lord of the Rings to "the genius of Tolkien to invent the Hobbits and their world, because, where the epic tradition was elevated to tell the tales of kings and noblemen, the Hobbits are the everyman of the story. They are you and I ... and we follow them as they mediate this complex, terrifying and beautiful world."

Refreshments (lembas) are planned and registration is requested. Call 508-384-5440 or stop by the circulation desk.

Participants are invited to dress up as their favorite character and a prize will be given to the one voted best dressed. Group photos of those in costume will be taken to hang in the library. This program is supported with a grant from the Sweatt Fund.

This program is free, but canned-good donations will be gratefully accepted for the Wrentham Food Pantry.

Source: http://www2.townonline.com/bellingham/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=152165

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## Barliman Butterbur

*‘One Ring Celebration’: Jan 14th-16th 2005 at the Pasadena Convention Center*

The OneRing.Net presents ORC

Join the OneRing.Net for its ‘One Ring Celebration’ taking place Jan 14th-16th 2005 at the Pasadena Convention Center. There will be multiple events including screenings, charity auction, fashion/costume shows, art, and appearances by members of the movie cast. Confirmed Guests: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Bruce Hopkins, John Rhys-Davies and more!

Visit: http://www.oneringcelebration.com for more information.

Source: http://lordoftherings.net/film/news/torc.html

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## Barliman Butterbur

*The ORC in Pasadena*

Celebriel provides a late-night overview of some of the many highlights of the Friday main session and events at ORC:

The first panel featured supporting stars Jarl and Jorn Benzon, Sandro Kopp, and Peter Tait. In response to fan questions, they discussed fellow cast members they most enjoyed working with, including Christopher Lee ("just to be on the same stage with him is amazing"), Viggo Mortensen ("he's a fantastic artist, diverse in creativity, inspiring...and he is beautiful as well!"), Elijah Wood (Peter Tait said Elijah was so nice he restored his faith in Americans), and Ian McKellan.

They confirmed that the night shooting at Helm's Deep was indeed grueling, but felt that it was the Helm's Deep experience that really generated the sense of camaraderie that carried the cast and crew through the rest of the production. They were also amazed by the dedicated Helm's Deep extras, who "worked in their offices during the day and came to work in Helm's Deep at night."

Fan favorite Bruce Hopkins discussed how his role as King Theoden's sidekick evolved, saying he wished he had been part of the film from the beginning. He explained that because the Pelennor Field scenes had already been filmed when he became involved, the film never makes clear Gamling's fate. Bruce had not had a great deal of experience riding horses, so he really appreciated being filmed on the "phony pony," a WETA-created model horse that could exactly mimic the movements and gaits of real horses. When this model broke, they went back to a lower tech one on springs. 

Complete article at http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1105813679

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## Barliman Butterbur

*LOTR exhibition setting records in Sydney*

19 January 2005

The irresistible pull of Middle Earth has the Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy on track to eclipse Star Wars as the most popular museum exhibition staged in Sydney.

The city's Powerhouse Museum is drawing crowds in significant numbers with more than 65,000 people mirroring the record-breaking seasons in Wellington, London and Boston.

"The Lord of the Rings is averaging 3000 visitors per day and there are no signs of these numbers abating," Powerhouse Museum director Dr Kevin Fewster said.

"Only the Star Wars exhibition in 2002-03 attracted similar crowds."

The exhibition, which runs from December 26 to March 31, features an array of costumes, props, weapons, armoury and prosthetics and visitors can hear exclusive interviews with cast, crew and director Peter Jackson.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3161163a1860,00.html

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## Barliman Butterbur

*The One Ring Celebration*

ORC: Alternate Track Report
Xoanon @ 9:50 pm EST

JPB writes: The One Ring Celebration is known by many to have brought the celebrities to the fans in a series of fun and informative conversations, Q&A sessions, and autograph/photo opportunities. All of these were hosted in the large. main auditorium of the Pasadena Convention Center.

But those who ventured down a long, narrow hallway found a second experience no less rewarding than that in the auditorium. The hallway opened to a well-lit two-story indoor courtyard. If the auditorium was the place where celebrities spoke to the fans, the courtyard was where the fans spoke to each other. Offered for sale in this courtyard in a series of booths were clothing, artwork, jewelry, collectibles and books, sometimes signed and sold by the artists themselves. You could even sign up for tours of the New Zealand film locations! Just to the left of the entrance was the art room, where artists both professional and amateur showed their love of Tolkien's works, and their ability to portray them. At the far end of the courtyard, a group of people could always be found huddled around computers, playing the latest LotR-themed game. Just before that, the always-crowded Sideshow Toys booth presented a museum quality exhibition of many of their works. Finally, at the end of the courtyard were the two rooms hosting the alternate tracks of programming.

Full article at http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1106189423

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## e.Blackstar

Vacaville? Donde esta Vacaville? Never 'eard o' it?


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Lord of the Rings Exhibition at London’s Science Museum*

By Lindsay Robinson

Dumb? But very popular

A storm of publicity, both good and bad, greeted the recent opening of The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Exhibition at London’s Science Museum, but with record-breaking advance ticket sales of nearly 20 000, its success was assured.

Accusations that hosting the exhibition represented a ‘dumbing-down’ of science in Britain were levelled in the press, but matter little to the thousands of Tolkien fans – some 260 000 - who are expected to attend the exhibition during its four-month run.

The Science Museum is the only European venue for the Te Papa-developed collection before it departs to Singapore, Boston and Sydney, and for many tourists has become as essential to their London itinerary as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

Complete article at http://www.thread.co.nz/article/645

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Coolidge Corner Theatre Presents Complete LOTR*

Xoanon @ 6:55 pm EST

*The Coolidge Corner Theatre presents THE COMPLETE LORD OF THE RINGS!*

Fri-Sat Jan 28-29 @ midnite

Special FREE screening!
THE HOBBIT

Before Peter Jackson tackled J.R.R. Tolkien's epic story of Middle Earth, the television animation team of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass (known for their classic stop-motion holiday specials like RUDOLPH, FROSTY and MAD MONSTER PARTY) took a stab at THE HOBBIT - and produced a cel-animated version that is a certified classic. Featuring the voices of Orson Bean, Otto Preminger, and John Huston as the first great version of Gandalf, the film also terrified many a 9-year-old's psyche with a truly creepy lizard-like Gollum (voiced by the legendary comedian Brother Theodore). And let us not forget that final battle with the evil dragon Smaug. "I am strong, Strong, STRONG!"

Special 11pm shows in February Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS (showtime subject to change based on our other features, please check week before show to confirm)

Fri-Sat Feb 4-5 - THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Fri-Sat Feb 11-12 - THE TWO TOWERS
Fri-Sat Feb 18-19 - THE RETURN OF THE KING

All shows $6

Or buy special 3-pack of tickets, one for each film, for only $12! Includes first seating at all shows!

Oh sure, you know THE LORD OF THE RINGS films by now - they're only the biggest phenomenon in popular film since, oh, STAR WARS (and they are better, too). And while you may have worn out those special edition DVDs (we have), there's still nothing like seeing these stunning cinematic epics ON THE BIG SCREEN! Don't miss another chance to live the riveting, exciting, and amazingly lush (thank you New Zealand! You are the perfect Middle Earth) adventures of Frodo, Samwise, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry & Pipin, as they form an unbreakable fellowship with one mission: to destroy the one true ring before it falls into the hands of the uber-evil Dark Lord Sauron - or gets snatched away by the lovably treacherous Gollum, perhaps the best CGI character to yet grace the screen (take that Jar Jar!). Sure, it may be three epic films, but as Gimli says "It still only counts as one", and this is one you must see once again on the GIANT screen! Come in costume for free popcorn and a chance to enter our prize drawing for collectable Tolkien stuff! (note: films are showing in original theatrical versions)

The Coolidge Corner Theatre is located at 290 Harvard St. in Brookline, Massachusetts. For more information about the theatre, visit coolidge.org 

Source: http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1106697315

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Out of the basement, the 'One-Man Lord of the Rings'*

By Chris Jones
Tribune arts critic

Charlie Ross' "The One-Man Lord of the Rings," Middle-earth in a matter of minutes, packed out the Apollo Theatre at lunchtime Sunday even as treacherous snow blanketed Lakeview's actual terra firma. Ring-heads — or is it Ring-worms? — are not easily deterred. No sir. They have the sacrifices of Frodo to honor.

Sam's too.

Ross' jolly one-man trek to the end of Gandalf's beard actually has a quasi-official stature. *The famed actor Ian McKellen saw the show at one of its many prior incarnations in Vancouver, liked it a lot, and (if Ross is to believed) essentially called off Peter Jackson's lawyers.* Thus Ross now appears able to do his splendid Gollum impression with impunity, snagging whatever fun and profit may come his way henceforward.

Good for him. It's a very enjoyable hour, wherein Ross holds an audience rapt, sans props, set, costumes or physical effects. Granted, these are folks who could tell you the name of Theoden's sword, or Tinuviel's beloved, or the entomology of an Ent, but that makes them no pushover. Ross is immediately accepted as a fellow believer — even though he injects some merciful notes of parody for the rest of us — and he's appreciated for his commitment to the cause.

As with Ross' "One-Man Star Wars" (which continues at the Apollo in repertory), the appeal of "The One-Man Lord of the Rings" lies in a certain cultivated naivete. There's no doubting this young Canadian's sophistication as a performer capable of pushing his body around all the corners of an endless epic, and his mouth around some 40 or so characters.

But his appeal also lies in a fan thinking that he could do this show himself, in his own basement. Back when he was 12. There's a lot of "dah de de dums" when it comes to re-creating the score and lots of sound effects involve spittle. But then again, Ross' multifarious voices are bang on the money. And he also re-creates some of the movies' visual tricks in wry, witty detail. The fall of Denethor is especially amusing. I won't spoil things by saying anything more.

Don't even think about going unless you know the movies in some detail. Not even for a date. Not worth it. Your relationship would never recover. But if you're a Ring thing yourself — or have a teenager with an entirely healthy Tolkien addiction — this is your one-man show.

Source: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/reviews/critics/mmx-g2b1p4ptm.6jan24,1,773955.story

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Ross ably crams 'Rings' trilogy into 60 minutes*

February 7, 2005

BY JEFF VRABEL Staff Reporter

When you're a guy who makes a living with a successful show that spoofs and lauds "Star Wars" in the span of an hour, what do you do for a sequel? Take a crack at another giant movie franchise, clearly. And Charles Ross' "The One-Man Lord of the Rings" picks up where his "One-Man Star Wars" left off, condensing all 89 or so hours of Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning trilogy into 60 minutes of sweaty, reverent physical comedy.

It's a little bit of a tougher sell. By its grownup and ludicrously detailed nature, "The Lord of the Rings" is light years more challenging than the relatively kiddie-fied "Star Wars." The source flicks are considerably longer (Ross smartly cribs a few scenes from the "Special Edition" DVDs, explaining, "If you haven't seen them, what the hell are you doing here?") and about 25 years newer. "Star Wars" also has the benefit of being more ingrained in the culture; even passing fans probably recognize the gag about the smooch between Luke and Leia being creepy. ("One-Man Star Wars," incidentally, still continues in repertory with "Lord of the Rings" at the Apollo.)

Full review at: http://www.suntimes.com/output/theater/cst-ftr-lotr07.html

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## Barliman Butterbur

*We're all geeks now - hobbits keeping us at the museum*

By Alexa Moses
February 8, 2005

Australia is a nation of science-fiction and fantasy film zealots, judging by the Powerhouse Museum's attendance record.

Its Lord of the Rings exhibition, inspired by the trilogy of fantasy films, has attracted the largest crowds in the museum's history, averaging 3000 visitors a day during the school holidays. This puts it well on the way to being the museum's most popular exhibit.

January was the museum's biggest month on record, with more than 110,000 visitors.

The museum's second-most popular exhibition was the Star Wars exhibition in 2003, which attracted 214,077 visitors. This was followed by Special effects: the secrets behind the screen in 1996, seen by 133,863 people.

"Popular culture by its nature is popular," said the museum's director, Kevin Fewster.

"Film is an instant, fleeting experience, while this exhibition allows you to come in and see the elements of the film. I can stand in front of the object and engage with it, like any other object."

Full article at http://www.smh.com.au/news/Arts/Wer...m/2005/02/07/1107625138640.html?oneclick=true

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Middle Earth for sale on eBay!*

By Lucy Sherriff
Published Friday 11th February 2005 14:17 GMT

Do you have unusually pointy ears, are your feet larger than average and slightly hairy, do you wander around caves, muttering to your self about nasty little hobbitses? If so, you might be interested in this lot, up for auction on eBay.

Planet-Tolkien.com, the place where people dream in High Elvish, is up for sale. The seller, Tarrant Costelloe, offers the site, a year's hosting, its source code and member base of over 5000. He says that the site gets an average of 60,000 visitors a day, and that the income from advertising alone is worth more than the £3,000 minimum bid.

The site is the UK’s largest leading resource on J.R.R. Tolkien, says Costelloe. Features include:

Polls, forums, journals, local and council news, private messenger, e-mail, chat, buddy-lists, reviews, real-time weather system based on the areas in middle-earth (which directly effects their spending of Mithril, a virtual currency that is automatically given to members on each unique login), art galleries, biographies, profiles, poems and so much more!

You're probably wondering why he is selling this Middle Earth paradise. Well, the time has come to move on, he says. "I am sorry to let her go, but, the time has come...for someone else with more energy to take over and give the members the new features and time they deserve."

Full article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/11/tolkien_site_ebay_sale/

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## Atanóne

Vacaville is in California, between Sacramento and San Francisco.

Barliman, where do you find these tidbits? I have attempted to call the contacts for more information on the Vacaville event with no luck. Do you happen to have any more information?


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Little Theatre of Stoughton presents 'The Hobbit'*

From J.R.R. Tolkien, the prelude to the epic "Lord of the Rings" is coming to the stage and you could be part of the adventure. "The Hobbit" follows Bilbo Baggins on a quest to help the dwarfs take back their mountain; overrun by a vicious dragon. On the way getting captured by goblins, tied up by spiders, almost smashed by trolls and of course meeting Gollum and then finding the ring.
"The Hobbit," from Tolkien's "the Ring," will be presented March 18-20, at Stoughton Cinema Pub, Stoughton Square. Times are Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Saturday and on Sunday, March 19, 1 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 seniors and students with group rates available.


Tickets are available at Pages, Bob's Market, Andy's, Cinema and from cast members.
For more information, call 781-433-7133 or visit their web site at www.stoughtontheatre.com

Source: http://www2.townonline.com/easton/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=202627

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## Barliman Butterbur

*College set to stage musical 'The Hobbit'*

Wednesday, March 16, 2005
By KARL M. REXER
[email protected]

ENFIELD - Like most of us, Fred Sokol enjoyed the recent "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, but he's the first to admit he's not a hard-core fan.

"I'm not a major Tolkien freak, that's for sure," said Sokol, a professor of drama at Asnuntuck Community College. "I'm not someone who would normally do 'The Hobbit.'"

But that changed when he came across the script for a musical version of Tolkien's story while considering projects for "House Lights Up," the college's theater group. "I was looking through scripts, and this really caught my eye," he recalled. "I respond intuitively, I consider my pool of talent, and this seemed to be a good match."
Advertisement


The musical version of "The Hobbit" was written in 1972, and Sokol said it will be the first full musical ever produced at the college. 

Full article at http://www.masslive.com/holyokeplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1110962798110471.xml

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Alan Lee Attends 'Interaction' Con*

Xoanon @ 11:19 am EST

*Alan Lee to be special Guest at Interaction – Oscar®-winning artist worked as conceptual artist on Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.*

Fantasy artist Alan Lee, who won an Oscar for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will be a special guest at Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention, which takes place in Glasgow this August. Mr Lee, who appears in cooperation with the Tolkien 2005 conference, will attend the convention on Saturday 6 August and Sunday 7 August.

“Alan Lee’s artwork has been associated with J.R.R. Tolkien for two decades, from his inspired illustrations for the centenary edition of the books to his acclaimed work on the movie trilogy,” remarked Interaction Co-Chair Colin Harris. “It is entirely appropriate therefore that we should invite him to be a special guest at Interaction in the same year that we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of the final volume of the trilogy. I would especially like to thank Harper Collins for their help in arranging Alan Lee's participation.”

A native of London, Alan Lee studied at the Ealing School of Art. After graduation he became a freelance illustrator doing mostly book covers. He came to greater public attention in 1978, however, when in collaboration with Brian Froud, he published Faeries. To celebrate the centenary of J.R.R. Tolkien’s birth, Harper Collins commissioned Lee to produce 50 paintings to illustrate a special hardcover edition of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, thus beginning his association with the author. He subsequently illustrated Tolkien’s Ring by David Day and the 1997 edition of The Hobbit. His next book, The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook, is due out from Harper Collins in September 2005.

Lee spent over six years working with Peter Jackson on the three Lord of the Rings movies, creating the distinctive look of Middle Earth. The three movies won the Hugo Award, Science Fiction’s highest honours, in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2004 he received an Oscar for his work as part of the art direction team on The Return of the King. He has also worked with Terry Jones on Erik the Viking and with Ridley Scott on Legend.

Interaction is the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention and takes place in the Scottish Exhibition and Convention Centre from 4 to 8 August 2005

Read the entire article at http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1111249160

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## Barliman Butterbur

Atanóne said:


> Vacaville is in California, between Sacramento and San Francisco.
> 
> Barliman, where do you find these tidbits? I have attempted to call the contacts for more information on the Vacaville event with no luck. Do you happen to have any more information?



Alas, no.  

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## Theowen

Information on the Vacaville event:

http://www.middleearthfestival.com/sch.html


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## Atanóne

Many Thanks Barliman and Theowen!


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Calling All Hobbits*

By nick rockel

Publish Date: 31-Mar-2005

The $27-million stage adaptation of British author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, premiering next February in Toronto, is holding local auditions for its 50 roles. Although producer Kevin Wallace isn’t familiar with Vancouver’s theatre scene, he said that the high calibre of Canadian acting talent made casting the entire show in this country a logical choice. “At the heart of the production, there is a need for a very strong core group of classical actors,” Wallace told the Straight by phone, noting that the young thespian who ends up playing Frodo will be someone you’d expect to see treading the boards as Hamlet.

During the open call this Saturday (April 2) from 9 a.m. to noon at the Westin Grand hotel, casting directors are looking for a wide range of performers, from stilt-walkers and gymnasts to singers versed in classical and so-called folk styles. Wallace said he was excited about “the different ethnic influences which are in the Canadian music lore, and which we will definitely want to tap into.”

The Irish-born former stage and TV actor agreed that the eye of Hollywood notwithstanding, LOTR has remained a Commonwealth franchise, with its New Zealand–made movie version and Canuck theatrical incarnation. “There’s no doubt that the Canadian sensibility is close to the British sensibility,” he said, “and therefore it [Canada] feels like home ground.”

For more info on Saturday’s auditions, visit www.lotr.com/ or call (416) 208-0637.

Source: http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=9179

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Hobbit Stage Play in Wellington*

Xoanon @ 10:19 am EST

linuxelf writes: International Concert Attractions in Association with Andrew Kay and Associates by arrangement with Anketell Theatrical Productions adapted and produced by permission under license from The Saul Zaentz Company, Berkeley, CA, USA. Based on the book by J.R.R Tolkien

ICA, AKA are delighted to announce the World Premiere Season of The Hobbit. In April 2005, The St James Theatre Wellington, will be transformed into Middle Earth.

Experience, live on stage, throughout New Zealand and Australia, the phenomenon that is JRR Tolkien's creation...The Hobbit !

Join Gandalf The Grey, Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield on an enthralling theatrical journey with music and sets that will take you from a Hobbit Hole in Bag End, through The Misty Mountains, Rivendell, Mirkwood, Lake Town and deep into the lair of Smaug, the Dragon of Lonely Mountain. Encounter over 40 different characters including Dwarves, Trolls, Elves, Goblins and Wargs. Out riddle Gollum... Be saved by Giant Eagles and..... Battle gruesome Spiders on this expedition through the extraordinary imagination of JRR Tolkien"

Ticketek site to get your tickets: [premier.ticketek.co.nz]

Tickets range from $70 -> 39.50.. see the ticketek site for a breakdown of ticket prices.

Source: http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1112455155

===============================

For some reason, I find it absolutely amazing that none of our TTFers (at least that I know of) are from New Zealand!

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## Barliman Butterbur

*'Lord of the Rings' auditions draw 2,000*

By JIM SLOTEK - Toronto Sun

Andrea Moseanu auditions for a part in the Lord Of The Rings stage musical. - Craig Robertson, SUN

TORONTO - Outside the Estonian House on Broadview Ave. yesterday, 2,000 wannabe hobbits, orcs and elves lined the parking lot and driveway, like the hordes of Sauron preparing to attack Gondor.

Okay, actually, they were more like a lot of high school and college kids who cut class for an American Idol-like lottery shot.

The prize: A role in the Lord Of The Rings musical that makes its world premiere in Toronto next March 23.

Full article at http://jam.canoe.ca/Theatre/2005/04/09/989001.html

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Hobbits and elves--'Lord of the Rings' fans welcome at 'Middle Earth Festival'*

By Andrea Garcia

VACAVILLE - The legends of Middle Earth will be walking the city streets when Vacaville honors J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."

Making its premiere appearance and attracting patrons from as far as France, the "Middle Earth Festival" is descending into Vacaville this weekend complete with hobbits, elves and trolls.

"The idea was hatched by Betty Lucke, a board member of the Downtown Vacaville Business District and owner of The Otter Nature Store, and the district decided to go ahead with this idea," said Steve McKay, executive director of the event. "It also coincides with J.R.R. Tolkien's 50th anniversary of 'The Fellowship of the Ring.' "

According to McKay, this family event is the first of its kind, and is luring traffic from across the world, even though the only form of publicity was a stack of postcards distributed locally.

"We have people traveling from France, Nevada and San Diego," he said. "And we got a phone call today from RTL television; it's a European station with 29 channels in Europe."

Produced and organized by the Downtown Vacaville Business District, which supports 400 businesses in the small area, the festival will provide interactive events, kids' games, chalk drawing, trivia contests, a free showing of "Fellowship of the Ring" after sunset, an Elvish parade, a Middle Earth look-alike contest and a "Lord of the Rings" costume ball.

Full details at http://www.dailyrepublic.com/articles/2005/04/08/entertainment_top_stories/ent02.txt

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## Snaga

For Tolkien fans in the UK, or those with the means to travel, Tolkien 2005 looks excellent. Its hosted by the Tolkien Society, will be held in Birmingham in August and has an array of well-known Tolkien experts coming.

Here's a link. If anyone is going, post here!


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Hobbits are coming*

April 17, 2005

The little people are back in New Zealand and are heading Down Under - this time in a spectacular stage production.

The theatrical version of The Hobbit, the prelude to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, written by author JRR Tolkien last night made its world premiere in Wellington.

The show will be brought to Australia in June, after its New Zealand tour.

The Hobbit, which has been made on the back of the Academy Award winning film Lord of the Rings produced by Kiwi director Peter Jackson, is also set in New Zealand.

The Lord of the Rings tells the story of hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who embarks on a journey with a group of friends to uncover a treasure in Tolkien's fantasy land.

The show was rehearsed in Melbourne and features a mostly New Zealand cast with a few Australian actors.

It is the work of Melbourne director Christine Anketell, Australian film production company ICA Australia and Hobbit Theatrical Productions.

Read the whole article at http://www.theage.com.au/news/Arts/Hobbits-are-coming/2005/04/17/1113676637259.html

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Theatre: Ho-hum Hobbit*

John Smythe: *Adaptation stumbles when moving from puppets to actors*

• The Hobbit
• Based on the book by J R R Tolkien
• Adapted and directed by Christine Anketell
• At Westpac St James, Wellington, until June 5
• Then on tour to Auckland, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth

What better place than Wellington, home of Middle Earth, to premiere Melbourne-based Christine Anketell's stage adaptation of The Hobbit, the everyman-as-hero Tolkien tale that spawned the more epic Lord of the Rings trilogy.

About eight years ago in Australia, the multi-skilled Anketell conceived and direc ted a puppetry-based adaptation that toured nationally over three years to reportedly great acclaim. Now her passion for the story has perpetrated this large scale stage production, scheduled to play until April 2006, moving from Wellington to Auckland then Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

The transition to full human proportions demands greater emphasis on the central characters' gut-level emotional responses to the dramatic events they encounter. And given the fantasy dimension, it's reasonable to expect the archetypal characteristics of each role, and their inner feelings, will permeate their physical performances.

As with commedia dell'arte, the costumes and makeup need to blend with each actor's physicality to distil and express those all-important emotional states. But they don't. The costumes and make-up, beards and wigs especially, mask in the wrong sense. The actors inhabit them like ordinary humans, in no way transformed into new states of being.

Something's awry when George Henare's functional Narrator has more personality and expresses more genuine feeling than anyone else. He does a great job of investing his expositional and descriptive lines with excitement, even bursting into song on two brief occasions, which seems odd in isolation.

For the rest, the adaptation, directing and performance styles simply fail to get the tale off the ground. Greater liberties have yet to be taken in translating and honouring what is told on the page into what can be shown in action on the stage.

Ross Anderson brings a valid persona to the reluctant hero, Bilbo Baggins, but time and again the text and direction fail to effectively mark key moments of, for example, surprise, shock, fear, trepidation, bewilderment or joy. Even his constant hunger is just talked about but not shown.

Lumbered with the worst false beard I've seen in years and a somehow silly blue velvet cone hat, and too often directed to enter downstage and take low status placings on stage, Stuart Devenie has a hard job achieving the authority, grandeur and mystique required of Gandalf, even this early in his wizardly career. Again, his character quirks are not effectively developed and dramatised.

As the head dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield, Michael Carmen does finally get to impress with a distinctive character but, through no fault of his own, James Wright's Balin remains a cipher. In a brief cameo, despite more uninspired physicality and an inexpressive face mask, Richard Cawthorne captures an essence of Gollum.

Luciano Martucci's Elrond and Paul Canlan's Elven King are clean-shaven and clearly spoken. But with the bearded ones, because the voices are all male and amplified via radio microphones through the loudspeakers aloft and because the actors remain quite static during the long dialogue sequences, it's often hard to work out who's talking.

The permanently open-mouthed reptilian Goblins have no personality or credible presence and therefore provoke no fear. An impressively giant eagle is choreographed to simply demonstrate itself by dance and in no way creates the illusion that it has flown the fellow travellers to safety.

There is no device, let alone illusion, employed to visually indicate when Bilbo is invisible by virtue of the infamous ring. And it's hard to feel an astute mind has crafted the script when it includes lines like: "He slipped on his ring and went down, down, down."

The climactic sword fight is laughable. Despite having a core cast of 11 plus five supernumeraries, they are choreographed to attack imaginary opponents with swordplay that looks like practice-fighting by numbers. There is no fight-director credited and one should be engaged without delay (along with a skilled mask maker and movement coach).

Also lacking is a strong sense of thematic purpose in the central quest to recover the stolen treasure. It's one thing for the director to note, in the programme, the wisdom of Thorin's dying words * "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world" * but quite another for her to ensure it informs the way the story is performed.

On the upside the giant spider and Smaug the dragon, designed by Dan Potra who also designed the versatile set and questionable costumes, and Jon Buswell's lighting, are very impressive. But the underlying shortcomings finally render this Hobbit largely ho-hum. Those who left at interval missed the best bits but those who stayed did not see the production's potential realised.

Source: http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=11845&cid=6&cname=Arts

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Theater review: 'Hobbit' is fun, but fails to thrill*

Rohan Preston, _Star Tribune_
May 1, 2005 

There is a scene in "The Hobbit" when the trolls are attacking the hobbit party on its way to retrieve its people's treasure from the monster Smaug. The helmeted trolls, looking like weird bugs, move in unison. On a dolly-like thing, they wheel their leader around. He peers out of one eye, urging his automaton soldiers to destroy the hobbits.

The scene, vivid and surreal, is set in Middle Earth, but it feels like something from our own world. Out of North Korea, specifically, with militaristic movements and fascist overtones inching toward that sense of the bewildering and incomprehensible.

Of course, this is a show for youngsters, and there's much that is satisfying in the Children's Theatre production that opened Friday. ("Funny and fun," is how one 7-year-old summed it up.)

But the production appeals to their adult chaperones as well, even if Gilly McInnes' stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's well-known story often feels workmanlike and not particularly inspired.

In "The Hobbit," staged by Whit MacLauglin, Bilbo (Nathan Christopher in a sweet and fresh-as-spring performance) has been chosen by wizard Gandalf (Richard Ooms) to go to the realm of the monster Smaug to steal back his people's gold. Bilbo would rather take tea than treasure, but he is persuaded to burgle the monster.

On the way, Bilbo and his party pass through territory controlled by elves, trolls, spiders, goblins and other strange dwellers of this realm; one day he finds a ring that makes him invisible. After many adventures and battles, he succeeds in his quest. Success leads to infighting among the dispossessed and Bilbo becomes a hero a second time when he makes peace.

There is much commendable work here, including by Emil Herrera as the Wood Elf King, Tony Papenfuss as Thorin and Reed Sigmund as a big-bellied goblin. Physical-acting genius Dean Holt turns in another amazing performance as people-eater Gollum.

Still, there were times on opening night when I felt keenly aware that I was at the theater instead of in the performance. Some of that, I believe, has to do with MacLaughlin's pacing, which is not always spritely, and with the sense of fright I was looking forward to. "The Hobbit" creatures are funny, but they were not particularly scary for my companion. Of course, I was hoping to get some chills too.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5378684.html

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Here's a 5-Star Event for All You Lucky Birmingham Brits!*

Fun at Park!
Xoanon @ 9:16 pm EST

Our friends from The Tolkien Society send this along.

*Fun at Park!
14th-15th May 2005

This year’s Tolkien Weekend at Sarehole Mill is not only going to be even bigger than last year but it’s also the first event in the recently founded Shire Country Park.*

*Fun at Park* is the sixth Tolkien Weekend event, and is now an annual item in the Birmingham calendar. Sarehole Mill itself was the "original" for the Mill at Bywater in the Shire in The Lord of the Rings and is a central point in the Shire Country Park (see below for details) that covers the River Cole, Chinn Brook, as well as Moseley Bog, the Dell and the Dingles where JRR Tolkien played as a child.

*Fun At Park will include:*

Displays from The Tolkien Society and Birmingham Libraries about Tolkien’s life and works within the mill itself.

A miller demonstrating his craft with the mill running, and Sarehole Mill will be open for extra hours.

Dramatised scenes from The Lord of the Rings by Shire Productions on walks within Moseley Bog.

A "Tolkien Tent" featuring, Elvish lessons, displays from Isengard (the local Tolkien group), calligraphy, storytelling, Games Workshop will be running demonstration games, henna art and Waterstones bokshop.

A "Poetry Pavilion" featuring local poets, readings from The Lord of the Rings, and folk-songs.

Guided walks taking in Tolkien’s childhood haunts, the local ecology, and history of the Cole Valley.

Discover the Birmingham’s Two Towers, Perrott’s Folly and the Water Board Chimney and visit them on a vintage bus.

*On the green and around the mill there will also be:*

A Farmers’ Market,

Birmingham City History Bus, Rangers Caravan, Moseley Bog Group & Hall Green Historical Society displays

Environmental displays and information from the local groups that made up the Tolkien Partnership.

Woodland craft demonstrations

Morris dancing on Sunday from the Moseley Morris Dancers

Pony rides, Face-painting, miniature railway, wand workshops and archery practice for kids young and old with the Bowmen of Swanshurst

Refreshments, naturally enough for hungry hobbits.

Wythall Amateur Radio will be providing a special event station chatting to people across the world.

Displays and goods from: RSPB; British Woodcarvers Association; bead, clay or crystal jewellery; Birmingham Bee-keepers; Canal Art; City Craft; Dough Crafts; garden ornaments; Guild of Spinners and Weavers; Guild of Model Wheelwrights; Halfpenny Green Vineyards; Historic Herbs; knitted crafts; natural soaps; The Old Tool Store; South Birmingham Photographic Society; Spinners, Weavers & Dyers Guild; straw craft; watercolour paintings; wildlife information; WWF; wooden goods and toys; Worry Bears and Hobbits.

*Shire Country Park, Founded 5th January 2005*

In 1998 The Tolkien Society, the Moseley LNR Conservation Group, the River Cole and Chinn Book Conservation Group and The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country, began working towards the creation of a Country Park in Birmingham.

For the last six years these groups have worked with Birmingham City Council to organise and host the annual "Tolkien Weekends" each May at Sarehole Mill. The mill was chosen as it had been a childhood haunt of author JRR Tolkien and in later years became a prototype for the mill at Bywater that features in The Lord of the Rings. It is also thought that Moseley Bog influenced Tolkien’s description of the Old Forest that borders The Shire, and other areas of Middle-earth

Now in the year that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the complete publication of The Lord of the Rings the groups’ first aim has been achieved with the founding and public launch of the park two days after Tolkien’s birthday. At the same time The Birmingham Tolkien Group, made up of representatives of the main groups involved in setting up and overseeing the park project, was formally incorporated.

*Cllr Michael Wilkes (Birmingham, Hall Green) said:*

"Representatives of local organisations, the Tolkien Society and the City Council working together as The Birmingham Tolkien Group have succeeded in their initial aim of establishing ‘The Shire Country Park’ in recognition of J.R.R. Tolkien and the cultural inheritance of a truly ‘precious’ area. The Park includes Sarehole Mill and links the relevant pieces of land together, making it easier to conserve for future generations of local people and visitors alike."

*Richard Crawshaw, a trustee of the Tolkien Society, said:*

"Founding the park is the first step towards creating a centre dedicated to the author. The local community and key groups in the Hall Green area have lobbied long and hard for formal recognition for Tolkien and his association with the district."

*What is the Shire Country Park?*

The Shire Country Park incorporates Sarehole Mill and the Millstream Project, which covers the four-mile long green walk along the River Cole and the Chinn Brook and includes The Dingles, other areas that are not directly joined to the walk are Moseley Bog Local Nature Reserve, The Dell, Priory Fields, Scribers Lane, Trittiford Mill Pool, Chinn Brook and Sarehole Mill recreation grounds, Burbury Brickworks and The John Morris Jones Walk Way. Other areas may be added in the future.

Photos can be provided showing Councillor Michael Wilkes (Birmingham Hall Green), Richard Crawshaw (Trustee of the Tolkien Society), Councillor John Alden (Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture), Pete Bennett (River Cole Group) and Penny Marriott (Park Ranger) at the launch of the Park in Moseley Bog.

Source: http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1115255761

Barley


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## Penngaladh

> For the fourth time Tolkien-Fans from all over the world will gather, this time in the Esperanto Hotel Fulda, Germany. The date is: October 7.-9.2005
> 
> *Opening Houers*
> Friday, October 7, 2005: 12 – 24
> Saturday, October 8, 2005: 9 – 24
> Sunday, October 9, 2005: 9 – 18
> 
> *Our 4th Convention*
> ...will take place at the Esperanto Hotel in Fulda. The Esperanto Hotel is a brandnew 4-star-hotel and offers all conveniences of its kind, like several restaurants and bars, pool, sauna, solarium, work-out facilities, hairdresser, shopping area and cocktail bar. Additional information and less expensive accommodations can be found on the webpage Tourismus-Fulda.de
> 
> The Convention area inside the hotel consists of a very beautiful main auditorium, lots of smaller rooms, lounges and galleries. To make sure that you won't miss any of the events taking place, a meal package can be obtained. So you can stay at the hotel all the time, including dinner (buffet, drinks are not included) on Friday and Saturday as well as lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
> The combination of collective living, dining and Convention-experience will create a very special atmosphere. After a long Convention day you'll meet at the bar for a drink, celebrate at one of the numerous room-parties or relax at the pool. We want you to have a wonderful experience at Europe´s biggest Lord of the Rings event to date.
> 
> The best costumes will be awarded at the Fancy Dress, and at the Art Show you'll be able to marvel at drawings, paintings and other artifacts. Then we have around 10 people who are bringing you the latest workshops, lectures and other interesting stuff from the worlds of Middle Earth.
> 
> Furthermore, several LotR related companies will be present with their exhibitions. And so on... And what is most important: our Lord of the Rings guests with their Q&A and autograph-sessions.
> 
> *What else?*
> Well, there's music videos, video clips, lectures, trivia show, fan-made videos, costume processions, workshops, and more. Last but not least, we would like to encourage you to bring your costumes along - it would be great if as many fans as possible would appear in their Lord of the Rings attire!!!
> 
> *Great Costume Contest at Ring*Con 2005 in Fulda *
> Enter the Costume Competition at Ring*Con 2005 and win great prizes!
> To assure that everything can be coordinated in the best possible way, a registration is obligation.
> 
> Since we'll only have time for a limited number of participants, a registration or application does not guarantee a participation in the finals!
> 
> *Stars at the Ring*Con:*
> Sean Astin - Samwise Gamdschie
> John Noble - Denethor
> Craig Parker - Haldir
> Mark Ferguson - Gil-Galad
> Peter Tait - Shagrat
> Stephen Ure - Grischnakh, Gorbag
> Thomas Robins - Deagol
> Jonathan Harding - Erestor/Dinendal
> Daniel Reeve - Calligraphist
> Sandro Kopp - ???
> Marc B. Lee - Master of Ceremonies


 
For further information: http://ringcon.de/main.php?lang=en


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## Ingwë

Tolkien Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (this is the place where Gil-Galad was born  ) 

Here is the thread in the Bulgarian Tolkien Forum:
*http://bgtolkienforum.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2260*


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## Barliman Butterbur

Ingwë said:


> Tolkien Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (this is the place where Gil-Galad was born  )
> 
> Here is the thread in the Bulgarian Tolkien Forum:
> *http://bgtolkienforum.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2260*



A neat-looking site indeed but alas, the cyrillic alphabet is reduced to question marks on my browser.  

Barley


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## Ingwë

Barley said:


> A neat-looking site indeed but alas, the cyrillic alphabet is reduced to question marks on my browser.
> 
> Barley


 

Barley, can you see this:

*Уважаеми съфорумци!
Имам удоволствието да ви съобщя за първия съвместен проект между Българския Толкин Форум, Университет Арменелос и Исторически музей - Пловдив: Толкин Фест 2005! 
В началото на лятото, вероятно 3-ти, 4-ти и 5-ти юни, в Пловдив ще се проведе семинар, засягащ творчеството на Джон Роналд Руел Толкин, на който се надяваме да обединим голяма част от Толкин обществото в България с една-единствена цел - да се опознаем, да се поучим от себе си и да обменим опит!
Мероприятието ще се проведе в зала "Съединение" в центъра на град Пловдив, като събитието ще включва лекции, с водещи - деканите от Университет Арменелос, игри с въпроси с участници, подготвени предварително за дадена тема; конкурси от Арменелос и Българският Толкин Форум на теми, съответно - "Писмо до Средната земя" и "Втория конкурс в Скокливото пони"*

We can use _ë, é, ±. _I suppose you see them. What about the cirilic now?


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## Barliman Butterbur

Ingwë said:


> Barley, can you see this: XXX What about the cirilic now?



Sorry Ingwë, it just comes out as question marks and punctuation marks.  

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Lord of The Rings Musical Rakes in Over $3 Million in Advance Sales*

by BWW News Desk

With over $3.15 million in ticket sales, Toronto's Lord of the Rings musical is shaping into the box office behemoth it was expected to be.

Yesterday, The Lord of the Rings added almost $800,000 in internet ticket sales to $2.37 million in advance group sales. Before the box office officially opened this morning at 9 AM, the number of tickets sold had reached the 40,000 mark, according to The Toronto Star. With 9 months until the show's opening date, it is anyone's guess as to just how many millions the megamusical will pull in.

John Karastamatis, director of communications for Mirvish Productions (which is presenting the show as part of its 2005-2006 subscription season), was elated. "We're excited with the response so far and we're confident that (yesterday), when we open the more traditional forms of ticket buying — phone sales and theatre box office — we'll have an even bigger day." "This is much bigger," said Karastamatis, referring to the $1.3 advance that Broadway's The Lion King earned in 2000 through concurrent internet, phone and box office sales.

The full story is at http://www.broadwayworld.com/printcolumn.cfm?id=3247

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Tolkien Festival Report & Pics*

Xoanon @ 6:57 pm EST

Tolkien Festival
Click for more images

Amatire writes: Hi, I just thought you might be interested in a little info on what the 6th Annual Tolkien festival at The Shire Country Park Birmingham was like.

I think probably the most important thing to tell you about (in case you have not heard yet) was the display talking about the plans for Moseley village centre. To commemorate the life of JRRT and the establishment of the new Shire Country Park, Tim Tolkien (I'm not sure how he's related, great, great nephew or something?) has designed a huge metal statue of Treebeard which will stand in the central island of the village green. This is really exciting, because until recently there was little to indicate to the public that Tolkien had had anything to do with Birmingham. But this statue and the new Park at Sarehole, both show the City Council is finally giving Tolkien some recognition and that they appreciate the value he can have to tourism in the city. Bizarrely the Council have stated that it must be taller than a lamppost so that it will stand out. So according to the plans it will be between 25-30ft tall, and almost as wide. Treebeard will be carrying two passengers; one in each hand: not Merry and Pippin this time, but JRR and his brother Hilary as they were as children when they were growing up in the area. On the ground will be scattered leaves in silver or green (steel or brass), which will be inscribed with personal dedications and can be bought either by contacting the statue organisation directly ([email protected]) or by auction on EBay. There were also plans on display to create a gate for part of the new Tolkien Trail based on Bilbo's front door, with the doorframe carved to resemble the One Ring.

A number of LOTR characters acted as stewards, including two rather intimidating Nazgûl and the official Tolkien Society Hobbits. Though out of the four of them, I only came across Pippin, trying to answer the infuriatingly difficult quiz questions on the 'win an Elrond Goblet set' competition.

The Shire Productions company gave performances of extracts from the Lord of the Rings in the atmospheric setting of Moseley Bog. Vintage busses took people on tours of the local landmarks associated with JRRT, including the Two Towers, (Perrott's Folly and the ornate Victorian water tower) and St Phillip's Grammar School.

The full (and entertaining!) article is at: http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1116284243

Barley


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## Ingwë

Barliman Butterbur said:


> Sorry Ingwë, it just comes out as question marks and punctuation marks.
> 
> Barley


 
*Уважаеми съфорумци!
Имам удоволствието да ви съобщя за първия съвместен проект между Българския Толкин Форум, Университет Арменелос и Исторически музей - Пловдив: Толкин Фест 2005! 
В началото на лятото, вероятно 3-ти, 4-ти и 5-ти юни, в Пловдив ще се проведе семинар, засягащ творчеството на Джон Роналд Руел Толкин, на който се надяваме да обединим голяма част от Толкин обществото в България с една-единствена цел - да се опознаем, да се поучим от себе си и да обменим опит!
Мероприятието ще се проведе в зала "Съединение" в центъра на град Пловдив, като събитието ще включва лекции, с водещи - деканите от Университет Арменелос, игри с въпроси с участници, подготвени предварително за дадена тема; конкурси от Арменелос и Българският Толкин Форум на теми, съответно - "Писмо до Средната земя" и "Втория конкурс в Скокливото пони"*

...Means

*My dear friends!*
*I will tell you about the first project of the Bulgarian Tolkien Forum, online Tolkien University of Armenelos and the museum of Plovdiv - Tolkien Fest 2005! *
*At the beggining of the summer, probably on 3, 4 and 5 of June, we organize a seminar about the book of J.R.R. Tolkien; we hope we team up with all Tolkienologist in Bulgaria because we want to talk about Tolkien with other Tolkienologists and we want to exchange experience with You. *
*The Fest will be in the house 'Saedinenie' at the center of Plovdiv. There will be lectures with the leaders of Armenelos, games, competitions about 'Letters to the Middle earth' and the 'Second competition of the Prancing poney'*


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## Barliman Butterbur

Ingwë said:


> ...Means
> 
> *My dear friends!*
> *I will tell you about the first project of the Bulgarian Tolkien Forum, online Tolkien University of Armenelos and the museum of Plovdiv - Tolkien Fest 2005! *
> *At the beggining of the summer, probably on 3, 4 and 5 of June, we organize a seminar about the book of J.R.R. Tolkien; we hope we team up with all Tolkienologist in Bulgaria because we want to talk about Tolkien with other Tolkienologists and we want to exchange experience with You. *
> *The Fest will be in the house 'Saedinenie' at the center of Plovdiv. There will be lectures with the leaders of Armenelos, games, competitions about 'Letters to the Middle earth' and the 'Second competition of the Prancing poney'*



Ah! Thank you! It's wonderful to know that Tolkien is such a presence in Bulgaria! 

Barley


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## Ingwë

Barliman Butterbur said:


> Ah! Thank you! It's wonderful to know that Tolkien is such a presence in Bulgaria!
> 
> Barley


 
Yeah, but it is pity that I can't go there. My school year ends on 15th of June.  
But my friends will go.


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## Barliman Butterbur

*Hey Yew Texans — This'ns*

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Houston Lifestyle & Features


June 3, 2005, 1:48PM

One true exhibit unites faithful Rings fans
By LOUIS B. PARKS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

To the Tolkien faithful, the names are sacred or profane.

The Precious. The Tower of Orthanc. The Mirror of Galadriel.

Frodo. Gimli. Sauron.

Creations of fiction, they have become the stuff of legend.
DETAILS

What: Opening night of The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition.

Where: Houston Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive

When: 11:30 p.m. June 3

What to expect: Celtic music, sword-fight demonstrations, horses in armor

Exhibit admission: First entry (sold out) is at 12:01 a.m. Saturday; successive entries every 15 minutes. Last entry is at 6 a.m., but ticket holders can remain in the exhibit as long as they want. Tickets are time-coded: You cannot enter before the specified time.

Freebie: Poster to the first 250 people

Costume contest: Judging begins at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. No weapons — real or fake — allowed.

Admission: $17.50 for adults; $14.50 for ages 3-11 and 62 and older.

Reservations: www.hmns.org or 713-639-4629; 713-639-4603 for Spanish.
EXTRA
• Photos of items on display
• Museums use pop-culture magnets to draw audiences

It's no surprise to find the vast and detailed artifacts of Middle-earth and its peoples displayed in a museum with all the care and seriousness of an anthropology exhibition. After all, for many, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is as real as ancient Egypt.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition, opening at midnight June 3 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, has strongly affected the record crowds that have flocked to see it wherever it has played.

"When we opened the doors in London, we had people crying in front of Frodo," said Az James, the touring exhibition manager.

Extreme? Not for those who watched and rewatched the nine-plus hours of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and read and reread the book before that. To the Tolkien faithful, standing at a dramatic display of the Shards of Narsil — the shattered blade that hewed the Ring of Power from evil's hand, bringing an era of peace to Middle-earth — can be a religious experience.

The impact is made greater by the large-scale, highly dramatic presentation of this exhibition, originally created by the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, with the partnership of New Line Cinema and the approval of director Peter Jackson.

From the impressive entrance between bigatures (large-scale miniatures) of the Argonath — two mighty statues of ancient kings — to the darkened room encasing The One Ring of Power and from the hulking evil of Sauron's armor to the delicacy of Elf Arwen's riding clothes, the exhibit is a dense immersion in all three films, created with a flair for visual impact.

The detail work of the items is, in most cases, astounding. The body of the slain Boromir used to film him floating over a waterfall looks ready to rise from the dead. The armor and weaponry of a dozen Middle-earth races feel ready for genuine battle. The crowns of Elrond and Arwen appear suitable for real Elf nobility.

Items from the films are complemented by more than a dozen television monitors with short documentaries featuring Jackson, the actors, costumers and effects specialists. Most of these highlight the groundbreaking high-tech or clever low-tech ways filmmakers tricked the eye.

Interactive exhibits demonstrate techniques used in the films. The most attention-grabbing allows visitors to see their size altered to Hobbit height.

The exhibition is big. It arrived in 70 crates. It takes up three exhibit halls of the museum. Anyone with a passing interest should expect to spend an hour seeing the exhibit. For fans, three hours is more realistic.

"There are about 450 objects," said James, but that number is deceivingly small because one "object" may be several items. For example, the 17 buckles of the Riders of Rohan are counted as a single object.

The actual number of items is in the thousands. Most are the genuine artifacts — oops, props — used in making the movies. Aragon's clothes are the items worn by Viggo Mortensen. The sword Glamdring on display is the one wielded by Ian McKellen as Gandalf. And so on.

"Costumes are the ones worn by the actors," said James. Of course, since the stars were normal-size people with normal-size costumes, the displayed costumes of Frodo and Gimli are those worn by smaller stand-in doubles.

Not all the items on display were in the movies. Many of the creatures and objects in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were special effects. Treebeard and the cave troll both were digitally created on screen, so large sculptures were created for the exhibition.

The authenticity of most of the items in the Lord of the Rings exhibit caused the original exhibition in New Zealand some problems when many items had to be returned to the film company to complete the third movie.

The three movies were all shot together over about 18 months in New Zealand. New Zealand's Te Papa museum began working on the exhibit before the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, was released. The exhibit opened Dec. 18, 2002, the same day the second movie, The Two Towers, had its world premiere at a theater just down the street in Wellington, New Zealand. After the second movie came out, the cast and crew were called back to shoot additional footage for the third movie, The Return of the King.

"When they were doing the additional footage or the pickup shots for the third film (in early 2003), we had to give the objects back to them," James said. "Then (when the shots were completed) they gave them back to us."

The Lord of the Rings exhibit continues through Aug. 28.
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HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Houston Lifestyle & Features
This article is: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/art/3209033 

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Hey Yew Texans in Houston — This'n's Fer Y'All!*

*PJ's Stuff Has Come to the U.S.!*

June 3, 2005, 1:48PM

*One true exhibit unites faithful Rings fans*

By LOUIS B. PARKS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

To the Tolkien faithful, the names are sacred or profane.

The Precious. The Tower of Orthanc. The Mirror of Galadriel.

Frodo. Gimli. Sauron.

Creations of fiction, they have become the stuff of legend.

*DETAILS*

What: Opening night of The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition.

Where: Houston Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Drive

When: 11:30 p.m. June 3

What to expect: Celtic music, sword-fight demonstrations, horses in armor

Exhibit admission: First entry (sold out) is at 12:01 a.m. Saturday; successive entries every 15 minutes. Last entry is at 6 a.m., but ticket holders can remain in the exhibit as long as they want. Tickets are time-coded: You cannot enter before the specified time.

Freebie: Poster to the first 250 people

Costume contest: Judging begins at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. No weapons — real or fake — allowed.

Admission: $17.50 for adults; $14.50 for ages 3-11 and 62 and older.

Reservations: www.hmns.org or 713-639-4629; 713-639-4603 for Spanish.

*EXTRA*

• Photos of items on display
• Museums use pop-culture magnets to draw audiences

It's no surprise to find the vast and detailed artifacts of Middle-earth and its peoples displayed in a museum with all the care and seriousness of an anthropology exhibition. After all, for many, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is as real as ancient Egypt.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition, opening at midnight June 3 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, has strongly affected the record crowds that have flocked to see it wherever it has played.

"When we opened the doors in London, we had people crying in front of Frodo," said Az James, the touring exhibition manager.

Extreme? Not for those who watched and rewatched the nine-plus hours of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and read and reread the book before that. To the Tolkien faithful, standing at a dramatic display of the Shards of Narsil — the shattered blade that hewed the Ring of Power from evil's hand, bringing an era of peace to Middle-earth — can be a religious experience.

The impact is made greater by the large-scale, highly dramatic presentation of this exhibition, originally created by the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, with the partnership of New Line Cinema and the approval of director Peter Jackson.

From the impressive entrance between bigatures (large-scale miniatures) of the Argonath — two mighty statues of ancient kings — to the darkened room encasing The One Ring of Power and from the hulking evil of Sauron's armor to the delicacy of Elf Arwen's riding clothes, the exhibit is a dense immersion in all three films, created with a flair for visual impact.

The detail work of the items is, in most cases, astounding. The body of the slain Boromir used to film him floating over a waterfall looks ready to rise from the dead. The armor and weaponry of a dozen Middle-earth races feel ready for genuine battle. The crowns of Elrond and Arwen appear suitable for real Elf nobility.

Items from the films are complemented by more than a dozen television monitors with short documentaries featuring Jackson, the actors, costumers and effects specialists. Most of these highlight the groundbreaking high-tech or clever low-tech ways filmmakers tricked the eye.

Interactive exhibits demonstrate techniques used in the films. The most attention-grabbing allows visitors to see their size altered to Hobbit height.

The exhibition is big. It arrived in 70 crates. It takes up three exhibit halls of the museum. Anyone with a passing interest should expect to spend an hour seeing the exhibit. For fans, three hours is more realistic.

"There are about 450 objects," said James, but that number is deceivingly small because one "object" may be several items. For example, the 17 buckles of the Riders of Rohan are counted as a single object.

The actual number of items is in the thousands. Most are the genuine artifacts — oops, props — used in making the movies. Aragon's clothes are the items worn by Viggo Mortensen. The sword Glamdring on display is the one wielded by Ian McKellen as Gandalf. And so on.

"Costumes are the ones worn by the actors," said James. Of course, since the stars were normal-size people with normal-size costumes, the displayed costumes of Frodo and Gimli are those worn by smaller stand-in doubles.

Not all the items on display were in the movies. Many of the creatures and objects in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were special effects. Treebeard and the cave troll both were digitally created on screen, so large sculptures were created for the exhibition.

The authenticity of most of the items in the Lord of the Rings exhibit caused the original exhibition in New Zealand some problems when many items had to be returned to the film company to complete the third movie.

The three movies were all shot together over about 18 months in New Zealand. New Zealand's Te Papa museum began working on the exhibit before the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, was released. The exhibit opened Dec. 18, 2002, the same day the second movie, The Two Towers, had its world premiere at a theater just down the street in Wellington, New Zealand. After the second movie came out, the cast and crew were called back to shoot additional footage for the third movie, The Return of the King.

"When they were doing the additional footage or the pickup shots for the third film (in early 2003), we had to give the objects back to them," James said. "Then (when the shots were completed) they gave them back to us."

The Lord of the Rings exhibit continues through Aug. 28.

Source: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/art/3209033 

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## Barliman Butterbur

*Russian Tolkien Fan in Court After Killing Role-Play Opponent*

The trial of a J.R.R. Tolkien fan who killed his opponent during a role-play fight has begun in Ekaterinburg, the NewsRu.Com website reported Wednesday.

Russian fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy books often stage role-play fights in full armor using plastic or metal weapons, but this is the first death reported in the history of Siberian “Tolkienists”.

Alexey Zhivaev, 31, broke the rules of the contest when he hit his opponent, 16-year-old Oleg, on the head with his sword. The teenager was wearing no protective helmet.

The defendant, head of the Urals Historical Fencing Club, says his opponent was not quick enough and that the teenager hit himself against the plastic sword. Oleg was taken to hospital and soon died of head injuries. It was later revealed that the older man’s sword was 1.5 times longer than Oleg’s.

Alexei continues to take part in staging fights.

He fully admits his guilt and has already paid the estimated $1,400 in moral damages to the dead teenager’s parents. The final verdict is expected on June 22, NewsRu reports.

Oleg’s parents are not calling for a severe sentence for the killer of their son, NewsRu adds. Oleg’s father also used to take part in the role-plays.

Source: http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/06/22/tolkien.shtml

Comments, reactions, responses, discussion?

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