Tolkien Events 2010

[merpcon]

Tolkien Moot VI (previously MerpCon) will be taking place in Spokane, Washington, 2010, July 30th through August 1st.

The event includes noted Tolkien scholars and authors as guest speakers, games placed in Tolkien's world, food and more. Details will be posted at http://www.tolkienmoot.org, but for information on previous years (when it was still called MerpCon), check the site http://www.merpcon.org. Watch for more details in coming months.
Feel free to email for more information: webmaster at tolkienmoot dot org.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Happy New Year! 2010 is here, and it's time to start planning for the upcoming events.

The German Tolkien Society's Seminar will take place in Jena, Germany in late April or early May. The topic is "Tolkien and Romanticism". I'll add the exact date when it's available.

The DTG's annual members' event, Tolkien Thing, is scheduled for July 15 - 18, 2010, in Bad Hersfeld, Germany.

The Tolkien Society's Oxonmoot will be held in late September in Oxford, England.

Ring*Con will be in Bonn, Germany from October 15 - 17.

Details and additions to follow.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

...not to forget the very first Tolkien event of the year - the Birthday Toast! Please stand and raise a glass of whatever you choose to drink at 9 pm this evening with the words "The Professor!"

[The Might]

Too bad that Jena, Bonn and Bad Hersfeld are all a bit too far away from Karlsruhe for me to attend, although I have now discovered there is a local fans' gathering in Karlsruhe which I plan to attend from now on.

If anyone here happens to come from the Baden region, it would be nice to meet you there.

[davem]

Nice site relating to The Festival in the Shire event this August - with some interesting stuff. http://festivalintheshire.com/journal/index.html Check out the Daphne Castell interview with Tolkien from 1966:

He finds it surprising and pleasing that the “Lord of the Rings” has had such a success. It seems to him that nowadays almost any kind of fiction is mishandled, through not being sufficiently enjoyed. He thinks that there is now a tendency both to believe and teach in schools and colleges that “enjoyment” is an illiterate reaction; that if you are a serious reader, you should take the construction to pieces; find and analyse sources, dissect it into symbols, and debase it into allegory. Any idea of actually reading the book for fun is lost.

“It seems to me comparable to a man who having eaten anything, from a salad to a complete and well-planned dinner, uses an emetic, and sends the results for chemical analysis.”

[Bêthberry]

That interview is splendid. The extra details of Beruthiel are especially fun, as is hearing of Tolkien's two favourite parts of LotR.

Perhaps my favourite quotation is

Originally Posted by Tolkien

My heart is in my works, not on my sleeve.

[Lalwendë]

I'm outraged by the price for Festival In The Shire. £260 and no accommodation or feast?! You can get all that plus bed and board at Oxonmoot!

As for paying £50 for tickets to go and look at first editions, if anyone wants to come and look at some here you can have a special entrance offer price of £29.99, with a free cup of tea

[davem]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I'm outraged by the price for Festival In The Shire. £260 and no accommodation or feast?! You can get all that plus bed and board at Oxonmoot!

Its to keep the plebs out....

As for paying £50 for tickets to go and look at first editions, if anyone wants to come and look at some here you can have a special entrance offer price of £29.99, with a free cup of tea

(er, before the 'Treasure hunters' start getting excited may I just point out that the only 'First Editions' we have are The Sil & UT, & a A&U h/b set of LotR from 1965 - which does contain the first edition text, but is only worth about £75on a good day..... but Lal does still charge people £29.99 to see them......)

[Mithalwen]

These prices include general admission to the Festival, but not to the Collectors Exposition. The different entrance prices are geared toward different levels of interest; beginner to experienced, however we encourage you to become experienced by purchasing a Collectors Exposition ticket also.

Surely you can't buy experience (well... debatable)...but I can't believe gawping at first editions and even upmarket merchandising tat will do it..

After all the great thing about books is that they are essentially the same if you have a mint first edition or a tattered paperback..

[davem]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Surely you can't buy experience (well... debatable)...

That's the thinking behind this - as it was behind the Exeter College Tolkien do a few years back which cost £695 for a 5 day conference (but that was full board, admittedly). I'll be interested to see whether this gets many takers.

After all the great thing about books is that they are essentially the same if you have a mint first edition or a tattered paperback..

My feelings exactly. I get annoyed by the antics of this academic clique that seems to have claimed 'superior' knowledge. They seem to be doing exactly what Tolkien condemned in that quote I gave earlier:

He thinks that there is now a tendency both to believe and teach in schools and colleges that “enjoyment” is an illiterate reaction; that if you are a serious reader, you should take the construction to pieces; find and analyse sources, dissect it into symbols, and debase it into allegory. Any idea of actually reading the book for fun is lost.

Don't get me wrong - I've enjoyed a lot of the stuff Shippey, Flieger & Garth have produced, but what's coming out now is increasingly esoteric & obsessed with trivialities, & appears only in expensive journals & talks at these kind of conferences. Been there, done that, got the high price books (& they're all in the attic now). However, I recently bought a lovely old (1974) hardback set of LotR, (replacing a set I owned & lost in the early '80's) for £38, & am still basking in a nostalgic glow every time I look at them.

[davem]

Bad news for those planning to go to the Festival

http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/i/4453/

The Festival in the Shire which celebrates all things Tolkien, is a three-day event which was due to take place in August at Y Plas and was attracting celebrated academics, artists as well as film buffs and fans.


However, organiser Mark Faith said this week that the event had now been moved to Pafiliwn Bont, in Pontrhyfendigaid due to space problems and a lack of support from the Plas management.


Cllr Bob Dunn, who manages Y Plas on behalf of Machynlleth Town Council, said that every effort had been made to ensure suitable premises were offered for what he said was a “new and innovative event for the community”.


In a report, due to be discussed by Machynlleth Town Council at their full meeting next Monday (1 February), Cllr Dunn said: “Simply put, there is a difference of opinion between the organiser and us whereby he feels that we should virtually close Y Plas and its grounds for three days and turn them over to him, while I am mindful of the rights of our tenants and our public.”

New site is about 30-odd miles further away.....

[davem]

Festival Journal2 is up http://www.festivalintheshire.com/journal/index.html Nice stuff- Interviews with artists like Ted Naismith, John Howe, & one of my faves Rodney Matthews (for those unfamiliar with his work, here's his Rivendell)

[Guinevere]

The Tolkien Seminar in Jena (Germany) will be held from Friday 23.04.10 to Sunday 25.04.10
I'm looking forward to going there and meeting Esty again! This years topic "Tolkien and Romanticism appeals especially to me. I always had the impression that Tolkien had a lot in common with the romantics.

Here's a link to a schedule and abstracts of the lectures:http://seminar2010.kolbitar.de/

[Mithalwen]

This prompted me to look for news of the UK seminar - there isn't but I found a reminder of Tolkien Reading Day a couple of weeks away on 25th March.

[Laurinquë]

Hmm . . . I wonder. Any chance of a Tolkien event somewhere on the Pacific coast of North America this autumn or winter? Preferably in the vicinity of Northern California or Oregon.

I'm moving out of the uncultured land of Alaska and looking for a bit of fun.

[Faramir Jones]

Originally Posted by Guinevere

The Tolkien Seminar in Jena (Germany) will be held from Friday 23.04.10 to Sunday 25.04.10
I'm looking forward to going there and meeting Esty again! This years topic "Tolkien and Romanticism appeals especially to me. I always had the impression that Tolkien had a lot in common with the romantics.

Thanks for telling us about this, Guinevere! Could you let us know how you get on?

[Mithalwen]

The Tolkien Soc website claims that booking is open for Oxonmoot but isn't showing the costs atm...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Booking is certainly open now.
I just booked my place.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I guess I'm the only Downer who's a member of the German Tolkien Society, so I won't be meeting any of you there, sadly. However, there are so many wonderful people coming and interesting activities scheduled that I am very much looking forward to this (extended) weekend!

More infos: Tolkien Thing, July 15 - 18 2010

[Estelyn Telcontar]

It was a fabulous weekend! Tolkien people are such a wonderful bunch, the programme was interesting, and we all had a really great time! For those of you who live in or near Germany, I can only recommend joining the DTG, or at least starting by visiting one of the local "Stammtische" (smials) in your area.

Now the next event is coming up. Who's coming to Oxonmoot this year? Hookbill has booked, so have I.

If enough of us are interested and bring something appropriate, we could enter the costume competition as a group of "Wizards of Many Colours" - anyone want to join me? My new wizard costume might be just *slightly* non-canonical, but I did my best to fit the character into Tolkien's world.

[merpcon]

Originally Posted by Laurinquë

Hmm . . . I wonder. Any chance of a Tolkien event somewhere on the Pacific coast of North America this autumn or winter? Preferably in the vicinity of Northern California or Oregon.

I'm moving out of the uncultured land of Alaska and looking for a bit of fun.

well this is somewhat near there, Tolkien Moot 2010 is tsking place in Spokanee, washington August 13-15. Www.tolkienmoot.org

[merpcon]

Originally Posted by merpcon

Tolkien Moot VI (previously MerpCon) will be taking place in Spokane, Washington, 2010, July 30th through August 1st.

The event includes noted Tolkien scholars and authors as guest speakers, games placed in Tolkien's world, food and more. Details will be posted at [url] but for information on previous years (when it was still called MerpCon), check the site [url] Watch for more details in coming months.
Feel free to email for more information: webmaster at tolkienmoot dot org.

Actually a correction on the dates for Tolken Moot, it is taking place in Spokane Washington USA, August 13-15. Also this year the special guests are "Elven Singer" Rehtaeh, and she will be singing a new song from her upcoming 4th album (world premiere of this song), and published Tolkien author and essayist Michael Martinez will be speaking. There will also be another edition of "Raw Hobbit", youth Tolkien panel, and much more. Seats are neary full, so RSVP today. For those who can not make the event in person, it will once again be streamed live over multiple webcams, live audio sreaming, and interactive real time chat rooms for the Q&A sessions.

[narfforc]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

It was a fabulous weekend! Tolkien people are such a wonderful bunch, the programme was interesting, and we all had a really great time! For those of you who live in or near Germany, I can only recommend joining the DTG, or at least starting by visiting one of the local "Stammtische" (smials) in your area.

Now the next event is coming up. Who's coming to Oxonmoot this year? Hookbill has booked, so have I.

If enough of us are interested and bring something appropriate, we could enter the costume competition as a group of "Wizards of Many Colours" - anyone want to join me? My new wizard costume might be just *slightly* non-canonical, but I did my best to fit the character into Tolkien's world.

I will once again appear as Pallando.

But we don't want a gaggle of Gandalfs do we, we need another blue wizard and a brown one, a white and a grey.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Don't worry, Narffie, I won't come as a gaggle of Gandalfs, neither grey nor white. As a matter of fact, I won't come as a blue or brown wizard either. It is possible, you know, that there were wizards Tolkien forgot to mention in the books...

OK, we have you as blue, hopefully Hookbill as brown, me as .... - any other takers?

[narfforc]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Don't worry, Narffie, I won't come as a gaggle of Gandalfs, neither grey nor white. As a matter of fact, I won't come as a blue or brown wizard either. It is possible, you know, that there were wizards Tolkien forgot to mention in the books...

OK, we have you as blue, hopefully Hookbill as brown, me as .... - any other takers?

Balderdash the Bazaar......... Incognito the Indigo......... Guppie the Green......... Larry the Lavender....... Bumpkin the Pumpkin ..... come do tell.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

I'm actually planning on doing a Turin costume (complete with 'kick me' sign for my back ) for this years Oxonmoot. But I can abandon it and pull Radagast out if we're wanting a uniting of our magical Downer powers.

[Bêthberry]

Would this mean I would have to pack the wizard's hat as a "carry on"?

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Hmm. Seems my Turin costume has to be abandoned due to a helmet malfunction and a lack of 'can be bothered' on my part. Looks like Radagast is back on the cards if you guys want a wizarding theme.

[narfforc]

Hooky it would be perfect, we now need a grey, a white (Saruman pref) and another blue ............any takers.

[narfforc]

This time next week I'll be singing The Ballad of Gil-galad at some party in Oxford...

[Faramir Jones]

Here's a link to some photographs taken at that event:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/4590911.../oxonmoot2010/

[Guinevere]

thanks for the link! But sadly, I can't spot any Downers on these pictures... (I should especially have loved to see Esty's costume!)
On the other hand, the terrible illumination at the party makes it almost impossible to take decent pictures.

[narfforc]

Esty is on Pge 3, she is dressed in pink with pom-poms, also I think that Hooky has posted some on Facebook.

[Faramir Jones]

To back up narfforc, Esty is the one in pink with the pom-poms. You're quite right, Guinevere, that 'the terrible illumination at the party makes it almost impossible to take decent pictures'. This year was no exception.

[Guinevere]

Well, I never!!
I really didn't recognize her. Somehow I had expected a group of wizards...

[Bêthberry]

Oxonmoot seemed slower this year, but possibly that's because for me it was sandwiched between two weeks of intensive sightseeing with Estelyn Telcontar, both in England and in Germany.

I enjoyed Angie Gardner's lecture on materials for her forthcoming book on the Tolkien brothers and especially was delighted to see documents that the Estate will not allow to be published. Tolkien had a great sense of humour and a lively sense of fun. And Faramir Jones uncovered another historical horse story. (I think he belongs in Rohan, not Gondor--and I have been told to remove the Big Grin smilie here because it counts as an image along with the pictures. ) It was also a great delight to meet Anke Eissmann, the Tolkien illustrator. I've admired her work for several years and particularly like her depiction of female characters. In fact, I came home with prints of both her Luthien and Goldberry.

The highlight for me was seeing the fanflic Born of Hope on the large screen and listening to a talk by the director/producer and one of the actors. Seeing the orc latex face mask was neat. I wish I had been able to get a picture of one of us wearing it! Or handling that bow with arrows!

But I did get these shots.

The usual suspects, a smaller fellowship this year:




Hookbill, Estelyn, and Poison Ivy:




Behold the Pink Wizard, with Poocheroth, and an evil, red-eyed Radagast! That's Faramir's ear on the left and Squatter's on the right.

[Faramir Jones]

Thanks for putting up those photos, Bêthberry!

I liked the stories about your sightseeing, including with Esty, before you both got to the 'moot. I also spent some time in the UK before the 'moot, including a couple of days in Oxford. I managed to be part of a group shown around Merton College on the Thursday, which I found very impressive, knowing among other things that it was where Tolkien spent the last part of his academic career.

While I didn't go to Angie's lecture, I'll be very interested to read her book. Instead, I went to Dimitra Fimi's lecture on 'Tolkien and the Faries: Faith and Folklore'. (www.dimitrafimi.com)

Perhaps you're right about me here:

And Faramir Jones uncovered another historical horse story. (I think he belongs in Rohan, not Gondor--and I have been told to remove the Big Grin smilie here because it counts as an image along with the pictures. )



About Anke Eissmann:

It was also a great delight to meet Anke Eissmann, the Tolkien illustrator. I've admired her work for several years and particularly like her depiction of female characters. In fact, I came home with prints of both her Luthien and Goldberry.

I agree with you completely. I talked with her a little, enjoyed her company very much, and like you bought some of her prints.

I concur about Born of Hope, which can be easily accessed here:

www.bornofhope.com

It was nice to see and hear the accounts by some of the main people involved in it. Another highlight for me, however, was the Middle-earth spoof weather forecast, which can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Y0DY0zNzk

The main reason I go to the Oxonmoots is the people, my fellow Tolkien fans, including fellow Downers, both those I've met before and those I'll meet for the first time.