It’s that time of year, when fans from the world over gather in downtown Atlanta, for a weekend for well-mannered frivolity. Or crazed depravity. Or, most likely, some combination of the two. This year, alas, coronavirus means no in-person DragonCon, which is sad for all those who are missing seeing friends there. But it’s great new for anyone who has never been able to get to Atlanta, as this year you can join the fun online! And there is PLENTY going on for fans of Middle-earth. Let’s take a look…
Staffers deej and greendragon will be taking part as ever, and TheOneRing.net’s panel will be online at 11.30am ET on Saturday (5th). There, deej and greendragon will be joined by High Fantasy Track assistant director Madeye Gamgee, who was recently lured into joining the TORn staff. We’ll be looking back on the past 12 months of Tolkien fandom, and looking forward to see what we can be excited about in the year ahead. (Spoiler: there’s actually rather a lot!)
Before that, on Friday evening at 8.30pm ET we’ll be hosting a Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (EE) watch along. Set up your own device, and we’ll all hit play together at 9pm precisely; and text chat along as we watch. AND earlier on Friday, you can catch a panel with none other than Nori, Ori, Bombur and Bifur: Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, Stephen Hunter and William Kircher will be appearing together to chat all things dwarvish!
There are lots of other things happening which will be of interest to Tolkien fans. Here’s a list of highlights of the con weekend, beginning this evening:
Tolkien Come to Virtual Dragon Con High Fantasy
Schedule 2020 (all times are Eastern Daylight)
| Thursday, Sept. 3 | ||
| 9-10 pm | Sylvester McCoy (from 2011) | D*C Classics |
| 10-11 pm | We Have Always Fought: Warrior Women in High Fantasy | D*C Fan Tracks |
| Friday, Sept. 4 | ||
| 10–11 am | Greg Hildebrandt Spotlight | D*C Main |
| 5:30–6:30 pm | Dwarves on the Loose!(Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher) | D*C Main |
| 8:30 pm onward | Watch-a-Thon! Fellowship of the Ring (hitting “play” together at 9 pm EDT) | High Fantasy track YouTube:https://youtu.be/zO3UAWQJX-4 |
| Saturday, Sept. 5 | ||
| 5:30-6:30 am | Greg Hildebrandt Spotlight (rebroadcast) | D*C Main |
| 11:30am – 12:30 pm | An Unexpected Virtual Party: the Latest News from Middle-earth from TheOneRing.net | High Fantasy track YouTube:https://youtu.be/dssLi0d5WpQ |
| Sunday, Sept. 6 | ||
| 4 – 5 am | Sylvester McCoy (from 2012) | D*C Classics |
| 11:30am – 12:30 pm | “The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien”: an Hour with Author John Garth | High Fantasy track YouTube:https://youtu.be/pgX1AeHrC4Q |
| 4 – 5 pm | Éowyn and Faramir: The Faces of the Fourth Age | High Fantasy track YouTube:https://youtu.be/v_0AhJiaUS8 |
| 6 – 7 pm | Hobbit Guests (from 2015) | D*C Classics |
| 7 – 8 pm | The Silmarillion in 60 Minutes (with costumes!) | High Fantasy track YouTube:https://youtu.be/iWxhNKw33XI |
| 8:30 pm onward | Hobbit Drinking Songs (with the Brobdingnagian Bards) | High Fantasy track. YouTube:https://youtu.be/EtKfDPR_tus |
All of this content is available on links. For DragonCon Classics, click here. For DragonCon Fan Tracks, click here. For DragonCon Main, click here. And for any of the High Fantasy track panels, see the specific links included above. Also be sure to check out the High Fantasy track’s Facebook page for further details, and all the other exciting panels they have lined up. (You can catch Madeye Gamgee talking Narnia, and greendragon talking The Witcher!) AND you’ll also want to check out opportunities for autographs and virtual meet and greets, from Jed Brophy, Adam Brown and Stephen Hunter! Click here for details.
And as if that weren’t enough… We are also excited to let you know that there WILL be TORn t-shirts available! You’ll be able to order them online, and we’ll be revealing the designs for 2020 in our panel on Saturday, 11.30am ET. So please join us then! We’ll also post links here for buying, after Saturday’s reveal.
It’s all happening at DragonCon 2020. We may not be able to gather in person, but we can still have merry meetings online; see you for panels, movie viewing, and more. Let the fun begin!
