In 2011, fan volunteers MrCere, Quickbeam, Grimlock and Justin embarked on the first ever road trip across America streaming live from a TheOneRing.net themed truck the entire time and meeting fans at every stop. It was amazing to meet fans from all walks of life and was unforgettable to talk about how Tolkien impacts their daily lives. Fans at home came along for the ride day and night with live streaming video, Barliman’s chat room, and TheOneRing.net mobile phone to share stories, recommend local Tolkien landmarks, and win prizes from our sponsors. Over 3,000 fans met us in person and 250,000 fans watched online… which inspires us to do it again. But this year, we don’t have any corporate sponsors and we are leaning heavily on YOU the fans to make this year’s trip happen. As you know, not just gas is expensive these days. We have set up a GoFundMe.com page with levels of sponsorship starting at just $5! If you are willing to donate more, we have set up a series of perks (yea, just like PBS!) for each donation. For example, you can get an exclusive ‘Road to DragonCon’ t-shirt, or if you are insanely generous, you can snag an early ticket to our February 2013 Oscar Party! But wait…there’s more! We are going to be producing a short documentary available for free online after the trip in which we will highlight the supporters of our trip. We hope you will consider supporting us! Follow the link for complete details on the sponsorship levels. [Donate Today!]
This year’s 2012 Dragon*Con Charity Auction will raise money for the Georgia chapter of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). Tolkien fan and former Dragon*Con Tolkien Track director Melissa “Fiver” Kern and her husband Chris at projectfiver are collecting decorated Converse Sneakers to sell at the auction.
How can you get involved? If you find an artist to decorate the sneakers, projectfiver will supply the sneakers! All the decorated sneakers will then be put up for sale at the 2012 Dragon*Con Charity Auction held on Sunday, September 2 2012.
TheOneRing.net is set to invade Dragon*Con , the world’s largest Sci-Fi/Pop Culture convention, this Labor Day weekend (August 31st – September 3rd) in Atlanta, Georgia.
This years LotR/Hobbit guests include Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies, Craig Parker, and Sylvester McCoy.
Meet up with other Tolkien fans at the annual Evening at Bree event on Friday August 31st, hosted by Tolkien’s Middle-earth Track with music by Emerald Rose and a costume contest MC’d by Craig Parker. The Tolkien Track will also host fan film screenings, costuming panels, scholarly discussions, even open mic nights! Stop by TOR.n’s fan table to pick up a TOR.n t-shirt and try your hand at Tolkien trivia. And of course TOR.n staffers will be on hand to discuss all the latest information on ‘The Hobbit’ films.
For a complete list of Tolkien Track panels, click here.
Today Justin and Cliff host our *Live* webcast, covering all the exciting happenings in the world of Tolkien fandom! We just hit Chicago this past weekend at the C2E2 show, where our staffers Corvar & Entmaiden stood before record crowds to give a presentation on THE HOBBIT films in a larger room! Also on the hit list, we are excited that our reporter Larry Curtis is embedded on THE HOBBIT set down in New Zealand. Needless to say, we have many surprises up our sleeves for the coming year! Come join the TORn TUESDAY chat show and be part of the mischief. As always, you can participate and present your questions to show hosts Justin Sewell and Clifford Broadway (Quickbeam) starting at 5:00pm PDT — There’s a built-in Barliman’s chat room or come in via Skype in TheOneRing.net’s Stickam page. Check out our LIVE Event section right here every week! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)
What a great year! And things are about to get even more exciting! As we begin 2012 with anticipation that will continue to grow and grow, TORn staffer Justin takes us on a tour of all the events and activities TORn fans participated in during 2011. Read on!
Jim Beverly and his wife Holly Holt give a quick interview for the live broadcast of TheOneRing.net's coverage of DragonCon. A veteran of Iraq, Beverly credits J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for helping him recover after war injuries in 2003.
Enraged, his knee and hands wrecked by shrapnel from the grenade that infamously disintegrated the hand of a Time writer, the 19-year-old private Jim Beverly lay in his hospital bed.
“It was almost like it was a personal insult that a guy would throw that grenade,” Beverly said.
Teeth were missing, bandages covered wounds from minor to devastating. His Kevlar vest and helmet undoubtedly saved his life, absorbing most of the pieces of metal that would have pierced a lung and skull. He still seethed as a 2003 casualty of the war in Iraq, recovering in Kaiserslautern, Germany away from what was left of his unit being profiled as part of Time Magazine naming the American Soldier the person of the year in 2003.
