It’s that time of year again! Summer grows old, the days are shortening toward fall, and geeks of all fandoms will soon descend on Atlanta, Georgia, for the wonder that is Dragon Con.
Dragon Con is the largest multimedia and pop culture convention, including science fiction, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, film and music. Long known ford offering excellent and varied Tolkien content, this year’s High Fantasy track includes a plethora of delights for the Tolkien-inclined fan. There will be several panels that will include Tolkien-related content, though they’ll also consider other authors and fandoms:
- “The Lure of the Prequel”: Constance Wagner will be one of the panel members, and may get into Tolkien’s great (unsuccessful) desire to publish Silmarillion works prior to the release of LotR, as well as the out of order filming of the Hobbit prequel given the world had already seen Jackson’s LotR.
- “Milton and Melkor”: panelists Constance Wagner and Jim Wert will consider themes and agendas of personified evil as portrayed in Milton’s iconic Paradise Lost, and Tolkien’s earliest mythologies of Middle-earth.
- “Kingdom of Dwarves”: David Wenzel, an approachable and winsome artist, best known for his graphic rendition of The Hobbit, will be talking about his work, including some dwarvish material and his newly book, Kingdom of the Dwarfs. For any not trying to march in or see the parade, this may be a good option.
- “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”: Joseph Campbell’s seminal work is a running theme for the High Fantasy track this year. Given the number and iconic nature of Tolkien’s heroes, it seems nearly inevitable that at least some will come up in this discussion.
- “Cave Geek’s Fun With Fantasy Maps”: Kfir Mendel works magic using primitive art methods in creating an array of fantasy maps on deerskin hides through pyrography. Some of his earliest maps include the LotR Middle-earth, as well as Thrain’s map from The Hobbit. Original Middle-earth and Narnia maps will be there on display, and the artist will probably bring examples from other worlds, too.
- “High Fantasy of Rankin Bass”: what those of us growing up in the 70’s and early 80’s remember, including some of the first screen adaptations of The Hobbit in 1977, and The Return of the King in 1980.
These are all in addition to the “official” Tolkien content in this year’s HF track:
- The Classics
- “Singing with the Elf Choir,” a choir workshop that includes getting ready for their annual performance at “An Evening in Bree”.
- An Evening at Bree, featuring the Celtic band Land Loch’d, the Elf Choir, our annual costume contest, and Middle-earth Meets the 80s dance party with the OneRing’s Deej spinning the tunes. Rumor has it that Goldberry and Prom Bombadil will be back as emcees.
- Hobbit Drinking Songs, featuring a boisterous hour with the Brobdingnagian Bards.
- Our Annual OneRing.net panel, this year focusing on information and speculation about Amazon’s upcoming Second Age series. Plus it’s TORn’s 20th birthday celebration.
- Special panels for 2019
- “The Sixty Minute Silmarillion“: a fun and definitely unauthorized overview of the Professor’s foundational work.
- “Galadriel: Lodestar of the Legendarium”: a celebration of one of the most central, mysterious, powerful, and long-lived characters in Middle-earth. This panel is presented by Constance Wagner, Jim Wert, and ME (Valdis Longbeard). I will be debuting a brand new cosplay!
- “Tolkien: the Man, Myths, and His Legend”: springing from the recent film biopic, and discussion of Tolkien’s early life and influences, and their effects on his fictional world.
- “More Than Just a Hearty Stew: Cuisine of High Fantasy”: food is part of what makes fantasy worlds feel like a home. The panel will explore some of those foods. Perhaps there will be PO-TA-TOES or lembas bread (and MORE lembas bread) in the offing!
Along with this official programming, Dragon Con attendees can keep an eye out for a few more things with Tolkien-ties:
- The Saturday Dragon Con Parade will once again include a Middle-earth section with wizards, dwarves, hobbits, elves, and probably more.
- The Strolling Lantern Elves, with even more singing as the wend their way through the Con crowds in search of ships to the West.
- Rumor has it that there may be a collection of Nazgul this year — probably not all nine — lurking around as many hobbits as they can find.
- Cosplayers, take note! Dont’t miss the annual Dragon Con Tolkien Photo shoot, which will happen on Friday at 3 pm in Woodruff Park. See here: https://www.facebook.com/events/267904797259971/
Sadly, we have not Middle-earth media guests to celebrate in 2019 (or actually any High Fantasy actors at all). Karl Urban will be attending for a couple of days, but will largely focus on his new Amazon superhero series, “The Boys”.
Once again, I (Assistant Director Valdis Longbeard) will be on hand to cover the goings-on at Dragon Con. If you’re in Atlanta, say “hi” if you see me! Watch the site for more coverage after Con!
Special thanks to Dragon Con Tolkien content guru, Jim Wert, for much help in preparing this post!
