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Dragon Con 2021: Tolkien Panels and the Dragon Con Parade

Posted by on September 15, 2021 at 8:05 pm

Tolkien content has long been a staple of Dragon Con programming, and Dragon Con 2021 was no exception. Even with somewhat pared-down programming, Tolkien content was well-represented in the High Fantasy Track live programming, throughout the four days of the con.

The High Fantasy Track room filled up for Tolkien panels. Photo credit: Valdis Longbeard.

Topics for the Tolkien-related panels covered many aspects of fan interest. TheOneRing.net, represented by Kirsten Cairns (Greendragon), Rebecca Perry (Deej), and Jim Wert (Madeye Gamgee), talked about the upcoming Amazon TV series in “They’re Taking the Hobbits to Amazon!” The first episode of the show will premiere in the middle of Dragon Con next year, so who knows what may happen!

Staff members from TheOneRing.net, Kirsten Cairns, Jim Wert, and Rebecca Perry talk about the upcoming Amazon series. Photo credit: Valdis Longbeard.

“A Beginner’s Guide to the Second Age”, presented by panelists Constance Wagner, Jim Wert, and myself, gave a primer on the key happenings, characters, and themes in the Second Age of Middle-earth, to help fans get ready for the upcoming Amazon series. The same group of speakers returned the next day with “Facing the Long Defeat”. Using Denethor, Théoden, and Aragorn as case studies, the panelists and audience delved into the idea that Tolkien identified as the central theme of The Lord of the Rings: death.

Panelists Jim Wert, Constance Wagner, and Galadriel (Valdis Longbeard) talk about “The Long Defeat” at Dragon Con 2021. Photo credit: Emily Wert.

Saturday morning at Dragon Con always kicks off with the Dragon Con Parade. As with other aspects of the con, the parade had some safety-focused changes this year, including having fewer marchers participating. Tolkien cosplayers were still well represented, though, and carried the fandom’s banner yet again.

Tolkien cosplayers were well represented at the Dragon Con Parade in 2021. Photo credit: Emily Wert.

Tolkien-related discussion isn’t confined to Arda. The High Fantasy Track theme of the Trickster was explored in the panel, “Tolkien Trickster Tropes”. The panel looked at the Trickster archetype may have been at work in Tolkien characters. In “Tolkien and King: The Influence of High Fantasy on The Stand”, panelists Van Allen Plexico and Rebecca Perry discussed the connections between the work of Stephen King and J. R. R. Tolkien.

You know you’re doing well when Tom Bombadil (cosplayer Jim Wert) shows up for your Tolkien panel! Photo credit: Emily Wert.

Dragon Con has long been known for its excellent Tolkien content, ranging from popular film and now TV to scholarly panels. Dragon Con 2021 continued that tradition of strong Tolkien-related fan panels and large audiences and showing the undimmed interest in all things Tolkien.

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Author: Valdís is a classic nerd, with many geeky interests, but her life-long love of Tolkien rules them all. She was completely hooked the first time that she read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at age 8. Since then, she has read the books at least once a year, and delves into Middle-earth at every opportunity with a fervor that would make any dwarf proud. She also deeply loves Peter Jackson’s films, and defends them staunchly when need arises. When reality forces her out of Middle-earth, Valdís is a university professor, a wife, mother of two daughters, and servant to two cats.

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