 Well, I'm Back from Bilbo's Birthday Party
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Sep. 28th, 2008 @ 09:07 pm 
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I am complete. I had the most spectacular geek weekend of... dare I say, my life. It was definitely THE event of the year. It was A Long Expected Party and sheer joy!
It's funny. Ever since I was a kid, I was fascinated by small places. One of my favorite D&D characters was a tiny little Halfling (aka Hobbit) called Rat. He was mischievous little character.
When I saw the cartoon The Hobbit, I fell in love. My character came to life, as did my interest in Lord of the Rings.
About five years ago, I started writing songs for the Brobdingnagian Bards' CD, Memories of Middle Earth. I noticed a pattern in my writing. Most of the songs were about hobbits. Hobbits captured my imagination. I even wrote a hobbit birthday song for Bilbo Baggins, so hobbits could have their own birthday song. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever be blessed with an opportunity to sing the song for him, on his birthday, in front of a gross of hobbits. This weekend, I did just that.
The Brobdingnagian Bards flew off to The Shaker Village in Kentucky for three days of hobbity fun. The Shaker Village was a perfect setting for The Shire. The buildings just had that "feel". The event barn where the BondFire and Hall of Fire were held felt right out of Gondor, immense.
Thursday night's BondFire kicked off with Mother Nature telling an engaging story of how hobbits almost didn't have a Winter. Gandalf and Bilbo reenacted several scenes from the book, with their own unique twists. Gandalf told his own story. And I had the pleasure of kicking off the weekend solo, playing many of the songs I wrote for Memories of Middle Earth.
Gandalf told me afterward, it was the perfect beginning to the weekend. He didn't know how it would be topped... but it was.
Friday, we woke up early. I caught a tantalizing hint of Michael Drout's brilliance as he talked about the Anglo-Saxon influence on the Lord of the Rings. It sparked my imagination with excitement.
At noon, the Brobdingnagian Bards with Michelle Hedden kicked off lunch with some music. Folks gathered in the grass with the wind blowing cool air, as they ate. We had lunch and then I headed off to the Brandywine.
There were about a hundred of us who took a boat ride down the Brandywine River. The weather was perfect. Birds flew through the valley. We talked and just enjoyed the flow.
When the boat landed, I joined Bilbo and his Fellowship as we hiked back to the Shake... The Shire. It warmed up a bit, and I had a little too much sun. But the thought of ice cream propelled us up the hill to relaxation. Then I took a short nap before the Hall of Fire that night.
The Hall was once again alight with excitement. There was harp music, poetry, stories, more skits, a costume contest, songs by Kate Brown, and then the Brobdingnagian Bards finished the evening out with a few songs we never get to play. The whole evening was even better than the last.
Saturday, I woke early and hiked to Farmer Cotton's for breakfast, so I could make it in time for Michael Drout's entire discussion on Anglo-Saxonny and J.R.R. Tolkien. It was fantastic. It fired me up to re-read the books and to even brave The Silmarillion again. I have yet to make it through that book. But dang it, I'm gonna try!
At lunch, we played some more music. Then that afternoon, I joined my friend Cara for a photo shoot and some great conversation around The Shire. It was a pleasant, relaxed afternoon.
When we arrived at the party site, I was blown away.
A facade of Bag End was constructed that was absolutely beautiful. The signs and stage and tables, and energy... People arrived and were just as excited. We were about to recreate Bilbo's Birthday Party from Fellowship of the Ring. It was everything you would've expected. And what an honor to be able to play music for that awesome event!
The night drew by with hobbity fun, dancing, sing-alongs, and of course, lots of great food and drink. Then as the eve came to a close, Bilbo took the stage and made his speech.
"PROUDFEET!", the entire audience shouted when Bilbo thanked the Proudfoots for attending.
There were baffled dismays as Bilbo stated, "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
Then "Goodbye." The lights dropped out, followed by brilliant, flashing lights. Bilbo Baggins had vanished. Everyone screamed in fright and were lost in chatter as we took the stage to a play few more final songs for the weekend.
We finished the evening. Everyone was excited, but they filtered away slowly back to their hobbit holes for good night's rest.
I couldn't go to sleep. Fortunately, I didn't have to. Lo and behold, I found Bilbo, Gandalf, Frodo, and a few friends sitting around Bag End, reminiscing the weekends' climax, which we all agreed topped the whole weekend. That evening's festivities made Bilbo's Birthday Party real to me. It was a Magical event.
We sat there, and talked under the stars and cool night air. I played a few songs to expectant, relaxed ears, as we all reveled in the magic. Eventually, I decided no matter how excited I was, I needed sleep. I asked their permission to sing one final song, "The Ring of Hope".
I didn't realize how perfect that song would be in that setting out in front of Bag End. But as I sang about Bilbo, then Gandalf, then Frodo, we were all moved and touched by the incredible story that J.R.R. Tolkien brought to our lives.
That evening, in particular, brought it all home for me. It was perfection, a moment I will be telling my children around a campfire one day as I keep Lord of the Rings alive for the next generation.
While it was a moment of moments, I can only hope that one day we will do it all again. Then we shall all gather in story and song in front of the green door of Bag End and peacefully announce, "Well, I'm back."
Originally published at Marc Gunn .com. Read. Interact. Breathe. It's easy; it's free. |
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| From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) miari |
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September 29th, 2008 02:14 am (UTC) |
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It sounds like a wonderful time. I'm glad you had fun:)
That sounds absolutely amazing!!
Sorry I missed you while you were in Kentucky!! ((HUGS))
wow, i wish i could have been there! sounds awesome!
Wow, that sounds so unbelievably fun! :D
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| From: | madladyred |
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September 29th, 2008 02:41 am (UTC) |
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how perfect!
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oooooh, I wish that had more pictures on their website, but what i saw of them was GORGEOUS. that was a perfect setting. what a brilliant idea. glad you had fun! glad you go to play there!
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 02:44 am (UTC) |
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Re: how perfect!
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the pictures will be coming soon, i'm sure.
That sounds amazing :-D You describe it so well I can picture it vividly in my mind, though I would have love to have been there myself.
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 12:42 pm (UTC) |
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thanks
Sounds great! Thanks to a teacher in highschool who was also a huge Tolkien fan, I made it to read Lord of the Rings as well, although I consider the Dutch translation horrible, if I look back on it now. Hobbits are my favorite characters too. Shame I haven't met one yet, but now at least I can say I know someone who did. And "Memories of Middel Earth" is one of my favorite albums.
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 12:42 pm (UTC) |
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:) Thank you!
I wish I could have been there. I have been on an LOTR kick for the past couple weeks. I am most definitely a Took:-p
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 12:42 pm (UTC) |
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yup. it was brilliant!
It was great to see you again in person there, Marc.
I apologize again for falling asleep, sitting on the bench and being warmed not only by Mr. Frodo's jacket, but by the nearness of Gandalf the Grey while he sat next to me.
I only wish I had been awake to hear you sing "Ring of Hope" that night.
Thank you for coming to our little Party. And thank you for the CD.
Blessings upon you.
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 12:44 pm (UTC) |
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Re: :: hugs ::
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Tis my pleasure. :)
Ya'll did such a Wonderful job putting that event together!
*hugs*
Was this a "public" event, or was it for an LOTR group? It sounds like it was a lot of fun!
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 05:36 pm (UTC) |
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It was public, but I think it was only announced among the LOTR groups and on our website of course.
*sigh* You have now made me insanely jealous and wishing even more than I was before, that I could have gone. I'm thrilled that you had such a wonderful time, and that the event was such a success! *hugs*
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 29th, 2008 09:33 pm (UTC) |
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Thanks. Yes, it was an awesome event. Would've loved to have seen ye there.
*hugs*
how was this organized- is it an annual event? It sounds so magical! did people dress in hobbity outfits, like a hobbit faire??
seriously, this sounds like heaven... I wish I couldve been there!!
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 30th, 2008 01:23 am (UTC) |
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It was organized by a few fans. We don't know if they'll do it again or not, sadly. But yes, everyone dressed up. It was total heaven.
I hope they do it again. I simply wasn't in a financial position to attend this one. The whole program sounded fabulous. Thanks for providing details!
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| From: | maitayne |
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September 30th, 2008 10:34 am (UTC) |
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It sounds like it was an amazing time. I am glad to see that Hobbits are getting more good press; for years they seemed to be very overlooked. They hold a place of honour in my memories as well. One of my first role play characters was a hobbit bard named, Nibben; it was only after our first session or so that the GM realized that Hobbits weren't allowed to be bards. He said that if I could convince him that Nibben was really meant to be a bard then she could stay as she was.
Needless to say, I apparently made a successful plea for the Hobbit bard class because she continued to have many more adventures after the first.
Thank you for the reminder of good times and best of luck with The Silmarillion.
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 30th, 2008 10:22 pm (UTC) |
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Cool! And thanks!
Now I am really jeaulous. I wish I could have been there. *sob* Thanks for the great report. I want to see some pictures. It sounds so awesome!
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| From: | marcgunn |
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September 30th, 2008 10:22 pm (UTC) |
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yeah hoping to see pics meself.
Everyone needs to have that special moment where every dream and whim seems to come alive. Sounds like you had a fair bit of that. Glad to hear it. Too bad the flooding rains of recent weeks ago here kept me from even thinking of taking my wee one there.
It would have been grand to let my son hear you in person instead of on a recording.
Here's another wish to the list that they do this again in the future--we'd love to both meet you in person, and see the stories that inspired us come to life.
When I was young, our local theatre performed the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy over a period of time, and that was surreal for me. I can only imagine what it would be like to see it up close in nature.
Again, congratulations.
*runs off to listen to the Middle Earth tunes while reading Tolkien to my wee one*
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