Thousands attend UK’s first-ever Hobbit festival

By Ed Chatterton

Thousands of "Lord of the Rings" fans from across the world descended on a park to celebrate the UK's first Hobbit festival.

The Weston Park estate in Staffordshire was transformed into 'The Shire' for the four-day Tolkien-inspired event this week.

Festival-goers traveled from as far as USA and Holland to dress up as the Middle-earth characters and enjoy "feasting and fellowship".

There were themed workshops, live music, folk dancing and themed meals, as well as the Four Farthing Games – described as "a series of traditional Hobbit folk games contested across the full festival by players representing their Farthing".

It also featured "hundreds of Hobbits cooking around campfires, singing and dancing" while roleplaying as the little folk.

A previous similar event had been held in the United States but this is the first time the UK has ever hosted its own hobbit festival.

Organizers said they chose the location because of JRR Tolkien's childhood links with the West Midlands.

Organizer Thomas Miller told the BBC: "We were excited to bring the festival to the UK right on the doorstep of Tolkien's childhood home.

"We really wanted to find a place that had this feeling that Tolkien had been there.

"The event is set at a very specific time narratively, Gandalf and Frodo have left the shire, and the Hobbits that visit will be amongst the common folk."

Character actor Rascal Mossy traveled from the USA to be part of the festival and added: "My job was to make sure that everyone here feels immersed in the world of the Shire and Middle-earth.

"Once you step through those gates you're in a different world.

"A lot of people might be might say 'is it really OK to totally disconnect from the modernity of the world' and I think that the main goal isn't really to pretend like you're not like a part of that world still.

"But here you get grounded again - you're outside, you're playing, you're in nature breathing this air and just around great people who all want to do that same kind of thing.

"And then you go back to the real world with those kinds of recharges and energies and and it's beautiful.

"It's a simple concept but it just means so much for me and so many people who are part of it."

Kyle Pedley, from Stourbridge, West Mids., attended the event and said beforehand: "For any Tolkien fan, this is the stuff of dreams.

"The idea of spending five days fully immersed in hobbit life in a landscape that Tolkien himself is said to have drawn inspiration from is magical.

"Birmingham and the surrounding areas are so rich with Tolkien history and heritage, it feels very right to be welcoming this wonderful celebration here - one that looks set to rival even Bilbo and Frodo's famous birthday bash.

"I've been involved in Lord of the Rings for over 20 years now, so I've got all sorts of costumes.

"More than ever, when you look at the world and everything that's going on in it at the moment, I think it's just a bit of escapism.

"You immerse into this world which is very jubilant and celebratory - it's a much calmer pace of life."

Volunteer sheriff Hanne Driessens said: "Everyone is immersed in playing a hobbit for four days together.

"We've got everything from staff making, spurtle, summer fete games you might see at a Hobbit festival, dance classes and blacksmith workshops. All this is a UK first."

Before the event, organizers of the event, called the Brandywine Festival, issued guidance on how visitors should dress for the immersive live-action roleplay (LARP) experience.

Male hobbits were asked to wear cotton or linen shirts with three-quarter length trousers along with waistcoats, jackets or coats along with braces.

The festival suggested wool, cotton or linen dresses, worn over undershirts and petticoats and optional bodices and jackets for female hobbits.

Organizers also released an extra 1,200 tickets after a plea from a 10-year-old girl to release day tickets as well as camping.

She wrote: "The Lord of the Rings is my passion. I have dreamed of going to the festival. But we can't go because it is camping only at the moment. I would be over the moon if I could go with a day ticket if you could make them."

Miller added: "The letter reminded us of how much we loved the world of Middle-earth when we were her age."

Rebecca Alexander, head of estate operations at Weston Park, said: "We're so excited to have been chosen as the home of such a unique and imaginative event as it makes its UK debut.

"The festival itself encourages people to leave behind the modern world in exchange for a simple, slow-paced hobbit-existence."