Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Go Drinking With Hobbits

Marc's Musings

Greetings

I just got back from an incredible weekend in Hobbiton. This is the third time that A Long Expected Party, aka ALEP, took place. It grows more beautiful each year. The first year was completely magical. The second added some awesome late-night craic. This year... well, I'll talk about it when I share...

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Go Drinking With Hobbits

Bilbo and Gandalf. They are dead ringers for the characters in the 1977 annimated Hobbit movie.
Music in the Dancing Pony. We gathered every evening in our little "pub". A bunch of us drew out our instruments and played until midnight or later. It always reminds me of the pub scene in the Lord of the Rings with hobbits dancing on tables, except Pippin is wearing a Jayne's hat.
Shaker Village IS The Shire. It's lush and green. You can see the stars, hear the crickets, watch incredible sunsets, and soak in nature from the comfort of your hobbit hole (aka hotel room).
Elf Choir. Well, ALL the choirs actually. We had a dwarf choir and a hobbit choir too. Dressed in their finest cosplay, elves, dwarves, and hobbits sang songs from the movies. It was absolutely spellbinding.
Comedic Skits. At 5pm, we walked a quarter mile to this giant Shaker barn that reminds you of the halls of the Rohirrim. After dinner and some music, we enjoyed funny skits that included Bilbo Baggins carried into the Barn wrapped in a blanket and a comedic reenactment of the dwarves going to Rivendell with Gandalf and Bilbo to find a translation for the map of the Lonely Mountain. But Elrond is too busy taking selfies!
Dwarf Dance. You should've seen me hopping up and down in excited delight. We had just finished an English dance workshop. I started playing "Moria" (from Memories of Middle Earth). Samantha Gillogly, my fiddle player, commented that she could see dwarves dancing with axes spinning around... I HAD TO WRITE THAT DANCE! So I enlisted Mary, Brooke, and Josh to that very task. We debuted it on hobbit night. It was AWESOME!
Michael Drout, He Speaks! Dr. Drout is one of the things I've loved most about every ALEP. He's a wonderful speaker and an engaged storyteller. I'm sure he didn't NEED that sword for his discussion on a new book of Tolkien's notes on Beowulf, but why not!?
More Dancing! I love to dance. I did ballroom dancing in college. I not only played for the Dance Workshop, I slipped in and learned a few steps. And Hobbit night, we got to show off our steps. The next best thing to actually dancing is playing music that people want to dance to.
Starry Nights. I know I mentioned that already when I mentioned the Shaker Village. But ahhhhh... It was so beautiful, cool, and peaceful with those stars twinkling down on us. It was like the Heroes of old congratulating us on an event well-done.
Community. One of the things that stood out most this year was how everyone was involved in making the magic. The first two years, the magic happened naturally. This year, it was through the integral participation of each one of the attendees. There were costumes, and workshops, and songs, and kazoos, and dancing, and stories... Each and every person brought their own unique talent to the event. Because of that the community and ALEP flourished.

I'm not gonna try and sell you on going to this event. These ten reasons are actually why I LOVE going to ALEP. Quite honestly, if you're not a HUGE Tolkien fan. If you don't absolutely LOVE The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, this is not the place for you. And that's ok.

For those of you who share my passion, check out the website at www.alep-ky.us. I hope you will join me in an ALEP Year (that equals 3 years).

More News

1. Firefly Drinking Songs on October 19th

My next live streaming concert is scheduled for Sunday, October 19th at 7:30PM CST. This one is dedicated to the Browncoats. If you love Joss Whedon, Firefly, and Serenity, I'm gonna share some of my favorite Browncoat songs from the album Firefly Drinking Songs and a few other albums. It's just me, my autoharp, and you singing along to the shiniest songs in the gorram Verse.

http://marcgunn.com/FireflySongsLive

As usual with these Concert Window performances, the show will NOT be recorded. So sign up on the website to be notified of the performance. We are just over two weeks away from the event. And of course, please spread the word!

OH! And here's the Facebook and Google+ invites.

2. Concerts in Maryland and Virginia Next Weekend

Next weekend, Oct 10-12th, I have three house concerts scheduled for Maryland and Virginia. There's still space available in some of them. Find out more right here.

3. Reached My First Big Milestone!

Last week, I reached my first milestone on Patreon. Earning $75 per month, I sent all of the patrons who helped me achieve this milestone a digital certificate announcing them as Official Gunn Runners. This reward is good until the end of October. So if you would like one as well, just make a pledge.

I want to thank each and everyone of my Patrons. This site is making a HUGE impact on my musical career. I don't need to reach out and find new fans to buy my zillion CDs. I can focus on serving You.

That's why I'm going full steam ahead on my Song of the Week challenge. It's tough as can be. But it allows me to share more and better content with you and know that I can still pay my bills. That's a HUGE blessing. So thank you!

Oh! And I'm already $10 away from reaching my second Milestone which will result in a free 30 minute concert on Google Hangouts that you can watch over and over again. And don't forget to read about the CD of the Month Club too.

Find out more about being a patron at www.marcgunn.net.

Thanks so much for reacing Marc's Musings. I'll be back in a couple weeks.

Slainte!
Marc Gunn, The Celtfather

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Special Note About Marc Gunn's Newsletter

Marc Gunn is a rhythm and folk musician inspired by Celtic culture, science fiction, fantasy, and cats. He breathes new life into the autoharp, which continues to surprise musical veterans and fans a like for it’s unique sound and spirited energy. It’s Celtic music, the traditional and the twisted.

October 3, 2014
www.marcgunn.com

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