Tolkien Reading Day Fundraiser For Opportunity Knocks

An Oak Park author is enlisting the help of hobbits, elves and wizards to raise funds for young people with special needs. 

Tolkien parody writer Paul Erickson will be emceeing The Long-Expected Fundraiser on Tuesday, March 25, from 7:00 until 9:00 at Defiant Comics, 7234 Madison Street in Forest Park. Admission is $5.00, and all proceeds will go to Opportunity Knocks, a non-profit organization that serves young people who have developmental disabilities in the Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest area.

The fundraiser celebrates Tolkien Reading Day, which was launched by The Tolkien Society in 2003 and is observed internationally every March 25. It encourages the reading of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, such as The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. 

Everyone attending the Forest Park fundraiser will receive a free copy of one of Erickson's Tolkien parodies, either The Wobbit A Parody or The Superfriends Of The Ring. Books will be available for purchase, and other hobbitty activities will include a Middle-earth costume competition, dueling readings (between Tolkien and his parodies), Moria Plinko for valuable prizes, and nose flute lessons for all. For more information, stop by Defiant Comics or visit Erickson's website, http://thewobbitaparody.com/ .

Why make Tolkien Reading Day a fundraiser? "Opportunity Knocks is a wonderful organization," said Erickson. "They provide support for people in our community who are easily overlooked, and I am happy and proud to help them in any way I can. As Tolkien said about 'the deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.’"

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If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Paul Erickson, he can be reached at thewobbitaparody@sbcglobal.net.