New Zealand Tourism is all set to celebrate International Hobbit Day on 22 September. Hobbiton Movie Set is about to host a world-first event. Happy hobbits are set to party celebrating International Hobbit Day with a world-first event at New Zealand’s Hobbiton Movie Set.
International Hobbit Day also happens to mark the birthdays of both Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, Thursday (September 22, 2016). The famous Hobbiton Movie Set – in the beautiful Matamata Waikato countryside – will awake to the inaugural sunrise tour and breakfast birthday banquet in the hobbit village.
The birthday party will launch at 5.30am so guests can look forward to an exceptional experience in the 12-acre site. Costumes are welcome and each early morning party-goer will get to carry a lantern as they follow their guide along illuminated paths while listening to stories of how the Hobbiton Movie Set was created and the making of the movies.
For those not on the spot on International Hobbit Day keep an eye on the 100% Pure New Zealand Facebook Page for updates from Bag End Road as first light reveals the green of The Shire and the surrounding Matamata hills, one of the first places in the world to see the light of a new day.
Meanwhile, down at the bottom of the hill in the famed Green Dragon Inn, the fires will be burning to welcome party goers for the breakfast banquet feast. It’s the first time the Inn has had such an early opening and, in true hobbit tradition, there will be copious servings of delicious hobbit fare.
There will be music and dancing in the dining room and the proverbial birthday cake for Frodo and Bilbo styled on the cake seen in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. To conclude this special event, the Hobbiton guide will lead the party back along the wandering paths of The Shire, across the bridge, past the mill and under the Party Tree.
For late risers, there’s one final option for International Hobbit Day – an Evening Banquet Dinner Tour that finishes with a moonlight walk through the Hobbiton Movie Set.