Good Afternoon, my name is Charlene, and I am co-chair of the “NYC Area Friends of Tolkien & Fantasy”.  We are hosting TOLKIEN READING DAY in conjunction with Books of Wonder and we’d like to thank them for this honor.  This is the second year we’ve hosted this delightful event at Books of Wonder.

Before we officially start Tolkien Reading Day, I’d like to briefly tell you abit about our group, which can be found through meetup.com   The “NYC Area Friends of Tolkien & Fantasy” was created in January 2011 by Apulia, Carole Linda Gonzalez, to keep our small group of Tolkien enthusiasts together and to honor the late Alexei Kondratiev, Celtic scholar, author of "The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual", a prominent member of the Mythopoeic Society and a friend to some here.    

We have regular, monthly meetups and several “special” events throughout the year … such as celebrating Tolkien’s birthday on January 3^rd, picnics, attending movie viewings, talk shows.  Topics of discussion range from Tolkien to other genre; such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Sci-Fi, and yes even Downton Abbey.  Be sure to check out ""NYC Area Friends of JRR Tolkien & Fantasy" on meetup.com.

Our MC’s this year are two fine, clever and talented gents … please give a warm welcome to Timdalf and Teel James Glenn.  Thank you and enjoy Tolkien Reading Day.