Arriving at a Far Green Country - the inaugural Tolkien Society Westmoot, May 9-11 2025

by Elizabeth Perico

So, it begins

A little over a year ago, I met with what was to become the ‘Council of the West’, as we began discussing and planning the first ever Tolkien Society event in the USA, which became Westmoot. Today, it is already more than a month since the event took place, and I can truly say it met, and even exceeded all our hopes!

What goes into holding a moot? When you attend one, especially the more established ones such as Oxonmoot or Mythmoot, they typically run like clockwork, and rarely do attendees see the rudders spinning furiously under the water. (Or at least you hope they don’t!) The more established events will normally have a regular venue, and vendors, and equipment that they are used to working with. For Westmoot, EVERYTHING was new! We did not have the budget to purchase A/V equipment, so the good Professor Olsen brought his own gear he used for Signum moots, and did much of the set up for recording presentations, showing slides, and making sure microphones were available for presenters. Not having any kind of dedicated storage space also presented it’s own challenges.

“Location, location, location!”

The Council spent weeks researching and discussing when we should hold Westmoot, and where it should be. A central location that people from around the county could get to was a major factor, safety and expense were another. Once we had narrowed it down to the midwest/Colorado area, KC became the favourite due to it’s friendly culture, good food, and of course the Museum’s WW1/Tolkien connection. Due to the venue, Memorial was out of the question, but it couldn’t be later, so as not to conflict with Mythmoot, or even Oxonmoot at the end of summer. Too much earlier, and we would have still been into the school year for many folks. As anyone who has done event planning knows, you can’t please everyone, so we finally landed on date, and hoped our moms would be forgiving!

Now boarding for Valinor

Once we had our destination set, we began the work of planning the program, figuring out the set up, inviting the guests, and all the myriad of things that go into event planning. On such a journey, one cannot do it alone, but should take such friends as are trusty and willing. The Council was indeed an excellent Fellowship of hard working folks that all filled their respective roles with hard work and excellence, and were a joy to work with.

Finally in May, the result of a year’s hard work and preparation was upon us, and it was truly an honour and a joy to be part of, as well as getting to host this historic event in our beloved hometown of Kansas City. Having some of our local Smial folks being able to attend made it even more special and memorable, and I wish I had Bilbo’s fabled riches, so I could have had all of you there!

Whether or not you were there, I hope you enjoy these highlights!

Tolkien Trivia Night

The night before Westmoot kicked off, we held a Trivia night in partnership with the WW1 Museum, and I was joined by Stefanie Midlock from the Athrabeth Podcast, and James Tauber from the Digital Tolkien Project, and Prancing Pony Podcast. Some of our members showed up and did valiantly, and a good time was had by all.

Opening Night

The opening night ceremony included the tradition “Entertainments & Masquerade”, and featured both breathtaking and amusing entries.

The bustling streets of Tirion

The next two days were full of brilliant academic talks, lively discussions, exciting exploration of Tolkien’s texts, fascinating historical revelations, a talent packed art show, Museum tours, a Yavanna-approved tree planting activity, and of course the best part of any moot, the wonderful convergence of the wider Tolkien community, gathering to celebrate what we love!

The Tree Planting was organised by one of own local friends, Kelly Demo!