Its Brandywine time!

Is the Brandywine Festival just a fun LARP for those who love hobbits, or a life changing event?

A whole crowd of people took a chance last year on embracing their hobbity dreams and got to spend a few days living like hobbits in the very first Brandywine Festival.

In the unlikely setting of rural Kentucky, this multi-day LARP could have easily sunk without a trace or turned into a Middle-earth Fyre Festival, but it seems those big folk who are at least hobbit-adjacent are made of stern stuff too; with doughty spirit from both organisers and attenders the Brandywine Festival was a success last year and has grown this year into multiple locations. The first Brandywine Festival in the UK, following the same LARP format, was just a couple of weekends ago and its only a couple of weekends until the festival returns to where it began in Kentucky for its second appearance.

Curious about it all? NGL, we are too, though we're far too fond of hobbit home comforts to contemplate some nights under canvas even if they are in The Shire. Adventures really do make you late for dinner after all!

Thankfully some of those aforementioned doughty hobbits recorded some of their experiences from last year, so if you're wondering what its like to be a hobbit for a few days then wonder no more, with some of the best videos that came from last years festival and, perhaps most interestingly, the impact that the days of hobbit LARP had on them and the thoughts it engendered with some further reflection. It seems you really can't easily pick up the threads of an old life after some adventures.

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Jess Less is always a joy to watch and her video is a really great overview of the whole event; so inspiring to see fans enjoying themselves so freely!

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Abby Cox goes full on dressmaking at Brandywine Festival, accidentally becoming a Middle-earth fashion expert and having a lot of fun along the way.

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"I lived like a hobbit for 5 days and found myself", Sara of Mysfit House says that going to Brandywine Festival changed her life. That's quite a review, its a feel-good watch for sure. If you're wondering why Middle-earth News came back again its because of fans like Sara and such beautiful expressions of Middle-earth joy that we can all get to share in together!

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"What a week as a hobbit taught me about capitalism" Nicole Rudolph brings some deep thought and reflection to her thoughts about going to Brandywine Festival that you wouldn't imagine would be inspired by a LARP. 

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One thing seems very clear about Brandywine Festival; its the source of vast amounts of Middle-earth joy and oh do we love that!

It may well be too late to make it to Brandywine Festival for this year with it beginning on October 1st, but there's always 2027 and more locations around the world to come.

We'll be sure to bring our favourite videos from the 2026 festivals once they drop and we can all revel in the Middle-earth joy together!