Welcome to Middle-earth! Or at least Wikia’s online equivalent to it. Audiences the world over are gearing up for a big screen return to that lush and dangerous fantasy land envisioned so brilliantly by Peter Jackson with December’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

And while the first film in the planned trilogy may seem quite a ways off, we all know that fandom never sleeps. So to kick-off our “Countdown to The Hobbit,” we’d like to honor the brilliance that is J.R.R. Tolkien (he is, after all, the architect of Middle-earth) by celebrating Hobbit Day.

As noted on the Shire Calendar, September 22nd is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins – two of the most famous adventurers in all of the realm. Fans everywhere celebrate the occasion by throwing LOTR-themed parties, hosting elaborate dinners (Hobbits do enjoy seven meals a day, you know), and even spending the day barefoot in commemoration of the mythical creatures that don’t wear shoes.

Wikia is throwing its own party for Hobbit Day and we’d like you – the community – to join us. There are two ways you can participate:

Join our Fantasy Fellowship!

Known in its most basic form as a webring, Wikia’s Fantasy Fellowship is so much more! Not only is it a collection of websites linked together by their love of the fantasy genre, it's also a show of solidarity for one of the most influential works in literary history. Think of it as your “I Voted” sticker; a badge proudly displayed on your wiki. Communities that participate will be added to the graphic (pictured below) for all the world to see:

The Fantasy Fellowship will also serve as a vehicle for delivering exclusive Hobbit-related content (we’re talking goodies from the movie, games, merchandise, etc.) to the communities that signed up for it. Be sure to keep that graphic on your wikis and check it often as new surprises will appear in that space regularly.

So how does your wiki sign-up? Simple! Discuss this with your community and once you’ve come to a consensus, just drop a link to where your conversation took place in the comments below. We’ll verify and then place the webring graphic and a participant badge on your wiki home page (participant badge will be added to the top right rail). Be sure to start the discussion now, as we’d like to have this placed on as many wikis as possible for Hobbit Day.

Join the Adventure Dream team!

The second way you can participate in our Hobbit Day celebration is by taking part in our Adventure Dream Team. This is a fun bracket tournament that – much like a Fantasy Football league – allows users to create a “dream team” of adventurers (characters from the entire pop culture landscape – i.e. Gandalf, Iron Man, Lara Croft, etc.) and pit them against other teams in the ultimate battle royale. For more details on this program, click here .

Trust me, you won’t want to miss the fun! So let’s celebrate Hobbit Day right and kick-off our countdown to what’s sure to be one of the winter’s most memorable films!