Characters from JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings will be brought to life at a festival expected to attract thousands of visitors.
The fourth Tolkien Weekend at Birmingham's Sarehole Mill is being billed as the biggest yet by its organisers who are hoping to top the record 5,000 people who flocked to last year's event.
Christine Crawshaw, chairwoman of the Tolkien Society, said the weekend is publicised worldwide to reach the legions of fans of the books and recent movie releases of The Fellow-ship Of The Ring and The Two Towers.
She said: "We've got one man coming from Germany. He came last year and enjoyed it so much he's coming back just for this weekend.
"I've heard people who go say they find it is almost as though the spirit of the books is alive there."
Tolkien spent 16 years living in Birmingham. It was as a child, overlooking the mill from his home in Wake Green Road, Moseley, that his imagination was most stirred.
Christine added: "It's a lovely site and the weekend itself is based around the activities the time of the book is set in and also the time Tolkien himself lived there. There's a lot of old world crafts on display - things we think Tolkien would have liked."
Woodworkers, a farrier and a miller will be demonstrating their craft and the mill can be seen running.
Scenes from Tolkien's works will be re-enacted. There will also be story walks and archaeological tours of Moseley Bog, another of Tolkien's childhood haunts.
Wythall Amateur Radio will set up a special event station chatting to people on the other side of the world.
There will also be pony rides, face painting and archery practice.
The event is free and will take place from May 18 to 19.
