Lord of the Rings Online is to experience three weeks of fun and general celebration in the game's first Summer Solstice Festival.

The event kicks off this Wednesday, and is the first of many in-game seasonal celebrations planned.

During the Summer Solstice Festival, LOTRO players will be able to partake in a variety of special quests and events and stuff.

"The Summer Solstice Festival," Codemasters Online Gaming has whispered to us, "is called different things by different races. Whether it's the Lithe Festival (Hobbits), Summerdays (Men), Summerfest (Dwarves) or the Festival of Enedhin (Elves), they all share the common themes of summer including planting, dancing, drinking, games and fireworks.

"Players can celebrate throughout Middle-earth from June 20th to July 10th by interacting with special vendors and participating in quests designed just for the Summer Solstice Festival including:

Dancing - There will be dancing quests with new race-specific dance emotes as a reward.

Fireworks - Players who collect fireworks from each of the four vendors in the Summer Solstice Festival will receive a unique firework.

Scavenger Hunts - Players can participate in one of three scavenger hunts that will grant them unique special recipes, seeds and pipeweed.

Hobnanigans - Join in madcap chicken-chasing games! There is an arena near the Bree Festival Grounds with two team captains as quest bestowers. Once twelve players are ready, the 'Game Hen' will appear in the center of the arena and players will use a stick to persuade the chicken around the arena. Each team will have to get the chicken into a goal at the far end of the field three times within a certain time limit."

Above: Where the wenches at?

June 18, 2007