This past weekend we once again hosted over 50 gamers at Ravenwood Castle for the seventh annual Hoop & Stick Convention. Guests participated in a variety of role playing games, open gaming, and a new social deduction game, all with the goal of raising money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals!

Hoop & Stick raises funds in several ways. Each ticket sold includes a $50 donation, half of each room rental is donated, proceeds from the sale of custom badge holders and other miscellaneous items are donated, and of course we have a huge silent auction. We also have a list of amazing sponsors and donors for the event, who provided items for the auction and made donations directly to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

All told, we blew past the aggressive fundraising goal we’d set for ourselves, and raised $12,000! If you were unable to join us we thought we’d try something new this year, and share a quick video of the final address and giant check reveal.

Although the event itself has wrapped up, the online donation drive is still active and donations have continued coming in, and as of this writing our total is now up to $12,140!

Our thanks go out to Mike and the crew from Ohio Pathfinder Society, who ran sessions of Pathfinder, Starfinder, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and Pathfinder Playtest 2.0 throughout the weekend, and our two volunteer Dungeon Meeples from The Malted Meeple, who made Dungeons & Dragons and other indie RPGs were well represented in this year’s event schedule.

Special thanks go out to our newest sponsor Pandemonium Games, who joined us to share their social deduction game Blood on the Clocktower with us, giving our attendees something truly unique this year. Thanks are also due to Jackie O’s Brewery, Lexington Brewing & Distillery, and The Malted Meeple, all of whom sponsored our activities this year and really helped push us over the top! And of course thanks to all of the donors to our silent auction. Though they are too many to name here, they are all listed on the right side of our Hoop & Stick page, be sure to check them out!

Finally, as always our thanks to all of the guests who join us year after year for this amazing event. With your help, since the inception of this convention we have raised over $61,000 for children’s hospitals!

We will soon be back at it, putting the final touches on our summer gaming convention, Con in the Castle 2019. Stay tuned for announcements in the next few weeks.

As always, thank you again for all of your continued support, and we look forward to an even bigger and better Hoop & Stick Con 2020!

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.