This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting over 50 gamers at Ravenwood Castle for the eighth annual Hoop & Stick Convention. Guests enjoyed a variety of role playing games, scheduled and open board games, and various other activities all with the goal of raising funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals!

Hoop & Stick Con raises money for children’s hospitals in several different ways. Each ticket sold includes a $50 donation, Ravenwood Castle donates 50% of all room rentals for the weekend, proceeds from the sale of custom badge holders and other miscellaneous items are donated, and each year we hold an amazing silent auction. We also have a list of wonderful sponsors and donors for the event, who provided items for the auction and made donations directly to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Every year we set ourselves an aggressive fundraising goal – to beat our previous year’s total. With the help of our amazing guests and sponsors, I’m thrilled to announce we’ve now managed to achieve that goal for the eighth consecutive year! As you can see from the giant check above, we soared past last year’s $12,000 total and brought in $14,044 for Akron Children’s Hospital!

Thanks go out again this year to Mike and the crew from Ohio Pathfinder Society, who not only ran sessions of Starfinder and Pathfinder, but also ran a variety of board games. Thanks as well to Chris and Sean, our two volunteer game masters from The Malted Meeple, who ran Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Tales from the Loop and a number of Learn to Play sessions. Chris and Sean also facilitated one of our new additions to Hoop & Stick Con, an amazingly fun giant version of Castle Panic!

Every year we have a great lineup of sponsors, but this year we welcomed some brand new sponsors: Lake Hope Lodge who sponsored the Great Hall Dining throughout the weekend, and Southern Tier Brewing & Victory Brewing, who were our Guest of Honor and sponsored the Raven’s Roost Pub. Neil from Southern Tier & Victory joined us for the weekend, and hosted another new addition to our activity lineup, a dedicated beer tasting each night!

Thanks are also due to Jackie O’s Brewery, Misty Mountain Gaming, Lexington Brewing & Distillery, and The Malted Meeple, all of whom sponsored our activities this year and really helped us hit our fundraising goal! And we don’t want to forget all of the donors to our silent auction. Though they are too many to name here, they are all listed on our dedicated Hoop & Stick page, be sure to check them out!

Finally, these events wouldn’t be possible without the great guests who join us year after year. With your help, since the beginning of the Hoop & Stick Convention, we have now raised over $75,000 for children’s hospitals! Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you for an even bigger and better Hoop & Stick Con 2021!

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.