Last month we wrapped our summer gaming convention, Con in the Castle, and as always the team immediately began planning our next convention, the upcoming Hoop & Stick Con 2026!

Hoop & Stick Con 2026 will be held Thursday February 26^th through Sunday March 1st, 2026. For those who don’t already know, Hoop & Stick Con is four days of gaming goodness, in a castle, for charity – it really doesn’t get any better!

Our Volunteer Game Masters will be running a full schedule of role playing sessions from a variety of game systems such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and the like, as well as a number of learn to play board game sessions and a plethora of other great content. The castle’s board game library will be available for play, and the Great Hall will be largely dedicated to a mix of open board gaming and scheduled sessions from our Platinum Sponsors at Arcane Wonders.

At Hoop & Stick Con 2025, we raised over $44,000 for Extra Life and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, bringing our thirteen year total to nearly $200,000! While we’re still amazed at having raised $44,000 in one year, we aren’t giving ourselves a break. We are keeping our sights high and hoping to continue our streak of ever increasing fundraising milestones. We have already lined up a great roster of new and returning sponsors (Platinum: Arcane Wonders; Gold: McAlpine Meadery, Many Worlds Tavern; Silver: Saucy Brew Works, The Green Dragon Inn, Paizo, Misty Mountain Gaming; Bronze: Ohio Road Trips).

We are also excited to announce that our Hoop & Stick Con Online auction will be returning for its fourth year. This auction goes live in early February 2026, and will include a variety of great experiences and stays throughout Ohio and beyond. Last year’s auction featured bundles including adventures in the Hocking Hills, brewery and winery tastings around the state, air tours, lake tours, and more. Stay tuned for more details on the coming year’s Hoop & Stick Con Online!

We are hard at work finding more sponsors to join the team and more donors to the online and onsite auctions. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor Hoop & Stick Con 2026 or donate to one of the auctions, please contact me directly at hoopandstick@ravenwoodcastle.com

The one drawback to the popularity of Hoop & Stick Con is that every year the available rooms for the convention fill up extremely quickly. As a reward for our long time attendees we offer our Hoop & Stick and Con in the Castle convention alumni a brief preregistration window. As has become tradition at this point, rooms sold out completely during this preregistration period. As a result we currently have no rooms available for booking. Cancellations are always possible however. If you would like to join us for Hoop & Stick Con 2026, give us a call at 740.596.2606 and we’ll get you onto the wait list.

Thank you again for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you at the fourteenth annual Hoop & Stick Con!

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.