Fans invited to win Gandalf's Staff signed by the wizard himself

The lucky winner will receive the handcrafted staff used in the Lancaster venue’s award-winning 2016 outdoor production of The Hobbit.

And, to make it even more special, the staff has been signed by Gandalf himself – Sir Ian McKellen, star of the smash-hit Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Victoria Firth, Interim Director of The Dukes, said: “We’re delighted to give our audiences and fans of Sir Ian the chance to own this one of a kind piece of Dukes history, and raise much needed funds for our park show at the same time.”

As well as the staff, the winner will also receive a framed photograph of the moment Sir Ian signed the staff during his visit to The Dukes earlier this year.

All proceeds from the lottery will go towards our park show fundraising campaign, which aims to raise £85,000 to purchase new technical equipment to secure the long term future of the ‘play in the park’.

The lottery is open now and tickets can be purchased until Wednesday September 18, with the winner being announced on Hobbit Day on Sunday September 22.

Tickets for the lottery are available to any over 16s costing £5 and can be purchased at www.dukes-lancaster.org, by calling the box office on 01524 598500 or by popping in. Full terms and conditions apply.