The 7th annual Bricks by the Bay LEGO convention is taking place this weekend from August 18-21, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, California. You can visit the public expo on Sunday to check out the over 33,000 square foot ballroom space filled with LEGO creations and vendors. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit Bricks by the Bay’s website.
Since The Brothers Brick contributors can’t be everywhere all the time, we’re going to try being more consistent about bringing you coverage of important LEGO events from guest contributors. To start things off, here’s Carl Merriam to cover the recent Bricks by the Bay!
It’s been a little over a week since the doors closed at Bricks By the Bay 2012. It feels so much longer. Getting back into the flow of real life is always difficult after such a fun and rewarding convention. This year BBtB had more floor space, full use of the convention center theater and breakout rooms and quite a few more attendees and visiting public.
At the opening ceremonies we enjoyed some playful banter from LEGO Company representatives Kevin Hinkle, Jim Foulds, Steven Canvin, and Jenn Wagner. Hinkle also unveiled the new R2-D2 UCS set. I played with it myself and it does have some very nifty features, including folding computer interface and buzzsaw arms, as well as a “retractable third leg”.
There were plenty of great MOCs. Some of my favorites included The Last March of the Ents by The OneLUG, Bill Ward’s Rainbow Connection: Kermit the Frog with Banjo, Benjamin Newitt’s fully transforming Megatron, Tim Inman’s Heron Building, Kevin Smith’s T.A.R.D.I.S., Bruce Lowell’s prolific replicas, Remi’s Technic Dinosaurs, Norbert Labuguen’s Hero Factory Octopus (made from 10 of the new Joker sets), Chad Mealey’s pair of zoetropes, Brandon Griffith’s simply perfect Soylent Green, and, of course, my own miniland scale Pier.
On Saturday night the fire alarm in the hotel went off and everyone had to leave the exhibit hall. Most groups of people would have been frustrated. We took it as kind of an impromptu meet and greet. Talking about all things LEGO and getting to know the new people who were nearby, the time passed quickly. It turns out that the fire alarms were malfunctioning.
Attendees may have noticed BLARE Media running around all over the convention, filming scenes for the upcoming feature film Brick Madness. Justin McAleece, the film’s director, was kind enough to put together this brand new mashup of some scenes shot at BBtB 2012 for us to enjoy:
BBTB 2012/ Brick MADNESS clips from Justin McAleece on Vimeo.
My only complaints about this year’s BBtB were the absence of both the Bricks of Character category (Iain, you know LEGO is more important than that work nonsense you’re always going on about) and the Nova Albion steampunk convention that we all so enjoyed cross-pollinating with last year. However, their absence was totally circumstantial and not controlled by BBtB. I wore my commemorative bricks for both all weekend in memorandum.
The Local ABC affiliate did its own wrap-up:
Photos of everything can be seen here:
As announced at BrickCon this past weekend, registration is now open for next year’s Bricks by the Bay convention, March 16-18, 2012.
Here’s the full announcement:
For the serious LEGO® builder we again will offer a LEGO fan convention! The event will be held Friday-Sunday, March 16-18. Benefits of attending the convention include:
- Custom engraved name badge made out of LEGO bricks
- Access to speeches, presentations, and discussion sessions
- Show your models in the Grand Ballroom for convention attendees and the public
- Become a vendor (additional fee applies) to sell LEGO and related products at the convention and public show
- Exclusive discounts at the LEGO store (TBD)
- Chance to receive free LEGO sets in Prize drawings and contests
The event theme this year is “Green.” It is inspired by the fact that St. Patrick’s Day takes place that weekend, but we’re not limiting it to that: any creative use of the color green, subjects relating to the environment, and of course Ireland or St. Patrick’s Day themed models are suitable. In 2010 our theme was “The Brick Artistic” and in 2011 it was “Creative Combinations.”
If you’re interested in attending the whole convention, read all about the Convention, Hotel, Registration, and Schedule, along with more information about the weekend’s
events.Not sure if you want to come to the convention or just the public day? Read our FAQ to find out more.
Check out the Bricks by the Bay website for complete details on how to register. And don’t miss coverage of last year’s BBtB on The Living Brick.
The boys at RoninLug and some friends [Andrew Lee (onosendai2600), Fradel Gonzales (Slice151), Brian Heins, Brandon Griffith (icgetaway), Paul Meissner (Legosamurai), Paul Lee (polywen), Chase Lewis ([Vid]), Tory B, Dane Erland (Lord Dane), Cole Martin (zeehelmut), Cole Blaq, Keith Goldman (Hook Monkey), Jeff Cross (Octopunk), Tommy Williamson (GeekyTom), Don Reitz (Don Solo), Jack Marquez (Ewok in Disguise)] are pretty smooth at assembling collaborative displays and this year’s Bricks by the Bay (BBTB) display doesn’t disappoint. An excellent futuristic city. And it shines too.
Announcing a LEGO convention for those in the southernWestern parts of the USA.
Registration is now open for the second annual Bricks by the Bay, taking place March 25th – 27th at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Last year’s convention was agreed to be a great success by all who attended, and this year’s takes place at a new venue with over twice the space! Also, this is the same weekend originally planned for Brickfest 2011 (now cancelled) so if you had planned to attend Brickfest, consider making a trip to California instead. Registration is capped at 400 attendees and almost 100 have already signed up, so register now to secure your badge. Early registration discount offered until February 25th.
For more info check out the Bricks by the Bay site. There is also a call for presentations; if you’re interested in hosting a talk, break-out session, or special activity, contact Paul Sinasohn here.
While pictures and other such “on the ground” reporting are still scarce, cnet.com has posted this fantastic slideshow of photos with interviews with fans and the community coordinator, Steve Witt.
If you’re in the Fremont, CA area tomorrow, the public exhibition is Sunday, April 11 from 10am to 4pm at the Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley. Admissions is $5; ages 2 and under are free!
The San Francisco Bay area in California is hosting a new LEGO convention later this spring called Bricks by the Bay. The event will be held in Fremont on April 9-11, 2010.
You can now register for Bricks by the Bay on their website.