Tag Archives: Convention

LEGO conventions happen all over the world, and there’s a LEGO convention happening somewhere just about year-round. Though we can’t cover all of them, we’ll do our best to bring you highlights from BrickCon, Brickworld, Bricks by the Bay, AFOLCON, LEGO Fanwelt, Brick Fiesta, and all the rest.

Registration now open for BrickCon 2015 [News]

It’s time! Registration is now open for BrickCon 2015. The convention is set for Oct. 1 – Oct. 4, 2015, in Seattle, Washington at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. This year’s theme is MOCking History.

Cost to register depends on how early you do it:

1. Early Bird Registration is $60, and is available until Aug. 1.
2. Regular Registration is $75, available Aug. 1 – Sep. 18.
3. Late Registration is $100, after Sept. 18.
4. Door Registration is $120, during the event.

For those of you who wish to sign up for Games, you can now do so during the registration process.

137 days in counting!

BrickCon 2014 less than 4 weeks away [News]

Builders, get building – because it’s time to get your Con on!

BrickCon starts October 2nd in Seattle. This is the longest running LEGO convention in the US, and also the ancestral home of The Brothers Brick. If you haven’t done so already, register before September 18th to secure your goody bag and avoid paying the late registration fee of $100. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. As well as all the usual fun and games, this year’s BrickCon includes a couple of special attractions that we’d like to draw your attention to…

Invasion!

The overarching theme of this year’s convention is “Invasion!“. Builders from different specialties are encouraged to collaborate to create mash-ups of traditionally separate themes. Aliens crash-landing in medieval times? Dragons roaming through World War II Europe? Pirates sailing down main street? The more anachronistic the better!

  

ChronoCon 10,000 BC

The Brothers Brick is also sponsoring a collaborative display (in the same vein as our Zombie Apocafest, Big in Japan, and Numereji displays from previous years). This year the theme is time travel. Imagine if time travelers held conventions, and this one was being hosted by the stone age (…yes, a stone age that features dinosaurs!). Our previous post explains everything in detail, and there’s also a Flickr group for inspiration and help. But essentially you just need to build something to add to the display – we’ll work out the rest. There’ll be swag for participants, and of course trophies for the best contributions.

 

Announcing ChronoCon 10,000 BC for BrickCon 2014 in Seattle [News]

BrickCon 2014 is less than two months away — October 2nd through 5th in Seattle. Each year, starting with Zombie Apocafest 2008 and continuing through Big in Japan and Numereji 2421, The Brothers Brick sponsors a collaborative display for our readers. After five continuous years, we took a break last year, but we’re back this year with “ChronoCon 10,000 BC.”

Benjamin Franklin on a Triceratops

The basic idea of ChronoCon is that it’s a convention for time travelers and time travel enthusiasts. We were inspired last year by the release of the official Back to the Future DeLorean and the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, but the great thing about a convention for time travelers is that it can be held any time! So, you know, we’re not a year behind schedule after all…

Chaos and anarchy are built into the underlying theme, so please don’t expect a lot of guidelines from us — the whole point is to get creative. We do expect intersecting timelines, anachronisms, and paradoxes, so the parking lot outside the ChronoCon venue will likely have multiple DeLoreans and a variety of TARDISes (bonus points for not arriving in a DeLorean or TARDIS).

That said, we have three very broad guidelines that will help pull the overall display together:

  1. The overall scale is minifig-scale.
  2. The underlying baseplate color is Green. ChronoCon takes place in a primordial jungle.
  3. If you introduce a major paradox or anachronism (like a Roman army marching in to fight some velociraptors), create an appropriate time portal, vortex, or wormhole that explains it.

Here are the prize categories (subject to change, addition, and our whim):

  • Best Time Machine: After all, how did all the time travel enthusiasts arrive in 10,000 BC?
  • Most Amusing Anachronism: Mash up those timelines and get building!
  • Fiercest Fighting Dinosaur: Yes, there will be a dinosaur battle arena!
  • Best Convention Booth or Event: What’s a convention without T-shirts, celebrity signings, panels, and knick-knacks?

There’s a ChronoCon 10,000 BC group on Flickr, where you can see photos we’ve collected so far of LEGO models consistent with the general idea, as well as discussion threads.

If you haven’t registered yet for BrickCon, do it now. And then get building!

BrickCon 2014 registration open now [News]

It’s time again to get building for BrickCon in Seattle, Washington. Registration is now open for the this annual Pacific Northwest party, over the first weekend in October.

This year’s theme is Invasion. While LEGO themes are known to invade each other from time to time, this year it’s an outright expectation. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be revealing more about what this theme means and how you can participate!

Please note that Early Bird registration runs through August 1–so get registered now to get the early bird price! You’ll of course be able to register after that at the regular price.

It’s not really a secret that our favorite LEGO convention is our home LEGO convention, so get yourself registered and come join us October 2-5, 2014!

Countdown to Brickworld Chicago 2014

In two weeks, AFOLs from around the world will be converging on the state of Illinois for Brickworld Chicago 2014 – the biggest, baddest, brickiest LEGO convention in the known universe!

The event takes place at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. The private AFOL convention runs from June 11th – 15th, while the public exhibitions are on Saturday 14th (10am – 4pm) and Sunday 15th (10am – 3pm). Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Kids 3 and under get in free.

For AFOLs attending the event, there is a wealth of fun and games lined up for you as always. But for those only visiting during public hours, don’t be downhearted, you’ll have access to tons of vendors ready to sell you all kinds of sweet LEGO-related goodies (custom parts, custom sets, the list is endless). Or while you’re in the Schaumburg area, pay a visit to the LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

Our good friends over at Beyond the Brick will be on site to film all the action, including builder interviews and a walkthrough of the entire display. If you’d like to get a copy of their DVD as a keepsake, and perhaps score some other one-of-a-kind goodies as well, go support their Kickstarter project right now! $20 is all it takes to secure your copy.

In fact, as a run-up to this year’s event, Joshua and Matthew recently interviewed Brickworld founder Bryan Bonahoom. Check out the episode below to find out about the amazing story behind how the Brickworld franchise got started, and how Bryan and his team pull off four conventions in four cities every year!


The Brothers Brick will also be in attendance at Brickworld Chicago this year. Brothers Chris, Simon, Carter and Iain (that’s me!) will be there to take your abuse. I will also be live tweeting all of the shenanigans and goings-on, for your amusement. And we’ll be giving away some swag! But to get it, you’ll have to find us first, and then say the secret pass phrase ;-)

Brickfête Jul 17-20, 2014


Janey Gunning asked if we could share the following press release in regards to this year’s Brickfête.

This is a call out to all AFOL, LEGO collectors, builders, hobbyists, and enthusiasts within walking, driving or flying distance of Toronto, Canada. The Brickfête Team is looking for exhibitors and would love to see you and what you have built. Join us for some good times completely focused on our beloved obsession with the brick.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! To register for the four days visit our AFOL portion of our site… http://toronto.brickfete.com/toafol/Registration

Our new hotel venue is awesome! Incredible hotel rates have been secured and there is free parking for all Brickfete guests. Time is running out for this super room rate at a 38% savings.

Some families are planning a vacation by taking advantage of the great room rates and the awesome location near exciting venues such as the Science Center or the Toronto Zoo.

Our list of events are being posted and there is something for everyone to get involved with.

Build Challenges
Live Auction
Prize Raffles
Games
Contests and Activities
And more to come…

Display with us and enjoy the company of other AFOLS. We can’t wait to see you on the attendees list and to see what you have built.

Brickfête is on the road.

Janey Gunning asked if I could share some exciting news. Brickfête, Canada’s LEGO convention, is having a special fan festival in Montreal this month. Details below.

LEGO Fans from Québec (and surrounding areas)…

Do not miss Brickfête Montréal – a LEGO Fan Festival for the whole family!

An amazing, jaw dropping, outstanding custom LEGO display built by skilled and enthusiastic adult hobbyists.

These unique and detailed builds include…

LEGO Robots & Mindstorms Creations
City Layouts with powered Trains
Space, Star Wars & Scifi Creations
Art, Architecture & Design
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Historical Buildings and Castles
Pirates, Steampunk and Vikings
Mosaics & Sculptures and more…

All made with millions of LEGO bricks… 2 days ONLY!!! November 23 & 24 from 10 am – 3 pm

For more information head on over to the event website (or click the logo above)

Salt on a wound

Those of you lucky enough to be at BrickCon will be seeing a sci-fi collaboration known as HUB 14. I have only seen a few teaser images on flickr but judging by who is involved I know it will be of epic proportions. For those of us unlucky enough to not be at BrickCon, Evan (Lego Junkie) was nice enough to rub it in and show us this brilliant little TurtleDove Spacecraft ahead of time. So thanks Evan for reminding us of all the cool stuff we are missing.

TurtleDove Spacecraft.

I want two of these on the second day of Christmas…and a partridge in a pear tree.

VEM1200 GS搭載艇

Our next featured model comes from legorobo:waka, a builder who has been blogged 8 times by 7 different Brothers this year alone. My addition to the bandwagon legorobo:waka’s fantastic anime-inspired drop-ship posted a few weeks ago called the VEM1200 GS搭載艇, which can transport 5 mecha to far flung battlefields or even your home prefecture, if necessary.

GS-00

The model was on display at a recent fan gathering in Nagoya Japan on August 17. I don’t have much in the way of detail on the event (I wasn’t able to contact the builder), but maybe one of our constant readers can offer some insight. As one might expect the mecha display looks like it was mind-blowing.

20130817_01

2nd LEGO Exhibition in SEOUL

I don’t have much information yet on the Korean fan-event recently hosted in Seoul, but there are some stunning photos available on Flickr from Brickmaster_Kor. We will begin our brief sampling with “The Mini SEOUL Project“, the model that first caught my eye with its micro-river, unique focus and lack of non-LEGO clutter in the background.

The Mini SEOUL Project

Then we move on to Seoul Station, proving that Korea’s KORAIL-inspired Train-heads are in the game.

Big city & Seoulstation

And finally a shot of the magnificent statues that mark the entrance to Kyungbok-gung palace.

LEGO Kyungbok-gung(palace)

It is also worth noting that there were a great many Stormtroopers and Imperial Guard present as well. It looks like the exhibition was a great event, be sure and click through the entire set to soak in all the details of this extensive layout. Congratulations to everyone involved!

BrickFair Virginia 2013 this coming weekend

BrickCon may be the US convention that TBB is most closely affiliated with, but another big one is about to take place the coming weekend: BrickFair Virginia.

Brickfair logo

There are about a thousand builders registered, including a fair few people whose models you’ll have seen featured on this blog. Nannan had a great time there back in 2011 and BrickFair Va 2011 was the first US LEGO convention I attended. I had a blast. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it last year (or to any of the other US LEGO conventions so far), but I am back in Virginia for this year’s event. Dan will also be there. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the models and to meeting their builders.

The convention takes place at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly Va (near Washington DC) and is open to the public on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th of August from 11am to 4pm. Online ticket sales end today. You can buy tickets at the venue, however, for the same price, but will probably have to wait in line for a while. If you are in the area, it will be a fantastic day out.

Brickfête July 13th & 14th, 2013 [News]

Janey Gunning asked me to share this announcement about the fast approaching Canadian LEGO convention. I wish Canada wasn’t so big, as I would be there in a heartbeat if not for the distance. But I do hope my fellow Canadian LEGO maniacs all have a splendid time!

Ladies and Gentleman, LEGO fans of all ages…
Don’t miss a great LEGO festival in Toronto, Canada.
July 13th & 14th, 2013
10am until 3pm
www.brickfete.com

The public is invited to view the awesome LEGO Creations on display and we can not wait to show you what we have built. You can see things like a huge Serenity ship, large working amusement park ride, massive train/monorail layouts, classic space layout with working lights, funky art sculptures and mosaics, classic city, castle, pirate and viking creations, elaborate war dioramas, various scaled pieces of architecture, working robots and more!!! You will not believe your eyes when you see what our exhibitors can make from LEGO. There is even a brick building area for the kids and you never know when a special character might show up, from Darth Vader to Billy Blue Brick.

Tickets sold online here.
Parking & venue information here.

See you on the second weekend of July,
The Brickfête Team

“A festival run by fans, made by the fans, for the fans.”