For three years, they waited. They planned. And they built.
This weekend, it was time to show off all their hard work.
The extravaganza of all things Lego returned to the Western Development Museum on Saturday and Sunday, with thousands of patrons taking in the many impressive works at Brickspo 2022.
It was a welcome return after having the last show take place in 2019, with the event cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.
As with anything that goes away for a while, there were some concerns about how Brickspo would be received on its return, but there needn’t be worries -- more than 1,300 folks took the tour on Saturday, with an equal number expected on Sunday.
“It’s been really good,” said Adam Dodge with the Saskatchewan Lego Users Group, organizers of Brickspo. “Coming back after two years and having any turnout is really nice, so we’re pretty happy with how things have all turned out.”
One of the most positive factors heading in was the enthusiasm of all involved -- once word was out that Brickspo 2022 was a go, it was all hands on deck, and quickly.
“I think we were really lucky timing-wise since many hands make light work and a lot of people wanted to get involved after this length of time,” Dodge said. “And participant-wise, this is the highest we’ve ever had at 50 entries. I attribute that to people wanting to get out and show off some of the things they’ve been doing and just have a good time.”
And if you think giving Lego builders a bit of extra time to create their masterpieces would be a good thing, you would be completely correct.
From the incredible detail of a battle scene from the movie Star Wars: Rogue One to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and plenty of other intricate smaller works, the attention to detail and skill involved were fully on display.
“Some of the larger builds, like the Willy Wonka build (by Melissa and Jason Meyer) were worked on for three years,” Dodge elaborated. “Originally they were trying to get it done in a single year, so having that extra time and making a little bit more, it really shows. A lot of builds were that way, too. People would start on a project, then they revisit it and see what else they can do, and then the bigger and better it gets.”
Naturally, Dodge was impressed with the quality of the show and was especially happy to see builders of all skill levels get involved.
“You always encourage people, whatever they come up with, that’s good,” he said. “And it’s difficult in this community not to judge yourself against other people. The thing you hear the most is ‘oh wow, I could never’ and that’s fine because you can build THAT. It’s awesome to be able to see, especially as people grow and get better over the years and have more intricate projects… there’s thousands of things you can do with bricks and it’s amazing.”
Dodge was especially happy to see so many smiling faces come out throughout the weekend, showing once again that if you build it, they will come.
“Talking with the museum, they weren’t sure what it was going to be like and even (Saturday) they were conservative with the numbers, but when we found out how many people were out, we were really excited,” Dodge said. “So it’s really nice to see everyone come out and see our stuff, we always really appreciate it.”
