It’s likely almost everyone played with LEGO at some point growing up, and while most people grew out of the hobby, others have turned it into an art form.
After a two-year hiatus, those LEGO artists are returning to Moose Jaw’s Western Development Museum (WDM) for the annual Brickspo. The event occurs on Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.
Talented builders with the Saskatchewan LEGO Users Group (SLUG) and others from across Western Canada will showcase their creations throughout the museum, which should amaze everyone regardless of age.
There will also be a LEGO yard sale with vendors selling figurines and other pieces, while The Friendly City Optimist Club will run a concession from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Regular museum admission applies — cash and plastic will be accepted — while WDM members enter for free. Only liquids in a sealed bottle are allowed in the building.
The museum is excited to host this popular event for the first time since 2019, while it is pleased to welcome back SLUG members since they are terrific to work with, said Karla Rasmussen, WDM education and public programs co-ordinator.
“We love Brickspo. It’s always such an easy event for us because they’re so great at everything they do,” she remarked.
Rasmussen is eager to see the new dioramas that members have created. While some builds return every year with a few changes, she thought the marvellous thing about Brickspo was almost every piece is original.
Nothing comes from a box, but instead, the creations come from the minds of their builders. From vehicles to buildings to movie scenes, the builders are talented individuals.
“Even if you’ve been to Brickspo before, I encourage everyone to come back because there’s always something different, there’s something that’s changed, and it’s great to chat with the folks that are the builders,” Rasmussen said.
One favourite scene Rasmussen has seen and that was meaningful was a re-creation of a structure from Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, her home province. The creation was of the East Gate, an old wooden structure built during the Great Depression.
The gate is still standing and is a historic site.
“But there it was built in LEGO and it was like a piece of my childhood had come back,” she said. “It just made me so happy to see that somebody else loved that piece of Manitoba history and was able to re-create it in LEGO.”
Other LEGO builds that Rasmussen enjoys are the large-scale dioramas, such as re-creations of scenes from The Flintstones cartoon.
She noted that many creations align well with the museum’s transportation focus. Years ago, someone created a battlefield from the Second World War. This fit nicely with one gallery’s focus on the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
There will be several talks by LEGO artists throughout the weekend, with those discussions occurring at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Saturday will focus on LEGO in education and growing up with LEGO, while Sunday focuses on collecting and organizing the pieces.
“These are kind of like expert talks … from the folks that live and breathe LEGO,” Rasmussen said.
SLUG members will participate in LEGO-themed challenges, such as building a kit with their non-dominant hand. On both days at 2 p.m., there will be popular races similar to Kub Kar Rallies featuring vehicles that SLUG members have built. They will race down tracks and attempt to go far and stay upright.
The WDM hosts Brickspo because not only do people construct transportation-themed creations, but the builds also reflect Saskatchewan innovation, said Rasmussen. The organization attempts to showcase such innovation through exhibits, artifacts and stories from across the province.
“… (these displays) really show us how to think outside the box because these are original creations,” she continued. “People have done engineering at home, thinking of how to build this, so it’s not going to fall over.
“They are virtually architects themselves.”
