Travel

LEGO Conventions are Awesome!

This weekend, my son and I attended the annual LEGO convention in Northern Virginia. Simply put, we were nothing short of awestruck! The event, called the Brickfair LEGO Fan Expo, draws LEGO fans from all over the country, and world, to see the unique creations built by other LEGO fans. We've gone several times over the years, and each year's show is more impressive than the last.

This event is not just for kids - adults thoroughly enjoy it and participate in it as well. LEGO expos have become as much a modern art and engineering show as a toy show. The designs have become more and more elaborate each year, as the LEGO community, through everything from local meet-ups to global social media connections, inspire each other to new levels of complexity. Just like the LEGO pieces, the designers connect ideas and build on each other.

Check out my highlights video!

Typical of LEGO expos, there was a wide variety of creations on display. Scenes from movies and TV shows were depicted in brick-form, ranging from individual components to entire scenes.

There were towns, cities, skyscrapers,

spaceships and ships.

There was even a display of the National Mall in Washington, DC.

There was a sizable variety of military-themed creations, like aircraft, tanks, surface naval vessels, submarines, and historic battle scenes.

Even after two decades, LEGO Star Wars continues to be one of the most popular themes, and is inarguably the most popular licensed theme. Many LEGO fans have also taken the theme to galaxies far, far away from even the official sets!

With the introduction of LEGO electronic parts over a decade ago, many designs at the expo included moving components, like zipping trains, spinning spaceships, and even working factories. Watch my video above to see them in action!

Mosaics of everyday objects and famous images have become popular, too.

Sculptures from small scale to large scale are an impressive use of LEGOs.

Of course, there's always room for the vintage LEGO sets and the older themes as well, such as Bionicle.

The designers are on hand to proudly talk about their creations, some of which are well-known YouTubers who share their personal stories online. The intricate detail of the designs is remarkable. It's even more impressive that many of the designers are kids!

At the convention itself, there's more to do than just see the displays. There are games, building tables, and demonstrations. Vendors also come to sell LEGO sets from virtually every era and theme, as well as individual pieces, and a huge variety of minifigures. Many of the pieces they sell are hard to find, so this is a great place to come and shop!