Whether you are a “Master Builder” or a casual creator, Brick Convention is coming to Evansville, Indiana for the first time this summer.
According to its website, the convention will feature a variety of attractions such as brick pits to free-build in, photo opportunities with different sets and massive LEGO displays. Additionally, it will feature special guests ranging from influencers, LEGO artists and competitors alike.
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of the LEGO company may be the brick creations seen on television from shows like “LEGO Masters,” movies like “The LEGO Movie” or adaptations of known superheroes such as “The LEGO Batman Movie.” It may also bring to mind the various games like “LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga,” maybe even a little “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures.” Regardless of what you think, this franchise is more than just colorful bricks to many — it is a sense of nostalgia like it is for junior psychology major Beau Hull.
“… I think a lot of people that I talk to now have also related to like, ‘Oh, I used to play those games on the Wii too,’ because I think so many people also had a Wii,” Hull said. “And that was one of those games that your older sibling could play, and you could join the second player and kind of mess around. … So I think those are really fun. But obviously the consistency of just a regular LEGO set always has the allure to it for pretty much anyone.”
For some, the allure lies within the building of the bricks, making their own visions come to life as seen in the show “LEGO Masters.” For others, like freshman computer science major Jenna Curtis, it is following the directions to achieve the build on the box.
“It’s just nice to do something with your hands and fingers — just like a puzzle where you have to think about what goes where,” Curtis said. “… You can kind of just turn your brain off, relax, read the instructions. Put this here, put this here, move this over here. It just adds up.”
With the winter holidays not too far behind and Valentine’s Day not too far ahead, LEGO sets have been a consistent gift idea for some. Curtis said they received a LEGO Super Mario Pirana Plant for Christmas, displaying it in their room. Hull also said they received two sets for Christmas and completed them in six hours.
Whatever your goal is when it comes to LEGOs, it can often be achieved, occasionally reusing or reimagining the original purpose of a piece to achieve something new. Even in some of its newer sets like the botanical builds, the various pieces are reused from other sets, so do not be alarmed when there are frogs on your bonsai trees. For Curtis, it is similar to a formula.
“… At the end of the day, they’re just like tiny little cubes and bricks that you can assemble into any shape, any color, any size, any whatever,” Curtis said. “So that’s why they’re so relevant, because you don’t have to change the formula, you can just rearrange what pieces use and create something different.”
For LEGO franchise lovers, the Brick Convention is June 7-8 with two sessions occurring from 10-1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. both days. Also, according to the website, a portion of the proceeds from each Brick Convention is donated to Creations for Charity: a nonprofit organization that sells LEGO creations and uses the proceeds to buy LEGO sets for underprivileged children during the holidays. Tickets can be bought in-person and online, and all sessions will offer the same amenities.
