AFOLCON and The LEGO Show are back in 2012

 

  • AFOLCON and The LEGO Show are back in 2012

    Posted by Huw, 20 Sep 2011 11:33. Filed under Events (UK).


    We’ve just had confirmation that AFOLCON and The LEGO Show are back for 2012. Once again they'll be held in Manchester, in the north of England, but this time at a different venue. The dates for your diary are 3rd - 7th May 2012.

    For those of you that haven’t heard about the show before, AFOLCON is a special adult only fan convention for AFOLs from all over the world. After private convention days on the 3rd and 4th, the show is opened to the public as The LEGO Show over the bank holiday weekend.

    In 2011, AFOLCON had around 80 attendees from all over the UK, Europe and even as far away as Zimbabwe. There was a full day of conference sessions giving the inside track about the LEGO community.

    The keynote session saw the launch of the LEGO Master Builder Academy, followed by sessions from LEGO and TT Games designers as well as a LEGO certified professional and LEGO Serious Play consultant.

    Not only that, but every AFOLCON attendee also received a goodie bag worth over £50 each and were invited to visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre for a special after hours visit.

    The LEGO Show attracted over 5250 members of the public and included both Bricklink stores and a LEGO Brand store, as well as a LEGO museum and theatre.

    For 2012, the team have raised the bar...

    • New Location: It's moving to a huge new location at the Trafford Center with over 6000 sq metres of exhibition space (and it’s right opposite the Discovery Centre!)
    • Free Parking: Not only for AFOLS, but also the public. There are over 3000 free spaces.
    • More sessions: AFOLCON will be split over two days this year, giving more time for talks, workshops and of course socialising.
    • Open to everyone: The extra space available also means that now anyone can display at The LEGO Show - you don’t have to register for the full convention to join in the weekend fun (though of course you’ll miss out on all the sessions and other goodies!)

    For more details on AFOLCON and how to get involved, check out http://www.afolcon.com  now. Registration is open to attend the full conference or just display a MOC. Public ticket sales and information are also open right now at http://www.thelegoshow.com.

    Once again, the organisers have offered Brickset visitors a 20% discount on the normal AFOLCON ticket price of £60. All you have to do is quote the code BRICKSET20 when you check out. This is a limited offer so order now to guarantee your discount!

    Brickset is a Silver Sponsor of AFOLCON again and we'll be helping to promote and publicise it. Also, Warren, one of the organisers, will be keeping an eye out in the forum to answer any questions you may have about the events, so ask away in this Q&A discussion.


    26 comments, latest one posted 20 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 20 Sep 2011 11:47

GOOD GRIEF! O_O That banner is HUMONGOUS! When I came here, I was STUNNED! O_O

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 11:49

Well it got your attention, didn't it?? :-)

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 20 Sep 2011 11:53

@Huw: Too much of it, I'd say. :P XD

Posted by LuvKernow in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 12:45

Manchester again, huh? Cost me a fortune to go to AFOLcon 2011, so I think I'll be giving this one a miss...

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 14:06

^ Don't complain. What else is in Manchester?

Posted by BrickBob09 in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 14:10

@Huw; If that size banner 'is a Silver Sponsor' , then I don't even want to think how big the gold one would be!
Last year didn't you just have a small logo in the top right corner (where the Amazon thing currently is). Can't you put it somewhere like that again? :P

Anyway this is a) Too expensive and b) Too far away for me. If it was closer I'd make an effort but Manchester is just too far for me.
It's nice that they are offering us a 20% discount, and for those of you who do take this offer and go to the event, have fun! :)

Posted by Nabii in Denmark, 20 Sep 2011 14:31

I'll be there giving another presentation on LEGO set development and there should be other (to be announced) LEGO Designers too. The only other place you can get anything like this sort of access is the LEGO Inside Tour in Billund - that costs considerably more money though!

Hope to see some of you there!

Posted by LEGOSLUG in New Zealand, 20 Sep 2011 14:41

Awesome!, shame I can not go :)

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 14:53

^^ Looking forward to it, Nabii. Next year I *will* be there: I'll get the cruise with the wife out of the way earlier in the year to ensure it :-)

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 15:06

Having missed this year's event for business reasons I'll definitely be prioritising it next year - there are no other events like this in the UK and us AFOLs need to give it our support.

Posted by collect-that! in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 15:30

I will definitely be amongst those there and will sign up to display this year also! Looking at what's on offer it would be hard to pass up.

Posted by carding in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 15:40

Hmm...

Posted by atkinsar in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 16:12

There'll be no new baby to stop me going next year (hang on, better go and check with the wife to be sure!).

Posted by bricksan in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 16:42

Well I am going, will have to sort something out for the little one :)

Posted by Savage_Steel in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 16:50

@atkinsar - checking with the wife is the sort of thing that leads to new babies!! Stay away! Though mentioning you're going to leave her for the wkd for more LEGO might also put an end to new babies ;-)

I'll be there. I really enjoyed the lego show last year as an AFOL just out of her dark ages, I think by next spring I'll be a fully fledged AFOL, ready for conference thingies (and meeting you lot!)

Posted by Thomson & Thompson in Canada, 20 Sep 2011 16:58

This is all great - except for the fact that I don't live in Europe.

Posted by goldfish in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 17:01

I'll be going. Looking forward to it. whoop.

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 20 Sep 2011 17:20

And of course it excludes us TFOLs, as usual....

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 20 Sep 2011 17:22

@jonbuddy: Hm... how about a "TFOLCON", then?... ;) No "KFOLCON", though; too messy. :P

Posted by Hello_World! in United States, 20 Sep 2011 17:30

Sounds like a lot of fun! I won't be going though.

Posted by bricksan in United Kingdom, 20 Sep 2011 17:32

@savage_steel, maybe we could do the trip together seen as we are heading the same way?

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 20 Sep 2011 21:20

@Alemas, That would work. You'd be right about the KFOLCON, though. :P

Posted by BrickBob09 in United Kingdom, 21 Sep 2011 11:30

@Alemas; So where exactly would this take place :P
Seriously it is a good idea, us TFOL's are left out of everything, the AFOLCON, the Brickset Forum (yes I still angry about that over 16 rule)...

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 21 Sep 2011 14:47

@BrickBob09: I'm still angry too. :P

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 21 Sep 2011 15:30

I want 2013 AFOLCON to do 15+. If it is in May of that year then I'll actually be 15. That's fair for everyone, right? ;-)

I'll even fly to Manchester. :P

Posted by Nabii in Denmark, 22 Sep 2011 07:32

I have asked about the 16+ rule as I would rather present to anyone who wants to listen regardless of age (though screaming babies might be a bit much). I have been told it is insurance reasons that keep the age limit in place. There is no affordable insurance option for a private event with both adults and children present, as it seems it would require police checks of all adults present (though I am vetted by LEGO most adults do not have the required checks) and the costs quickly mount up and become prohibitive.

So, I have asked to give a presentation on the LEGOShow public days. This would be the same talk each day, it would be a generalized talk about how the work of a LEGO Designer is done rather then the in depth discussion of my latest set designs that I will give at AFOLCON, though it may include some similar information. I’ll then answer questions.

Hopefully this will give the KFOLs and younger TFOLs at least a little of the AFOLCON experience!

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