Brickworld Chicago this weekend
Posted by MeganL,
After a two year absence (thanks, pandemic!), one of the largest U.S. conventions, Brickworld Chicago, is back this weekend at the Schaumburg Convention Center. The convention for attendees starts Wednesday night with a mixer. The opening keynote on Thursday evening features Brickset friends Joshua and John Hanlon from Beyond the Brick. There are many other sessions on Thursday and Friday, including two talks by Stuart Harris from LEGO House.
A record number of U.S. LEGO Masters Contestants are scheduled to be in attendance. They will be in panel talks and have building activities, including a demolition derby based on the infamous episode from Season 2. The convention will be open to the public on Saturday from 10-4 and Sunday from 10-3.
I'll also be there for most of the weekend. On Thursday I'm hosting the Women's Brick Initiative (WBI) social, and Friday I'm leading the WBI workshop, which features building Lowell spheres. Over the weekend you'll be able to find me at the WBI table, which will feature our two collaborative builds, an aquarium and a quilt. Please stop by and say hi - I will have a limited number of 1x8 Brickset bricks to give away.
I hope to see you there!
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11 comments on this article
Looking forward to this! Will gladly stop by and say hi.
It's been 3 years, and I can't wait! If you want to learn how to make affordable medieval roofs, come to my presentation on Thursday. :)
My first LEGO convention! Excited for the events and I'll swing by and say, Hi!
I was in Schaumburg twice last week, but don't know if I can afford gas to get there again. Near $6.50 in the Chicago area.
There seem to be Autumn dates in neighboring Detroit and Fort Wayne which may be closer.
@ambr:
Chicago is a full AFOL convention, where all the other dates (like Detroit and Ft Wayne) are public expos. Not only are the expos considerably smaller, but the displays are largely sourced from local areas, where people come from all over the world to display in Chicago. While the expos can be fun to attend, don’t expect to get anything like the experience you can have in Chicago.
I wish I could go but I’m buying a new house tomorrow and with it being Father’s Day weekend there simply isn’t any time. On the bright side I’ll now have a Lego room in my new house. Hopefully I can attend next year.
Just wondering for next year, is the convention something that kids would enjoy or is it really targeted at adults?
@alfred_the_buttler:
Depends on if they’re handsy, or can manage the “look but don’t touch” routine. There are several activities geared more towards kids, and some competitions have age classes to keep things fair for the younger crowd. But you’re talking 100,000 square feet of mostly original LEGO displays, with a line of vendors running down the center. I’m not sure if it’ll be available this year, but they run a play area where they just have carloads of 2x4 bricks in a single color so kids can build to their hearts’ content without anyone fighting over specific elements.
Some of the event might be boring to adolescents, and some of the late-night stuff may not be family-friendly (Cards Against Humanity and Joking Hazard are two games I’ve seen played after most kids are abed). One solution I’ve seen is for a tolerant NLSO to take the young kids to the pool, or on a field trip, while the AFOLs and TFOLs stay behind and hobby it up.
I'll be out of town and won't attend this year, but this show has been our Father's Day activity for me and the kids for the past several years. I'm glad it's back on, maybe I'll go next year. Have fun, everyone!
This is a great convention--go if you can! I usually attend, but I'm out of town this year : (
I was hoping to stop by Brickworld this year b ut completely forgot it was this weekend!!