Brickfête
StatusActive
GenreLego
VenueVarious
Location(s)Toronto area
CountryCanada
Inaugurated2011
Organized byOntario Brick Builders
Websitewww.brickfete.com

Brickfête is a Lego fan convention held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It became the first Canadian Lego convention for adult fans of Lego at its inaugural event in 2011.[1] It was created by volunteers[2] and organized by the Ontario Brick Builders (OBB).[3] The main focus of the convention is for Lego fans and hobbyists bring their creations to display and share with fellow enthusiasts. Brickfête's mandate is to offer any fan, regardless of skill level or size of collection, a place to display their creations and to promote their revered hobby to new potential fans. Like other fan conventions, it offers workshops, presentations, special events, contests and challenges.

Brickfête is a four-day event typically held on a Thursday through Sunday. Brickfête is held typically in July in Toronto. In its third year, Brickfête also created a travelling road show (Brickfête - On the Road), which takes a similar, yet smaller show throughout Canada. Its first destination was Montreal, Quebec.[4]

Brickfête is a two part event with a private convention for (primarily adult) exhibitors and then a public exhibition (general public) on the weekend. The event is not sponsored by the Lego Company however it is recognized as a fan event by them.[5]

Private convention

The main focus of the event is the private convention, which provides a venue for adult fans of Lego to bring and display their own Lego creations. Activities at the convention include presentations, seminars, guest speakers, raffles, games, contests and awards. The Lego company will sometimes provides designers or representatives as guest speakers or to show sneak peek previews of upcoming sets.[6] The full attendee receives an event package including a schedule of events, give-aways from vendors, souvenirs of the event including an event brick, and other exclusive material.[7]

Public exhibition

A model train station at the inaugural 2011 event

The public exhibition is for Lego fans of all ages. For a nominal fee, the general public can view of hobbyist-built creations, meet and ask questions of their creators, or expand their interest in building or collecting Lego. Guest can expect to see custom creations that include but are not limited to Lego Robots & Mindstorms creations, city layouts with powered trains, space, Star Wars & science fiction creations, art, architecture and design, planes, trains and automobiles, historical buildings and castles, pirates, steampunk and Vikings, and mosaics and sculptures. There is a build area for hands-on experimenting.[8]

Locations and dates

DatesLocationOrganizerHost LugAFOL & VIP AttendeesThemeGuest SpeakersNotes
July 28–31, 2011Assembly Hall, TorontoOBBrtlToronto78 & 3Old SchoolJim FouldsFirst Brickfête event
July 12–15, 2012Hilton Hotel, TorontoOBBWHaCKoLUG106 & 70HeroesKevin HinkleMoved to a larger venue, Star Wars characters entertained
July 11–14, 2013Hilton Hotel, TorontoOBBrtlToronto122 & 78Canadian Inventions & InventorsKevin Hinkle, Pierre Normandin, Graeme DymondLife-size Lego figure entertained, Duplo play area for children under 3 was added
Nov 21–24, 2013MontrealOBBQueLUG86 & 80ConstructionKevin HinkleFirst "On the Road" show
July 17–20, 2014Delta East, TorontoOBBWHaCKoLUGN/AElementsJamie Berard, Kevin HinkleVenue change for better location and free public parking
July 3–5, 2015Delta East, TorontoOBBWHaCKoLUGN/AFireunknown
July 7–10, 2016Delta East, TorontoOBBWHaCKoLUGN/AMusicunknown
July 8–9, 2017Delta East, TorontoOBBWHaCKoLUGN/ACanadianunknown

Press Coverage

680 News[9] Etobicoke Guardian [10]

References

  1. ↑ Brothers Brick - Year One Announcement http://www.brothers-brick.com/2011/05/02/brickfete-ontario-july-28-31/
  2. ↑ Brickfête Volunteers/Staff "Would you like to Volunteer?". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  3. ↑ Ontario Brick Builders http://www.ontariobrickbuilders.com/
  4. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Brickfête Montréal, LEGO convention - Kinetoscope Parlour episode 4". YouTube.
  5. ↑ "EVENT RECAP: Brickfête: Toronto 2013 | Community Team Blog". Archived from the original on 2015-10-14. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  6. ↑ "Bionicle™ - BZPower News, Reference and Discussion". www.bzpower.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  7. ↑ "Lego wizards strut their stuff at Brickfete 2012".
  8. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Brickfete 2012". YouTube.
  9. ↑ "CityNews".
  10. ↑ "Lego convention coming to Etobicoke". 12 July 2011.
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