Brick Convention takes over downtown Montgomery for the weekend
The Renaissance Montgomery Convention Center hosts a weekend full of fun with the Montgomery Brick Convention.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – From towering castle replicas to battle fields that look straight out of a movie scene, the Renaissance Montgomery Convention Center was packed with thousands of LEGO bricks and its adoring fans.
When asked what his favorite thing about LEGO is, Benjamin Norris of Wetumpka said “You can get one whole set and you can just build whatever you want. Whatever comes to mind.”
Star Wars, Nintendo, Disney and Botanicals were just a few of the sets that were on display at the convention. Majority of the pieces were acutally independetly designed and built by the vendors themselves.
“There are just two things that I really enjoy,” said Martin Hariss a local LEGO artist in Montgomery. “I use it as a tool to expierence something else. I build Disney creations and I’m able to 3D-4D play with that essentially. Then, the next part is the output which is something like today where I can get to stand and just watch people enjoy, get inspired and take pictures. I build for that. That’s what I build for.”
Some of the artists were even able to turn their passion for LEGO into a full time career.
“So I’ve been doing LEGO since I was four-years-old but later when I was 16, I realized that LEGO could be a self producing hobby,” said Caleb Blackwell, owner of Blackwell Bricks LLC. “I started flipping LEGO on the side and that was able to fund my hobby. Then, when I was about 22, I was working for a company and they said…’You’re all overpaid so we’re cutting your pay in half.’ I did a lot of praying, a lot of talking to friends and family…That was two and a half years ago and I’ve just been trying to grind it out and keeping God first.”
It turns out LEGO bricks aren’t just for kids. The crowd was full of adult builders as well, some just as passionate as the fans half their age.
“LEGO is for anyone. There’s all different kinds of themes and different things that you can build,” said Kristy Bowker of Brick Brigade. Whether you like Harry Potter or just creator pieces there’s something for everybody…It could just be free building if that’s something you want to get into or they go all the way up in the big box complex sets. There’s definitely an entry point for anybody no matter where they are in life.
Besides the fun, the convention also serves a bigger purpose. A potion of the proceeds made will help support the Build Smiles Foundation and Creations for Charity: two organizations that provide LEGO sets to underprivileged children. Money will also be donated to Vet Tix, which helps fund free tickets to to events for veterans and their families.
For more information about the convention and where it will be headed next, click here.
