Brickfest 2009 was a great time. Over the course of two public show days, more than 7,500 people came through the ballroom of the Sheraton Premiere in Tysons Corner, Virginia. (Last year’s attendance of 10,000+ was reduced because of some fire code violations, heavy rains and a local train conference, which draws on a similar crowd.) Its proximity to the LEGO store in Tysons Corner Center mall, along with the incredible deals for conference participants at Potomac Mills’ LEGO store made the event quite popular for Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL’s) around the entire mid-Atlantic.
Local vistors weren’t the only ones, however. Representatives from LEGO Corporate were in attendance, including LEGO’s US headquarters in Enfield, CT and the “home office’ in Billund, Denmark. AFOLs joined the conference from Canada, Taiwan, and US states as far away as Hawaii and Washington.
I was delighted this year that my wife Molly could join me, and help me introduce Brickworkz to the thousands of visitors that came through. This year, I brought a special project with me.
Funded by Dan Brown at the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum in Bellaire, Ohio, “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” was a hit. The piece was built on transparent Lego base plates. Translucent, colored Lego pieces comprised the mosaic, which meant that light could pass through the entire mosaic. Here’s a video of me putting this Lego art together:
This piece, along with my award-winning Wall-E mosaic, Baby Mia, and a new artsy project called “Brick’s Breath” came with me to Tyson’s. I met thousands of people and was delighted to share my art with them.
We came home exhausted but thrilled from the creativity boost that happens when you get that many LEGO fans in a room together.


