Brick by brick: Lego convention returns to Albuquerque

Piece by piece and brick by brick, Lego builders of all types will be seen at the Brick Convention — a Lego fan event — on Saturday, Jan. 18, and Sunday, Jan. 19, as fans from across the world gather to celebrate their love of Lego.

Hosted by 24-year-old Greyson Riley, who started organizing Lego events at the age of 14, the event at Expo New Mexico encapsulates everything there is to know and love about the colorful building blocks.

This is the second year in a row the Brick Convention has visited Albuquerque and Riley said this year, Lego fans can expect even more.

Brick by brick: Lego convention returns to Albuquerque

“This year we actually have twice as many displays as last year,” he said. “Last year there was about 100 individual displays, and it’s over 200 this year and these displays range from massive displays to some with over 100,000 bricks.”

The event, which is family-friendly and open to all ages, features Lego building celebrities for the event, ready to share their knowledge and show their Lego displays to guests. Lego artists like Amado Pinlac — who has had his Lego creations displayed worldwide in places like Denmark and the Philippines — will display his award-winning “Lego Star Wars” and botanical garden displays.

“We’re bringing in pro Lego artists and some are celebrities who have been on TV, and we’re also bringing in some local displays built by local adult Lego fans,” Riley said. “There’s a mixture of flying people from all over the country, as well as local participation.”

Some of the local builds include New Mexico scenery, like re-creating popular “Breaking Bad” scenes. All of the displays made by New Mexicans are new, never-before-seen displays, adding to the excitement for local fans. Other scenes people can expect to see include city and train displays.

Other people like Mel Brown, who was a contestant on the Fox TV series “Lego Masters,” will come to Albuquerque from Maryland to meet fans and show off his displays. Guests can also expect to see Lego building celebrities Stephen Forthofer and Madison Rice in attendance and will be able to take a photo with participating Lego stars.

Some pro Lego builders will even offer interactive classes where guests can sit with Lego artists and ask them questions, examine large displays and break down the details of each build.

“I like to call them live galleries because it’s a gallery of Lego creations and artists will have their gallery back to back and the cool thing is they’re there all weekend for the attendees,” Riley said. “I think that’s one of the coolest parts of the event, and most of the attendants say their favorite part is being able to actually meet these Lego artists and talk to them.”

Guests can also expect to see a wide variety of Lego-themed activities from life-size Lego models of video game characters like Mario and Pikachu, brick pits where children can make Lego creations brick by brick, mosaic art pieces of characters like Iron Man and other interesting items like retired Lego sets.

When visitors aren’t perusing through hundreds of Lego displays, they can walk through several vendors who will sell a variety of Lego related items. Guests can shop through an assortment of items like Lego figurines, vintage Lego kits and custom Lego kits.

“People do come just to buy and I always say the show is made of four components, really cool people to meet, incredible things to see, pro artists and there’s things to buy, so there really is something there for everyone,” Riley said.