With the Covid-19 pandemic raging across the world, and many people’s lives being disrupted, one of the ways it has impacted the LEGO fan community is the changes to how LEGO fan conventions have been run.
To the credit of RLUGs (Recognised LEGO User Groups) who run these shows, they’ve reacted with impressive flexibility, organising online shows and conventions to engage and showcase the brilliance and creativity of LEGO builders.
Brickvention – which is Melbourne’s very own annual LEGO Fan Convention is usually held sometime in January every year, and to be honest, it feels hella weird to not be attending it this year.
But good news, because Brickvention is heading online this weekend (16-17 January 2021), and you can enjoy the best of it, from the comfort of your own home!
Unlike previous years at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, this year’s venue is on their website Brickvention.online! Plus, it’s FREE this year!
If you’ve been following Brickvention and have always wanted to visit Melbourne (virtually), this is your chance as you can tune in from anywhere in the world!
There will be a series of digital activities, from live streams, to interviews to showcases of online galleries, from Australia’s best LEGO builders.
Here’s what you can expect:
Saturday, 16 January
The main draw of Brickvention is always marveling at the displays, MOCs (My Own Creations), dioramas, and models on the convention floor.
This year, viewing designs and creations from Australia’s best builders will be entirely online, and you can view the galleries online via the Brickvention website.
You can also follow and view the entries and creations via the #brickventiononline hashtag on Instagram.
There will be 2 build competitions, a public competition where anyone from around the world can submit entries and creations, or the Brickvention Expert competition, where you’ll see MOCs from Brickvention regulars.
Digital Presentations, Interviews and Features – Sunday, 17 January
On Sunday, there will be a a full-day’s worth of content viewable online from the Brickvention Youtube channel. There will be interviews and features from a whole raft of LEGO luminaries such as:
- Youtuber and former LEGO designer Tiago Catarino
- the Brickman aka Ryan McNaught from LEGO Masters Australia
- a Historical session mediated by friend of the blog The Rambling Brick
- LEGO Designer Pierre Normandin who designs Creator and Creator Expert sets
- LEGO Instructions Specialist Thomas Foli
- and many more!
I’ll be tuning in to these sessions, so keep an eye out for me in the Youtube live chat!
There’s a lot going on, so here’s a schedule of activities and times on Saturday and Sunday!
Attending Brickvention has been a longtime tradition, and I almost always have a great time there, so while this year may be different, I’m still looking forward to it.
Will you be tuning in to Brickvention 2021 online? Let me know if you are in the comments!
To relive past Brickventions, check out my writeups and photo galleries from each year, going back to 2014!
- Brickvention 2014
- Brickvention 2015
- Brickvention 2016
- Brickvention 2017
- Brickvention 2018
- Brickvention 2019
- Brickvention 2020
And here are some of my favourite displays from each year
Ange says
I know COVID has disrupted our lives but it has made Brickvention a little more accessible for those of us who can’t get there. Thanks heaps for sharing.
Jay says
Oh that’s awesome. I will be the first to say that it was nice to be able to watch all the sessions at my leisure, although I will miss chatting to the exhibitors in person!
Chris says
I hope the videos tomorrow will be better. As someone new to lego it was hard to follow with the injokes and it wasn’t very newbie friendly. Much prefer the live shows.
Jay says
Oh hey Chris, sorry to hear that you didn’t really enjoy day 1. I’m sure the Brickvention team will be reading the feedback.
To make it more constructive, can you elaborate more on why you said so?