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It's Tuesday. I think. That means BrickFest 2007 must be complete. I'm pretty
sure, through the lack of sleep haze. And before the glow fades (or
consciousness fully returns), I'd like to present a recap of the event.
First, some numbers.
Date: March 30 through April 1, 2007
Convention Attendees: 214
Location: 45°31' North, -122°39' West
Public expo: 5 hours (on the auspicious first of April)
Public expo attendees: 2,800+
Estimated average hours of sleep per attendee per night: 5
Liters of alcohol consumed at the Red Lion watering spot: UNKNOWN
Some things that stand out in memory...
* Standing on the bleachers and watching the public throng, a Brownian motion of
multicolored heads flowing around stantioned displays
* The sheer number of attendees who wanted to help and volunteer in one way or
another - for which they deserve a huge "thanks"!
* A solid background murmur with the occasional high-pitched, "Mommy! Look at
THIS!" punctuating frequent comments of "wow" and "cool" and "I didn't know you
could DO that with Legos!"
* Spectators gathered around the various Mindstorms contests - at times silent
and motionless, but then suddenly erupting into applause and cheers at some
robotic feat
* A huge 30,000 square foot space with enormous ceilings and excellent lighting
showing off the MOCs lined up neatly in their areas
* Seeing 30+ people arriving on setup day and getting everything ship-shape for
Friday morning
* Unveiling a King Cake at a pizza party Thursday night, shipped overnight from
New Orleans
* Listening to a train guy enthuse to everyone just how cool the Bionicle
display was (which it was)
* Kevin Clague setting an example of "sharing the wealth" when he donated one of
his pneumatic MOCs for a door prize - and then passing on a prize when his name
was called a bit later, since he'd won earlier
* Talking with Richard Stollery of LEGO (Steve Witt's boss), and feeling that my
voice is being heard - and hearing others feel the same way about their own
conversations with LEGO attendees
* Watching SCLTC wheel in several massive boxes they'd shipped from Southern
California, and sharing in the collective empathetic wince when they RATTLED
* Sharing enjoyment of a casual atmosphere during the first two days, without
feeling the pressure of "putting on a show" - it came together by Sunday morning
with only a little scramble in skirting and finishing displays
* Circling the impressive Brick Bazaar and fighting temptation - but not
succeeding
* The crush and heat and blood lust and sheer mass of people in a confined space
at the LEGO Store in Washington Square on Friday night, but also an overall
sense of shared adversity and willingness to help somebody you didn't even know.
And oh yeah, the great deals and excellent PaB selection (like old grey 1x2
tiles!)
* The look on the faces of the first public attendees after the doors were
opened - after the announcement that the expo was opened was greeted with
applause by everyone in the hall. I'm sure it was the first time members of the
public were applauded simply for entering a LEGO display.
* The winner of an April Fool's dino train MOC given away on Sunday
* I'm 185 bricks tall
* Matt Chiles' Bleyman picture
* The biggest Dirty Brickster I've ever been involved with, nearly 50 people,
getting done in about an hour and a half
There are only so many adjectives you can use to describe an international
gathering of (mostly) adult LEGO fans. And I'm sure they've been used in
previous event descriptions, so I won't even try. For those who've been involved
in an event like this, BF07 was as good as it gets. For someone who's never
attended a large AFOL event - do it. Really.
Even after the months of preparation, frantically designing the program,
bouncing the contract with the OCC back and forth, finding box after box after
pallet of "stuff" ultimately destined for the event showing up on my doorstep...
after all that, listening to the comments and questions of "When will the next
one be held?" certainly made it all worthwhile.
Many people came up to Steve, Christina and myself during and after the event,
each saying essentially the same thing: thank you for the work and making this a
great BrickFest. I don't know what Steve and Christina replied, but for my part
I usually responded with a lame nod and "you bet" or something equally inane.
When my brain kicked into gear again this morning, I realized why I had such a
hard time responding.
The organizers didn't make it a great con. The attendees and volunteers did.
We simply provided the opportunity for everyone else to come together and make
it the type of event we all wanted. That's all.
So thank YOU. I had just as much fun as anyone.
Kelly McKiernan
BrickFest 2007 Co-Organizer
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: BrickFest 2007 - Organizer's Recap
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| (...) Christina, Kelly, and Steve-- Just wanted to add my thanks again to the three of you for organizing this wondrous form of chaos. And to all the attendees as well--thank you so much for making us feel like a part of the family. We had a ball (...) (18 years ago, 4-Apr-07, to lugnet.events.brickfest, FTX)
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