Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Discussion and planning of large-scale Castle Themed displays and events
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NovelNinja
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Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Post by NovelNinja »

Once again, I'm Matthew Bowman, and I will be the Castle coordinator for BrickFair Virginia in 2016.

Here's what I know for event-wide information:

- We will have an additional 30,000 square feet of space. This does not mean the same space we used before is expanded. It means there is an additional hall directly adjoining the main one which will be used by BrickFair. It will be accessed through interior doors. I'll let you know as soon as I can what will be placed in that area.

- In part because of the cost of that additional space, and in part due to other costs/inflation, membership has risen by ten dollars per person.

- There is some thought at the moment to limiting the Adult Swim activities to the smaller hall, letting under-21s still hang out in the main area. This is still up in the air, though. No promises, no threats.

- The "World of Lights" event is cancelled indefinitely at the Virginia location (it's still a go in the other three BrickFair locations), as the new lighting system makes it too difficult in the exhibit hall. By all means, continue to light your MOCs; just know that the lights are going to be on everywhere. :(

- Large MOCs will no longer be pre-drawn on the map. We'll just say that someone proved we can't have nice things. As such, if you have a large MOC with special requirements, make sure you let me know as soon as possible. Castle builders have been very good about that the last two years, but I just want to make sure people know.
________________

Now, for Castle-specific stuff:

- Castle will likely have no more than twenty tables unless significant pre-registration happens. Castle has been a shrinking theme at BrickFair due in part to the growth of the Pop Culture section (siphoning away all LotR and most other "fantasy" displays) as well as the lack of a solid Castle theme from TLG. However, the 2016 theme is "Monsters and Legends," which might bring some attention back on to us. Either way, I'm looking to encourage as many people as possible to come display in our favorite and objectively best theme. :halo:

- Many of us are still working on MOCs by Friday night, preparing for the public the next day. Others have finished, and are just hanging out and possibly exploring the rest of the hall. I'm looking into the possibility of a "pizza draft" for dinner in the Castle section on Friday night, to give still-building members a chance for dinner without taking time away from their work, and to let the rest of the Castle section socialize with each other. This would be a small buy-in for the pizza, or possibly pizza plus soda as well. Since most people don't eat more than three slices at a time, the math winds up pretty fair. (The likelihood is that it will be limited to vegetarian, pepperoni, and sausage, unless enough people chime in that they want unusual toppings.)

- I may provide chips and salsa at other times (including ghost pepper salsa, for the adventurous). This might be limited in scope, but if I have donations I can provide more. It's easy to get peckish, and as I write this someone just sent me a care/bribery package containing no less than six jars of salsa so it's kind of on my mind. :lol:

- For the adults: I didn't think of it this last BrickFair until it was too late, but I'm planning ahead. I will provide mead during adult swim. This will involve a selection of different brands and recipes, whatever I can get my hands on before the con starts. Mead is a famous medieval drink but not often consumed today, so I want to have a Castle party. I'm thinking we should play Castle Panic! at the same time. And while I will accept donations, the mead will be free of charge. In part because I'm just that nice, but I have to admit the fact that I don't have a liquor license plays into it quite a bit. :lol: Just remember, mead is very sweet, so if you don't like sweet alcohol you probably won't like this stuff.

- Yes, I'm planning on more of those FAQ and "No Touching" signs. If I have the time, I might do more than just make printouts; I might get them laminated and put a little graphic design work into them.
________________

That's all I've got at the moment, but we're still ten months out. Plenty of time to plan!
Castle Theme Leader for BrickFair Virginia.
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Re: Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Post by soccerkid6 »

My brother John (aka, LittleJohn) and I are planning on attending and bringing one large castle display, and several smaller builds. We're still deciding the size of the large build, but it will be at least 98x66.
This will be our first convention so we're pretty excited about it :D
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Re: Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Post by soccerkid6 »

We decided on 130 studs by 98 studs (42x32 inches) for our large collab castle display, and have registered it.
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Re: Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Post by NovelNinja »

We're only a few weeks out, and here's information as I have it.

- We're in almost exactly the same space we were in last year. However, we don't have a hideout of our own; we had it two years running, which was nice, and I'm going to miss it. We're also not all on the same island, but we've got some clearly defined "Castle territory."

- Space might be a little tight, so please keep that in mind during all stages of setup. Of course, I'd rather have a slightly crowded display area than lots of white tablecloth. Some of the large collaboratives are still going to be pre-drawn after all, but I'm going to try to organize what goes where for the rest as well. IF YOU HAVE PREFERENCES LET ME KNOW.

- FOOD AND DRINK: Still planning a pizza draft for Friday night, still likely to bring salsa and chips, still going to bring mead on Saturday night. Adult Swim will be in the main hall, so this will be at the Castle table.
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Re: Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Post by NovelNinja »

Turns out the map was not settled just yet. Castle has been moved; we're a lot closer to the door and will be one of the first things they see. We'll be up against a wall, but Todd has given us a little extra room, and some back-wall tables for play, sorting, or brick-swapping. (Or fine Viking mead.)
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Re: Castle at BrickFair VA 2016

Post by SSchmidt »

I hate we lose our personal space, that was one of the things that made the last two years so good. Where will we hide from the hordes of the unwashed public :twitch:

I am bringing the big, 4x9 battle collab that has been a headache for you and Todd to accommodate.. My sincerest apologies :lol: I would love to have it somewhere close to the Lands of Roawia collaboration

-----------------------------------------------
Additionally, to any classic-castlers, here are some more things to add to your schedule we are planning on doing during BFVA this year.



Hey guys,

Here are some things to put on your schedule:

1.) Thursday - 4pm, Parts draft, Hobbit Barrell Escape = $40.00 buy-in
Draft won't last but an hour, so will give plenty of time to get ready for yard sale at 6pm.

2.) Friday - 4pm, Parts draft, Chima battle packs = $6.00 buy in.
A parts draft for $6.00?! Absolutely! A KMART near me was going out of business and I was able to pick up these chima battle packs for 50%! So, only a 6 dollar buy-in!
There are multiples of the following sets:
http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalog ... 9-1#T=S&O={}
http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalog ... 0-1#T=S&O={}
http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalog ... 1-1#T=S&O={}
http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalog ... 2-1#T=S&O={}

Don't get your panties in a wad. There are some sweet pieces, and, for the $6.00 buy - in, you could probably draft a fig or two, and swap them at the yard sale, getting most of your money back. Either way, cheap fun, with lots of parts!

3.) Willards BBQ dinner - we could probably go eat dinner Friday night after the parts draft, like we have done the past two years? Friday night seems to work best for me, and hopefully you too.


4.) I will also be bringing The LEGO Helm's Deep board game, so hopefully we can have a tournament for it. I also just purchased "Exploding Kittens," the card game, and it looks hilariously fun. Would love to do some of these once our collabs are finished.

Read more: http://merlins-beard.com/conversation/2091#ixzz4EhPBDaHQ
PSN: SSchmidt-
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