Brickfest PDX co-ordinator

by **medib** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 10:58 am

I was just curious if anyone in the community has stepped
up to help co-ordinate the castle efforts in Portland in
Feb. 2004.

As far as group layouts go, Brickfest 2003 was the weakest.
However, as far as getting together and dealing with the
meat-and-potatoes of the issues, Brickfest was indeed
my favorite.

If there was a west coast con in San Diego, there may have
been a bit of an effort for me to go down, but since its
in Portland, the interest factor for me, has diminished.

Anyways, I just thought I'd bring this up. I think we
all had e-mail, IIRC, from Christine Hitchcock regarding
(a) volunteer(s) to help run the castle effort there.

Ben M.

by **Charlie** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 5:09 pm

Do you have any idea where it is going to be located at? I live in Portland, and I think it would be great to go out to a Brickfest.

EDIT:

Well, that was simple to find out

I won't be going though, seeing as I'm only 16 and all, but I bet it would be great.

by **adm_matthew** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:07 pm

*off topic*
will there be two brickfests this year?

by **medib** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:55 am

will there be two brickfests this year?

Yes and No.

Brickfest PDX is being organzied by Steve Berile (PNLTC?)
and the rest of the Brick Events LLC (Christine Hitchcock, Denise Jadud, Kevin Loch, Stephen Roberts, etc)
Venue is to be at Portland in a large center (not quite sure
the name, but I now there was an interesting story
why it is being held there).

Brickfest will happen in August 2004 and Brickfest PDX
will happen in February 2004 to replace BricksWest.

I won't be going though, seeing as I'm only 16 and all, but I bet it would be great.

I'm sure that the way the event will be set up that even
if you can't afford or old enough to attent the "AFOL"
portion of it, there will still be a chance, maybe?, to
see the public-side of it, and still see nearly all of the
MOC's.

I don't have the money to travel across the country to
see the event. If and when it returns to LEGOLAND
in San Diego, then I might think about making the trek.

Anyways I was just curious to see what the interest factor
was.

Thanks,
Ben M.

by **architect** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 2:47 pm

I am very interested in going to Brickfest PDX. However, I do not know if I will be able to attend due to the cost, time, and location. They all seem inconvienient. A spring break timeframe in March would be easier. Portland isn't exactly ideal. I think that the Brickfests in general should try to focus locations closer to the center of the country. A Brickfest Chicago, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, etc would work well for people who have to travel long distances.

I also question the overall community interest in this project. It will work out, but does not seem to be organized as well as previous fests. This is an excellent opportunity for castle to show everyone what we are capable of.

Presentations would be nice. If I attend, I could present on braced timber frame construction and converting this into LEGO. "Tudor Building Techniques" would be good. Presentations on building accurate churches and castles would be good as well.

Displays are essential. The recent Detroit Convention is impressive. I want to see that village at least 10 times larger than it is now and encircled by a CCC wall.

Games would be nice. I am not very familiar with the castle/space wars but this would be fun. Siege weapon contests could be cool too. Perhaps a timed build of Blacksmith Shop or other large sets.

Discussion sections on the future of the CC standard, events, product wishes, etc.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I dont know if I will attend or would want to coordinate, but these are issues we need to discuss.

Ben E.

by **Jedipawn** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:56 pm

Hello Everyone, I just came out of my dark ages, so I have never been to Brickfest before. I would love to go as I live just a few hours from Portland. Does anyone have any idea how to find out info on cost, how to regester a Moc, or other details? I would also enjoy being able to help out with the planning for a castle display! I think that as a castle community we should show Lego and the world that just because we are not getting new sets that we like, we are still very much imagining and building!!!
One final question, a little off topic, Does anyone have any advice for me as I try to rebuild my lego collection??

Thanks Everyone

by **Jojo** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 5:26 pm

Hello!

Jedipawn wrote:Does anyone have any advice for me as I try to rebuild my lego collection??

"There is no "try". Just do, or do not." :-)

You mean, how to find out what you had as a kid and now would have got to get back?
First you should go through the online databases of LEGO sets, as http://www.brickset.com/themebrowse.aspx or http://guide.lugnet.com/set/. Look at the sets sorted by themes and ponder what you used to have and what you want to get.

As a next step go to http://www.ebay.com OR http://www.bricklink.com, search there for those sets and decide if you wanna spend the money to buy them. ;-)

Bye
Jojo

by **medib** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 7:43 pm

Hello Everyone, I just came out of my dark ages, so I have never been to Brickfest before. I would love to go as I live just a few hours from Portland. Does anyone have any idea how to find out info on cost, how to regester a Moc, or other details?

As far as I know is what is on the website.
[url]
http://pdx.brickfest.com/
[/url]
no other info is available. Notice NO Castle Co-ordinator
yet.
:cry:

I would also enjoy being able to help out with the planning for a castle display! I think that as a castle community we should show Lego and the world that just because we are not getting new sets that we like, we are still very much imagining and building!!!

A very good attitude to have. I'm sure if you end up participating it would be very cool. The one thing I
found about taking charge is that there is a small minority
or at least someone who complains about how it is run.
That is always bound to happen.

Plus, I found that I wasn't able to socialize as much this year as I did last year. However, I was able to develop a better friendship with fellow castle-heads so that was a plus!!

One final question, a little off topic, Does anyone have any advice for me as I try to rebuild my lego collection??

Besides Bricklink and Ebay like Jojo mentioned already,
there are clearance sales (by Walmart, Kmart, and Target)
those are also ways to build up your collection.

There are those Orient Expedition sets, Scorpion Palace
and the Dragon Fortress for example could be used
for castle parts....Harry Potter might go through some
more clearances....(should have gone to Brickfest though...)
and there are some decent sets that are castle-related
(slytherin for example).

Anyways, nice discussion so far,

Ben M.

by **Bruce N H** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:21 pm

Hey,

I won't be at Brickfest PDX, but I think the idea of a siege weapon contest would be great. Perhaps Anthony could give us some tips from the recent TexLUG meeting? I would guess that you could have two categories--distance and accuracy (say, 3 tries to hit 3 targets, the one who hits the most wins, in the case of ties those who are tied get three more tries to hit 3 targets, perhaps at a longer distance). This contest could be advertised to the community as a whole to invite entries from those space, train, and town guys.

Another suggestion would be for everyone to bring as many green baseplates as they can and whatever trees, bushes etc, and then bring any extra soldiers they aren't using in their display piece, then set up a huge battle.

Another thing that seems to be popular (again, having never attended a fest), is the pirate games. Perhaps someone experienced in Brikwars or Brickquest could host a medieval themed game, and again invite the community (perhaps this would require reservations, I don't know how many people would respond or how many one game can accomodate).

Bruce

P.S. JediPawn. I'll start a thread in the "General LEGO" forum on your question, as a lot of people might have suggestions.

by **ffilz** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 8:09 pm

I thought I'd add a few comments to this discussion:

First, why isn't there a BrickFest (or similar con) in Chicago or some other central city? Because no one has stepped up to run one. It takes a lot of effort to put together a con, and it takes some up front money to reserve a space.

I'd also like to clarify a bit just who is putting on BrickFest PDX. It is being led by Steve Barile of Portland, with help from a bunch of other Portland folks, and folks around the country. It has the blessings of Brick Events LLC, and Christina is very involved. I'm not sure how much involvement the other Brick Events folks have. Many of the people have been involved in the other brick cons (for example, Todd Thuma is doing the animation festival, Larry Pieniazek will be coordinating the expo room, I will be doing gaming and pirate (and possibly castle, though I would love to see someone who will be able to dedicate more energy lead up castle). These events don't happen without community support.

As far as 16 year old attendees, I think we are requiring people under 18 to come with a parent. Of course everyone is welcome to the public expo.

As a personal opinion, I'm glad the spring brick con is not being held near Legoland this year. While Legoland sounds like a good attraction, it really turns out to be a distraction. It might work out better if the whole event could be held at Legoland, but the way it works currently is that during large chunks of time, people are not really in a community gathering, but instead are wandering Legoland.

I also personally prefer the BrickFest style of brick con to the others. BrickFest is more of a convention and less of a public expo. This gives more time to really mingle with other AFOLs instead of having to yell at kids who are drooling on your MOCs (well, ok, usually an expo isn't that bad - and I have had some good conversations with guests, but I'd much more enjoy comparing techniques with other AFOLs).

Frank

by **architect** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 11:18 am

First, why isn't there a BrickFest (or similar con) in Chicago or some other central city? Because no one has stepped up to run one. It takes a lot of effort to put together a con, and it takes some up front money to reserve a space.

Fair enough. I am sure that organizing a con is expensive and time consuming. So it if the organizers are from Portland it makes sense.

As a personal opinion, I'm glad the spring brick con is not being held near Legoland this year. While Legoland sounds like a good attraction, it really turns out to be a distraction. It might work out better if the whole event could be held at Legoland, but the way it works currently is that during large chunks of time, people are not really in a community gathering, but instead are wandering Legoland.

This is a good point as well. I only wonder if it will cut the participation of the LEGO Company. Is there any news of Brad or Jake attending? I am just wondering.

Ben

by **Bruce N H** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 3:54 pm

Ben,

Also on the location of Portland, there was much discussion on Lugnet when this was announced and the organizers explained that they got a great deal on the location space. I think you'll find information in this Lugnet thread:
http://news.lugnet.com/events/?n=919

Bruce

by **lar** » Tue Dec 23, 2003 11:22 pm

The top post of this thread asked if anyone might be able to help out BrickFest PDX by being the Castle Coordinator (one person could do castle sessions and expo, or two people could split the role).

Unfortunately the organizing committee is still seeking a coordinator.. See this post on LUGNET: http://news.lugnet.com/castle/?n=18926 which I reproduce for your convenience:

Hi folks,

I'm standing in for Castle Coordinator for BrickFest PDX 2004 however, we would really love to have a more dedicated Castle Coordinator.

Perhaps the fact that I will probably be bringing more Space MOCs than Castle MOCs will be an incentive for the Castle folks to come up with a coordinator.

I am expecting to have some good castle displays. Assuming Thomas Rafert is able to come, he will bring his huge castle diorama, and Stephen Fisher will be bringing a bunch of castle MOCs.

I will also mention that if I'm coordinating, there won't be Castle MOC awards.

So, want to change things? Volunteer!

Thanks in advance

Frank Filz

So like Frank says, if you are interested in making BrickFest a better con, please speak up!

by **lar** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 11:05 am

An update...

As you all know, Lenny has stepped in to take this on and a fine job he's doing so far, too, I might add.

Brickfest PDX co-ordinator

Brickfest PDX co-ordinator

Brickfest Portland

Re: Brickfest Portland

Needed: Castle Coordinator for BrickFest PDX 2004

Re: Needed: Castle Coordinator for BrickFest PDX 2004

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