Lego village highlights Bloomingdale holiday art show

The magic of Christmas past with a dash of the present is on display at the holiday art show running at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum.

The show opens Friday, Nov. 29, and continues through Monday, Dec. 30, at the museum, 108 S. Bloomingdale Road.

Randy Flones of South Elgin has designed and constructed a winter wonderland Lego village, complete with model trains, that will delight both children and adults. The Lego display is approximately 12-by-13-feet, consisting of at least 50,000 Lego pieces.

Flones has entered his Lego displays in regional festivals, but none has matched the size of the Bloomingdale presentation. A model train lover since his youth, Flones has been a member of the Valley Model Railroad Club for six years.

With a real-life career position as vice president of engineering for an electronics manufacturing company, Flones said the Lego village offers him a chance to add his own stamp of creativity to his engineering and architectural skills.

Flones designs the village layout himself, but his wife and two daughters lend a helping hand assembling the village buildings and structures.

“Putting it up the night before feels a bit insane, but when the kids come in and see it, it makes it all worth it,” Flones said.

Surrounding the Lego village, a variety of games dating from 1920 to the present will be on display. Board games, video games, sidewalk games, card games and more will adorn the gallery walls.

The gallery also will feature an interactive area for children to play hopscotch, work on puzzles, throw a bean bag, use a hula-hoop and more. The games are on loan from museum staff collections.

In addition, the museum will showcase a personal collection of festive objects titled “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Christmas trees, ornaments, wall hangings and other holiday decorations will inspire visitors with decorating ideas for their own homes.

On the exhibition’s opening evening, the museum will host an event for children to make a seasonal ornament or card to decorate the Old Town Park tree from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, in anticipation of the park-lighting ceremony to follow.

The museum will continue to host holiday craft workshops from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays and a cookie decorating event from 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays through Dec. 20. Additional events, such as Elf on the Shelf, a scavenger hunt and Create a Card activity, will be scheduled.

Visitors will not want to pass up the hot chocolate and cookies the museum will provide during all open exhibit hours.