Brickworld Chicago brings lights, camera, action for 10th year
Where can you find fighting robots, displays of films and television shows and famous landmark replicas all built with Legos? Look no further than 10th annual Brickworld Chicago LEGO Exposition.
Lego fanatics can attend the convention from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in the Schaumburg Renaissance Convention Center. Tickets range from $9 to $12, and children 3 and under are free.
This year's event has already set a record with more than 1,000 registered attendees displaying their builds. Rocco Buttliere, 22, of Buffalo Grove and last year's Brickworld Master, is one of them.
"I've always been into Legos, but I wasn't really building my own stuff, and everyone brings (their own creations) to Brickworld," Buttliere said.
The public can see various Lego creations and presentations, participate in interactive activities, watch fighting robots and purchase items from vendors.
"I do presentations on my models and building techniques to help encourage people who are new to the show or show people what you can do with Lego," Buttliere explained. "I do architecture, but other people do everything from A to Z, and it's pretty cool to be able to share that in a setting like this."
This year's theme is "Lights, Camera, Action," and Buttliere explained several builders have contributed to a "Game of Thrones" creation. There are also smaller scale individual projects based on films, television shows and video games. Some of Buttliere's displays include famous landmarks, such as the Magnificent Mile, Wrigley Building, Burj Khalifa and the Golden Gate Bridge - his newest and biggest build at 12 feet.
More than 20 awards are given out at the convention, including Best Replica and Best Small Building. The most prestigious award, which can be earned only once, is Brickworld Master. Buttliere earned the title after six years of building.
"It was great to be recognized by everyone and a really cool recognition to have since there's only been 10 Brickworld Masters," he said.
To learn more about Brickworld, visit http://brickworld.com.