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LEGO convention Brick-by-the-Bay 2017

Participating in LEGO conventions is a great way to experience the wonderful LEGO creations teen and adult LEGO fans are building, and to interact with others in the hobby. There are a number of very large LEGO conventions around North America, including BrickCon in Seattle, the BrickFair events held on the East Coast, and BrickWorld in Chicago. The next upcoming event is Bricks-by-the-Bay held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, at the beginning of August. This is one of the largest LEGO conventions in the Western U.S., and the premier annual display of LEGO brick creations in Northern California. If you are planning to be in California at that time, make sure you don’t miss it! You can find the full press-release with all the details below. 🙂

The Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara will once again be the site of Bricks-by-the-Bay, the largest annual gathering of LEGO enthusiasts in Northern California and one of the largest LEGO fan conventions in the country. The convention will run from August 3rd through August 6th, with a Public Exhibition to be held on the last day of the convention on Sunday, August 6th.

This eighth annual convention will feature over 33,000 square feet of convention hall space with original LEGO artwork, models, and machines, many built on an awe-inspiring scale. Bricks-by-the-Bay is a four-day long celebration of all things LEGO, where hobbyists, artists, fans, and enthusiasts come together to learn, share and play.

Convention attendees bring their wonderful LEGO brick creations to display. Attendees gather for brick building seminars, LEGO themed fun and games, and to hear from luminaries and ambassadors of LEGO brick building. On the last day of the convention, the public is invited to attend and see all the attendee built LEGO exhibits.

“Bricks-by-the-Bay continues to thrive and has become an annual ‘must do’ for many families from the Bay Area and beyond, whether they attend the multi-day convention or just come to see the amazing displays on a public day,” says Bricks-by-the-Bay spokesperson Patty Sherin.

Bricks-by-the-Bay is proud to announce its newly renovated convention website at BricksbytheBay.com. The website features a program of convention events and activities as well as online registration for convention attendees. Tickets to the Public Exhibition will also be available for purchase online. Admission to the Public Exhibition also grants entry to Bricks-by-the-Bay’s vendor hall full of LEGO products and unique LEGO related accessories for sale.

Bricks-by-the-Bay expects attendees from all around the country and the world who will be showcasing all manner of cool and exciting LEGO creations. The 2017 Bricks-by-the-Bay convention theme is California Dreamin’. Whether it is brick-built models of famous California landmarks or other inspired builds that invoke the spirit and history of the Golden State, the attendees’ creations are sure to inspire.

If you are a dedicated LEGO fan, I highly recommend going on convention days, as there will be all kinds of interesting workshops, games, presentations and more that you can participate in. It is a great way to meet other LEGO fans, challenge your building skills, and learn many new things related to the hobby. As it is mentioned in the press-release above, the convention days are August 3-5. You can read the full schedule, where to stay (if you are from out of town), ticket prices and options, what to do if you would like to display your own LEGO creations, and a lot more information at BricksbytheBay.com.

And if you just want to go on the public day, you can visit Bricks-by-the-Bay on Sunday, August 6, from 10 AM until 4 PM. Guests can view the hundreds of original LEGO creations on display from a variety of themes, and meet the creators. There will also be vendors who sell LEGO sets, custom items, LEGO-related gifts and more. All ages are welcome. General admission for the public day is $20 per person at the door. Early bird and VIP rates are also available. Learn more at BricksbytheBay.com.

I know several of our readers visit Bricks-by-the-Bay and other LEGO conventions every year, so if you would like to share your own experiences and some tips and tricks that can be helpful to first-timers, feel free to add them at the comment section below. And if you have any questions, comments, concerns, you can add those as well. 😉

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LEGO Speed Champions building contest

The LEGO Architecture Dream Skyline Contest is still running at LEGO’s ReBrick website, and they also added a new event; the LEGO Speed Champions Racers of Tomorrow Contest. This contest challenges teen and adult LEGO fans to design and build a futuristic Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One racer! 🙂

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – OVERVIEW: The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team has a long and prestigious history in Formula One, but what about its future? In the same style and scale as LEGO Speed Champions, show LEGO what you think the iconic racecar will look like in the years to come – looking ahead 10, 20, or even 200 years!

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – HOW TO ENTER: Design and build your futuristic LEGO Speed Champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Racer. Take up to five photos of your creation and submit them to the contest (make sure to show off all angles of your creation). Use the description field to tell about your model – then hit “submit”. When you receive a “Success!” pop-up notification after clicking “submit” on the entry submission page, your entry has successfully been submitted. The ReBrick moderation team will review it within 1-3 working days to make sure it fits all the contest rules.

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – RULES: Your entry should be in the same size and scale as LEGO Speed Champions sets. Builds should relate to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport cars but otherwise not relate to any other car brands or third party IPs. This means all entries containing third party IPs that do not relate to LEGO or Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport will not be eligible for the contest – this includes other car or racing logos. Use of homemade stickers is allowed as long as stickers don’t show any brand or trademark. Entries can be previously built, but cannot be submitted previously in any contest of any kind. Entry photos should show your creation only, and should not show recognizable features of any person or any commercial product other than those of the LEGO Group and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. Entries must not contain LEGO elements which have been modified from their original form, including painted or cut elements. Use of any brick parts not produced by the LEGO Group will result in your entry being disqualified. Entrants must be at least 13 years of age at the time of entry. This contest is open to LEGO Digital Designer entries, however, make sure your images don’t show the baseplate from build mode. You can read the rest of the entry guidelines and rules here.

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – DEADLINE: You must submit your entry by August 28th, 2017 at 10:00AM EST. If you are not sure what time zone you are in, you can use an online time-zone converter to make sure you don’t miss the deadline.

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – JUDGES: A panel of judges from the LEGO Speed Champions team and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport racing team will select one grand prize winner and nine runner-up winners. They will judge entries upon: overall coolness and originality – 25%, most inspired details – 25%, understanding of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas brand contest theme – 25%, best use of LEGO elements – 25%.

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – PRIZES: The grand prize winner will receive an exclusive tour of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team headquarters in Brackley, UK and the Mercedes-Benz World in Brooklands, UK on October 12th, including transportation and lodging for two people, plus a signed #75883 LEGO Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team set, and extra gifts from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The nine runner-up winners will receive a signed #75883 LEGO Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team set, and extra gifts from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS CONTEST – WINNERS: Winners will be contacted on the email address associated with their LEGO ID account after September 11th, 2017. Winners will be announced on ReBrick when all winners have returned the signed Winner’s Certification Documents. A winner who do not return their Winner’s Certification Document within one week (5 days) of receiving it will be disqualified, and a new winner will be selected.

Fun contest, isn’t it? If you like the LEGO Speed Champions series, this is your chance to add a futuristic spin to designing racecars. If you need a bit of inspiration, or you would like to get some of the sets in the collection, you can visit the LEGO Speed Champions section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Speed Champions collection? And what do you think of the contest? Are you planning to enter? Do you have some ideas already? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

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