Brick Fest Live with Alex

Sunday, August 18th, Frank and I took Alex to Brick Fest Live, a local LEGO event held in two buildings at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. We thought he would enjoy it since Alex had had a great time at LEGOLAND in San Diego when we went there in 2012 for his 26th birthday trip. For nostalgia, here is a photo of Alex twelve years ago in LEGOLAND San Diego. He is building with large DUPLO bricks. 

Unfortunately a repeat trip to San Diego in June of 2022 was curtailed when Frank and I tested positive for COVID. In December 2022 we went to LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area which is not as extensive as the San Diego park but still had the bricks experience that Alex liked. So when Brick Fest Live became available in our neighboring town we decided to explore it. Unfortunately DUPLO were not available at Brick Fest Live. I did however leave a suggestion for the show managers to incorporate DUPLO in future shows. There were lots of little kids at the show who also would benefit as well as attendees with limited fine motor skills.

We took part in the creation of a super big floor mural made from square LEGO board tiles the participant covered with colored LEGO according to an accompanying chart. Alex liked putting the LEGO in place with moderate color accuracy but needed a little bit of help to press them down. (I learned the plural of LEGO is LEGO,  without an "S". Also "LEGO" is derived from the Danish phrase leg godt which means "play well".)

The large LEGO sculptures scattered through the buildings were impressive. I photographed only a few with Alex nearby to show the scale. 

Some of the kids built vehicles from LEGO bricks. Alex enjoyed watching those cars race.

Brick Fest Live also had a coloring activity table set up. Alex did a bit of decorating on a small picture which he carried around with him throughout the show. I was fascinated by the LEGO markers and pens; the price was formidable. Each pen set and each marker set was $30. Add in the case and the total climbed to $90. We did not buy them.

 

Alex and Frank wore their matching LEGO shirts. They collected many kudos and compliments. After the show we stopped at McDonald's for a snack. Since Alex is a person who prefers salty to sugary I got him french fires and Frank and me ice cream cones. Alex saw my cone and reached for it. I gladly gave it up to him. It was fun watching him dig in  eagerly and voraciously. Believe it or not, this was his first cone experience with us. It was definitely a highlight of our outing, mess and all. And yes, the shirts survived without permanent stains.