Subject:
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Re: BrickFest 2007 - Organizer's Recap
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events.brickfest
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Date:
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Wed, 4 Apr 2007 19:49:48 GMT
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Viewed:
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4596 times
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In lugnet.events.brickfest, Kelly McKiernan wrote:
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It’s Tuesday. I think. That means BrickFest 2007 must be complete. I’m pretty
sure, through the lack of sleep haze. And before the glow fades (or
consciousness fully returns), I’d like to present a recap of the event.
First, some numbers.
Date: March 30 through April 1, 2007
Convention Attendees: 214
Location: 45°31’ North, -122°39’ West
Public expo: 5 hours (on the auspicious first of April)
Public expo attendees: 2,800+
Estimated average hours of sleep per attendee per night: 5
Liters of alcohol consumed at the Red Lion watering spot: UNKNOWN
Some things that stand out in memory...
- Standing on the bleachers and watching the public throng, a Brownian motion of
- The sheer number of attendees who wanted to help and volunteer in one way or
- A solid background murmur with the occasional high-pitched, “Mommy! Look at
- Spectators gathered around the various Mindstorms contests - at times silent
- A huge 30,000 square foot space with enormous ceilings and excellent lighting
- Seeing 30+ people arriving on setup day and getting everything ship-shape for
- Unveiling a King Cake at a pizza party Thursday night, shipped overnight from
- Listening to a train guy enthuse to everyone just how cool the Bionicle
- Kevin Clague setting an example of “sharing the wealth” when he donated one of
- Talking with Richard Stollery of LEGO (Steve Witt’s boss), and feeling that my
- Watching SCLTC wheel in several massive boxes they’d shipped from Southern
- Sharing enjoyment of a casual atmosphere during the first two days, without
- Circling the impressive Brick Bazaar and fighting temptation - but not
- The crush and heat and blood lust and sheer mass of people in a confined space
- The look on the faces of the first public attendees after the doors were
- The winner of an April Fool’s dino train MOC given away on Sunday
- I’m 185 bricks tall
- Matt Chiles’ Bleyman picture
- The biggest Dirty Brickster I’ve ever been involved with, nearly 50 people,
There are only so many adjectives you can use to describe an international
gathering of (mostly) adult LEGO fans. And I’m sure they’ve been used in
previous event descriptions, so I won’t even try. For those who’ve been
involved in an event like this, BF07 was as good as it gets. For someone who’s
never attended a large AFOL event - do it. Really.
Even after the months of preparation, frantically designing the program,
bouncing the contract with the OCC back and forth, finding box after box after
pallet of “stuff” ultimately destined for the event showing up on my
doorstep... after all that, listening to the comments and questions of “When
will the next one be held?” certainly made it all worthwhile.
Many people came up to Steve, Christina and myself during and after the event,
each saying essentially the same thing: thank you for the work and making this
a great BrickFest. I don’t know what Steve and Christina replied, but for my
part I usually responded with a lame nod and “you bet” or something equally
inane. When my brain kicked into gear again this morning, I realized why I had
such a hard time responding.
The organizers didn’t make it a great con. The attendees and volunteers did.
We simply provided the opportunity for everyone else to come together and make
it the type of event we all wanted. That’s all.
So thank YOU. I had just as much fun as anyone.
Kelly McKiernan
BrickFest 2007 Co-Organizer
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Christina, Kelly, and Steve--
Just wanted to add my thanks again to the three of you for organizing this
wondrous form of chaos.
And to all the attendees as well--thank you so much for making us feel like a
part of the family. We had a ball for our first time, and I have to admit,
Monday stunk. It felt like I was supposed to be still be in Portland, hanging
out with everyone.
Thanks to Todd Thuma for posting his pics. Mine will be up in a day or so, such
as they are. Thanks to Matt Chiles and Wolf Read (and everyone else!), for all
the work they did on the Classic Space Fly-In. Mary at registration--bless you!
Thanks also to Rene Hoffmeister, who took the time to look something up for me.
Play Well and Prosper,
Matthew (and Deena, too!)
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | BrickFest 2007 - Organizer's Recap
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| It's Tuesday. I think. That means BrickFest 2007 must be complete. I'm pretty sure, through the lack of sleep haze. And before the glow fades (or consciousness fully returns), I'd like to present a recap of the event. First, some numbers. Date: (...) (17 years ago, 3-Apr-07, to lugnet.events.brickfest, lugnet.general) !!
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