Anyone been to Brickfest?

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Just curious if anyone has been to the Brickfest events in the U.S. They had one in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, and just had one north of Baltimore last weekend. I took my daughter, and it was OK, though perhaps not as good as the Virginia Brickfair a few weeks ago.

Highlights from what I can remember:

- 9 holes of miniature golf. These were simple small golf courses made from lumber, but the borders were decorated with Lego elements. Play was free with admission.

- A large display of various ships--mostly freighters and battleships--made from Lego. My impression was that a local LUG had done these, but I'm not sure since we didn't get a good look at them.

- An area where kids could sit and make Lego mosaics. (I don't think you could keep them.)

- A number of vendors from the east coast/Mid-Atlantic area. I grabbed some polybags that I've been having trouble finding, and we grabbed some interesting elements from some Pick-a-Brick stands. (Sadly, we ended up with a few clone brand pieces, but most of what we got was legit.)

- Some city displays where kids could build and add their contributions.

- A stage where they did Lego trivia. I didn't get to attend this part, so I don't know if they gave out prizes or anything.

- A section where kids could build race cars and then race them down a ramp. Again, we never made it to this part, and it had a long line.

- A wall covered with Lego plates which kids could decorate.

- A video game section where kids could play games such as the Lego Movie Videogame or Marvel Superheroes. This section was, of course, very popular.

So, the event was OK, though maybe a little overpriced at $22 per ticket. (I think Brickfest VA was $12 and was probably the same level of event.) I think the kids had fun, though an AFOL might not if you were planning to do anything other than shop.

One complaint I have is that the Brickfest merchandise was rather overpriced. They mostly had t-shirts and minifigures decorated with the Brickfest logo. I would have bought a minifig just for the heck of it, but it was priced at $10. At $5, I would have gotten one, but $10 is pretty steep for a traveling festival's logo on a generic figure.

[andyscouse]

Only been to Brickfair New England 2013 and 2014 - I loved it, and lots to do. 4 days of jollifications all round (2 AFOL days and 2 public - I did the Bingo Calling in my own inimitable British way!)