BrickworldBryan

Hey everyone - thanks for the comments (both good and constructive). I am still reading them all. I just gave up trying to respond between this and the Facebook page. There were a lot of people that frowned at the Wednesday night ceremonies and I was disappointed in the total number of people that showed up. But, those that did show up (400 to 500), we treated to the best keynote address we ever had. I am afraid that we won't be able to top that one for a while. Of course, just continuing to improve Brickworld Chicago (because nobody ever heard of Wheeling and the unions at McCormick Place downtown would just upset everyone, especially after paying $19 a day to park) is not enough. We are holding public expo event in a third location this year. Brickworld Fort Wayne will occur October 1 and 2. whew...I think I got a day off this year and I am probably losing my mind. B

Rob - quite happy to answer here...you never know who might be lurking and going "yay Rob, you are asking the right questions" I did send an email at some point to all registrants indicating the discount started on Tuesday. But, I probably didn't say that you didn't need your badge to get it. We actually supplied a list of attendees to the LEGO stores and the discount was available without your badge. We will do a better job of communicating this next year. Regarding engraved name badges: They were available for preorder on the Brickworld web site. Any black badges you saw on full or light registrants were purchased in preorders. Full registrants had the same official ID badges (except background color on your name) as light registrants. We are more generally working on a way to help new attendees know more BEFORE the event. It always stinks to get somewhere and find out you already missed out on some things. We do appreciate the feedback. I think a lot of it boils down to some things seem obvious to us because we live and breathe Brickworld...and in reality, they aren't so obvious. Communication is the key. Thanks, Bryan

Good evening everyone. I arrived home this evening and found this thread already running. Some great points. I am happy to say we agree with most but can only influence some of them. Thanks for the feedback and I am glad that everyone seems to agree they had a great time overall. As I told people about the artwork throughout the event, the two guys on top of the 5 working symbolize that the event is always under construction to be better. Here are some specific responses: @brickmack - LEGO had a booth, but they never sell sets on-site. So, booth or not, you had to go to one of the stores to get your discount. @Rob - Light Registration was new this year and we will continue to make changes. But, to be clear, the point of light registration was to allow people that aren't interested in displaying to arrive at the event on Friday evening and be part of the entire weekend (including viewing of displays during non-public hours). If you came on Saturday and Sunday, it would cost $20. So, double that to participate in the minifig speed build, be a part of raffles, be able to view the world of lights, and view displays during non-public hours seems like a resonable fee. @lisqr - the logistics of MOC cards are more complicated than simply making the card smaller. What if you want to say something more than fits on a smaller card? Doing multiple sizes increases work load. So, you may be thinking, why not let everyone print their own cards? Brickworld focuses on quality. So, we review MOC card submittals for correct spelling and grammar. Additionally, we review cards to ensure appropriate content. So, we maintain control of the cards. Regarding the world of lights, I had noted the same thing about one particularly bright corner of the room. Regarding the raffle, we will continue the evolution of the system. Your block suggestion is one of the alternatives being considered. @nebraska - yes, public days (especially Saturday) is that crazy. Other events that draw over double the public of Brickworld are much crazier. Regarding the presence of LEGO, there really isn't much for them to gain with a larger presence. And, more LEGO presence means a larger LEGO booth and less area for fans to display. I am happy with their smaller footprint in the event hall. There were over 10 LEGO people there doing several presenations. And, that kind of catering to the registrants (not the general public) is what I want from LEGO for the event. @Rufus & Rob - the Westin is working on the food. Actually, the gift shop was continually restocked with sandwiches. I gave the event manager some grief on Friday when we announced the sandwiches and then found out the gift shop was out. All the lady in the gift shop needed to do was let someone know she needed more. This continues to be a frustration for us and is a topic every year in the pre-con and post-con meeting with the hotel. We are working on it. @Ahab - I don't know what you are referring to with your "everyone gets something" auction. I think you are referring to the raffle and we only had a bit over 200 raffles prizes, not 920. So, not everyone will get one. Again, thank you everyone for the comments!!! I hope you can all make it back next year. Play well, Bryan

Yes, we are doing the World of Lights and Sounds. No need to sign up. We will know which displays are entered when we shut off the lights in the ballrooms. Just remember to include a volume control just to be safe :)

There is a place for EB people and everyone else to gather and have a beverage...it is called Brickworld. You don't need a table to call home when you are there. Enjoy the entire event. Get other people excited about EB. Let's think big!!!

There is a full comparison of full to light registration on the Brickworld site. Just scroll down on the main page for Chicago. Thanks, Bryan

Hey everyone - one of the updates to the web site this year is that when you pay as you register, you will be marked as paid automatically on the Brickworld site. This feature was not operational (oops) the first few days of registration and we had deleted the manual method. So, people that registered the first few days aren't showing up yet. No worries. The manual marking ability has been restored and we will be going through the payments and reconciling any differences in the next couple days. If you still aren't showing as paid when you are logged in by the end of the week, please use the contact us form on the site to let us know. Please remember that nobody under 18 will show up for public viewing because of federal laws. And, if you are over 18, you may have yourself marked to not show up on the site for public viewing. Sorry it took so long to respond. This is my first time on a computer since Wednesday evening. See everyone in Chicago!! Bryan

Hello everyone, We are happy to announce that Brickworld registration is now open. We have been hard at work performing a complete overhaul on the registration process. In response to your feedback in the survey after last year's event, we have done a couple things to the event. Some items that impact registration: There are now 2 types of registration: Full and light. These are described on the web site. But, essentially, full registration is for someone that is contributing to the event and partaking in the workshops and presentations. Light registration is for families that want to show up Friday afternoon, see the event hall without the public, participate in weekend non-public activities, and learn from the AFOLs and TFOLs. The full registration will be capped at 650 people to keep things from being unmanagable. When you register for the event, you aren't considered registered until you pay (the new process leads you through this) The event will start on Wednesday evening with opening ceremonies later in the evening. This will lead to having most of the display space available for MoC setup starting on Thursday morning instead of Thursday evening. Essentially, we are spreading the event out a bit so it is more relaxing for everyone. The survey feedback indicated there was too much happening in too small a space in time. Don't forget to sign up for your hotel rooms too. Last year the hotel filled up. And, if you are a first time attendee, everyone will tell you that it makes the event a lot more fun to be at the hotel. You can register at the Brickworld web site. We hope you like the new process and the changes to the event. We are all very excited about Brickworld 2011. We hope to see you all in Chicago at the Westin North Shore in Wheeling, IL. June 15th through 19th. Warm Regards, The Brickworld Team

Just send a comment in to the web site after you are registered saying you need power. No worries if you forget. We can take care of it at the event...It is just nice to ahve it all arranged ahead of time. See everyone in Chicago!! Merry Christmas Bryan

Hey everyone... Just a teaser... We have been working hard to get ready for Brickworld 2011. There are several changes coming to the event based on your feedback in the survey over the summer. As always, there is room for improvement and we are doing our best for you. Registration will open soon. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the holidays. Best Regards, The Brickworld Team

Woohoo...I found myself in the picture...Stash took good care of me

It is interesting how we build something up in our minds only to be disappointed later. That sounds like what happened here. Brickworld 2009 had its displays and its personality. Personally, I would be disappointed if the event looked the same every year. It was wonderful to me to have so many fresh displays. But, just to touch on a couple of specifics mentioned because they involve me personally: 1) I was one of the "inventors" of the GBC back in January 2005. Honestly, most of us that started the GBC have moved on to other things (like Monster Chess). Like all Mindstorms displays, the GBC needs constant monitoring. So, it is tough to do a big GBC along with competitions and other fun creations like Monster Chess. So, Monster Chess was fresh. And, there was a GBC that contained many new modules from new people - which is great. 2) Adam's buildings. Adam and I run Brickworld. The event has become big enough that Adam can't spend a full day of his time just to set up his buildings. We have all seen them. So, it isn't too big of a deal to us. And, quite frankly, there wasn't any space left this year anyway. So, I don't know where we would have put the buildings. 3) World of Lights will refresh next year as some people choose to add sound effects. Sound effects aren't required. They are just another twist to the fun; designed to help people expand their creativity. As with anything in life, Brickworld is what you make of it. Some years will be more exciting than others. But I would never compare one year directly to another. If I did, I would say things like: 2010 used 5,000 square feet more display space than 2009 2010 had 230 more registered attendees than 2009 2010 had more presentations and classes than 2009 2010 had many brand new displays All I can say for sure is that I had fun!! Bryan

Wow!!! That's it...just WOW!! I hadn't had time to look at a forum since returning home from Brickworld. I was catching up on sleep, putting together a survey, cleaning up the mess created in the house preparing for Brickworld, etc...oh, and I have a day job....geez... But you are all great. I am so thrilled you all had such a good time. I just read through the entire thread and the comments are very humbling. I just hope we can keep the experience at Brickworld fresh for everyone. Next year is year 5 of the event. As always, we are already working on it. We have already selected a theme (to be announced soon). And, we are adding to World of Lights by inviting you to add some sound effects too. Lots of other improvements being considered for next year...your feedback is important. So, please fill out hte survey :) The funny thing is: We do the same work every year...it is all of you that keep making Brickworld the best event yet!! As the event has grown, I have gotten to spend less personal time with people individually, but I have eyes and I enjoy seeing you all having fun even if it is from a distance a lot of the time. Thanks for helping make Brickworld all it is!!! Bryan

Share - Learn - Explore - Discover 2010: Bricks In Space Brickworld is only a couple weeks away and you are helping us set records with this year's event already with a massive 795 registered attendees. While this is incredible, the one record we really love to break every year is the amount of money we collect for the three charities that benefit from the Esther Walner Memorial Charity Auction. To help make sure this happens in 2010, many of you donated T-shirts to use in the making of a quilt for the auction. Thanks to Bunnie Cleland and Barbara Price, we actually have 2 quilts made from these T-shirts. These quilts are so cool, that we didn't want them just going to the highest bidder. Instead, we will be raffling tickets to win the quilts with all the raffle proceeds going to the charity auction total. You will be able to buy your raffle tickets for the quilt at the event. But, we wanted to give you a teaser. So, here is a picture of one of the quilts. All we can say is that the picture does NOT do the quilt justice. They are just so awesome in person. We look forward to seeing you in Chicago!!! Save some money to buy raffle tickets for the quilts. Best Regards, The Brickworld Team Brickworld will be held June 17 - 20, 2010 at the Westin North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, IL (a suburb of Chicago). visit the Brickworld Web Site by clicking here

You all rock!!! Bryan

Hey everyone. I have been a real slacker when it comes to announcements this year. Sometimes life gets in the way of fun. But, we are on the home stretch to Brickworld. So, thank you all for your excitement about the event. We are looking forward to the best one yet as we take over the entire hotel. Craziness will ensue. In the mayhem, just remember, we are all there to have a good time. So, no throwing bricks (especially real ones) at each other Okay - I don't have anything really useful to say...just wanted you all to keep it up as we run down the final stretch!!! See you in a few weeks. Bryan

Share - Learn - Explore - Discover Brickworld is excited to announce that Jonathan Bender, author of "LEGO - A Love Story" will be attending Brickworld this year. In honor of this, we have made arrangements with his publisher for the book to be available to registered attendees at a discount ($20 instead of the $24.95 retail price) if it is purchased through our preorder site. In addition, Jonathan has agreed to autograph all of the pre-order books. Jonathan will also be making presentations at Brickworld about his experience writing the book; which included Brickworld 2008. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to own a piece of LEGO history. The book is posted for preorder along with all the other preorder items here Just sign in to your account to place your order. All preorder items will be waiting for you when you check in at the event in Chicago. We look forward to seeing everyone in Chicago. Stay tuned for more information. Best Regards, The Brickworld Team Brickworld will be held June 17 - 20, 2010 at the Westin North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, IL (a suburb of Chicago). visit the Brickworld Web Site by clicking here

No worries...First - since you are familiar with GenCon, we are not in the same area of the convention center. We are filling the Wabash Room. It is a carpeted ballroom where gaming was going on. It is located on the North wall of the building West of where GenCon's registration area is located. The Wabash Room is 10,000 square feet with the dividers all open. Regarding the vendors. The two without web sites are both part resellers with maybe a few kits. They both have a pretty large selection of stuff, but I don't know any specifics. Regarding your nephew...this is absolutely something that a kid would like. The IndyLUG guys have been working their butts off to build new stuff for this event. We will start setting up at 6 AM tomorrow and don't think we will finish until 9 or 10 PM. So, obviously there is a lot to set up. I hope you can make it up. One of the IndyLUG guys is from Princeton. So, he is making that 2 hour drive pretty early. And, another is from Bloomington. It's all good. Bryan

Do you want some cheese to go with that whine? If it isn't added yet, I think it will be soon...someone out there cares about you No worries...sorry I didn't think to have it added sooner...now, if you could only get someone else from Sweden to join you. Later, B

As always, I will bring a little of this and a little of that... Mosaics of women's midriffs Some robots (my 4 foot tall robot Buddy, some new remote controlled semi-autonomous robots to do sumo fighting, and a BIG SECRET PROJECT that I can't say much about...other than there are about 10 people working on it and we started in August) A military base airport with other stuff...just beginning the build and design so we will see where it goes And definitely some new creation for the World of Lights collaboration... See you all in Chicago!! Bryan

Share - Learn - Explore - Discover After much deliberation, the Brickworld Team is excited to announce that the theme for this year’s event is: 2010: Bricks In Space So, let’s all try to work something “spacey” into our displays somewhere in honor of all things space. We have worked a LEGO® Classic Space look into the two event kits. Pictures of the kits will be posted soon on the Brickworld website. They will be posted in conjunction with the start of merchandise pre-sales for the event. Start building now and remember to include lighting for the 2nd annual World of Lights Collaboration. Stay tuned for more information. Best Regards, The Brickworld Team Brickworld will be held June 17 - 20, 2010 at the Westin North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, IL (a suburb of Chicago). Brickworld Indy is a public exhibition only and will be held March 13 and 14, 2010 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. visit the Brickworld Web Site by clicking here

The theme has not been announced yet....soon... :)

Stash - any suggestions on a sigfig for me? I could just put in a BW minifig and that would be pretty accurate...but it strikes me as a little obvious and boring...and you know how much I don't like to be obvious and boring. Thanks for doing this everyone...it just shows how the community likes to work together...it is another example of the collaborative efforts we love so much at Brickworld. Play well, Bryan

Brickworld Indy is not a convention. It is a public exhibition only. Brickworld (the convention) is held at the Westin Hotel in Wheeling, IL. But, that isn't too far from Indy...I make the drive along with about 10 or 15 other AFOLs from Indy. Bryan

Brickworld registration is open!!! But, Norway wasn't first...Someone in the US (other than the coordinators) registered first. Then, someone from Oslo, N/A (odd country name) registered. So, we are adding Norway to the drop down list :) (sorry about that) The clock is ticking...get registered and be a part of Brickworld 2010!! Regards, Bryan