Brick Cities: Twin Cities LEGO convention draws multigenerational crowd
The second annual gathering at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds featured custom builds, local vendors, and attendees ranging from children to senior citizens.
By Amelia Gupta ·
LEGO bricks have served as a common ground for builders of all ages for decades. This past Halloween weekend, that shared interest brought a large crowd to the North End Event Center at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for the second annual Brick Cities Twin Cities convention.
Rob and Mindy Warland, a couple from Roseville, founded the event to showcase local creators and vendors. The Warlands previously operated two Bricks & Minifigs stores in Minnesota where they sold new, used, and rare LEGO items. Their background includes leading a nonprofit that used LEGO education products in urban schools to engage students who struggled with learning. Since its launch as a single event, Brick Cities has expanded to include 18 cities across the United States.
Rob Warland attributed the event's appeal to the universal nature of creativity. He noted that the medium works for anyone, regardless of age. "We are all creative people. I think that we’re all created to be creators, and LEGO provides that opportunity," Warland said. "It’s that medium where it doesn’t matter if you’re seven or 77 years old; you can find something fun, and you can express that joy and creativity with it."
The convention floor displayed a mix of pop culture references and local Minnesota landmarks. Builders presented intricate Star Wars battle scenes, a Jurassic Park layout, and a large-scale recreation of the Eiffel Tower. Local pride was evident in models of Target Field and other state-specific features. Independent vendors sold collectible sets, bracelets, and keychains, while families participated in derby track tests and custom building stations.
Jodi Johnson, who represents the Bricks and Mini Figs locations in Champlin and Blaine, exhibited a replica of the Rebel Loon. The design, created by Bernardo Anderson, combines the Minnesota state bird with the Rebel Alliance emblem from Star Wars. Johnson, a workweek teacher, said she uses LEGO in her classroom to foster problem-solving and critical thinking. "This is my creative outlet, my mental health outlet," Johnson said. She also displayed a mosaic of Spider-Man characters from the animated film Into The Spider-Verse and a tribute to Minnesota featuring local phrases like "duck, duck, gray duck."
Drew Smith, a 1994 University of Minnesota graduate in statistics from Stillwater, presented a scaled replica of the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge. He expanded the build over time to include Lowell Park, trolleys, a gondola, and the Andiamo showboat. Smith also showcased a custom Millennium Falcon layout housed in a Docking Bay 94 set. He spent five months building the base, which he modified with custom details and hidden easter eggs for attendees to find.
Smith described the building process as a way to push creative boundaries. "You got to really have an engineering mind to come up with a creative build, either from scratch where you don’t have any design, like the docking bay," Smith said. "It’s a certain creative mind that can just have a pile of LEGOs and just build something. It’s fun and therapeutic for me."
Warland views the convention as a way to counter societal divisions. "In our society, there’s a lot that divides. LEGO is not one of those things," Warland said. "LEGO really unites people really well, and so we’re happy to be the ones who organize something like this."
