I was fortunate to be asked to display my builds at last months very first Fundy Fan Fest and I had a great time. I love going to comic and pop culture conventions and have had a display at ECCE in Moncton for the past four years. The whole family looks forward to that trip and we always have a lot of fun and meet a lot of awesome folks. Still, as much as we like to head up to Moncton with our display, It’s nice to finally have a convention right in our hometown of Saint John.
It’s always an experience to interact with others at conventions. As an introvert it can be a challenge for me, but my wife and son are quite extroverted and push me to get out and talk to people. I’ve met a lot of fantastic people at these shows and Fundy Fan Fest was no exception.
I really enjoy seeing the way kids react to the builds and am always impressed with the questions they ask about my creations. Not surprisingly, adults are just as interested in the display and I always try to let a few people hold certain builds that I’ve design to be used. Many don’t believe they will stay together if touched, nothing convinces someone faster than a finger falling off the Right Hand of Doom from time to time. Wearing the hand also makes many immediately become mad with power, as you can see above.
If you’re really lucky, the other convention guests will have the time to look around too and might also be big fans of LEGO. Or at least just a geeky as you are.
Another build that gets great reactions is Captain America’s shield. It’s probably my favourite build and the look in a persons eyes when I tell them they can hold it is priceless. Friday night I got to meet Anthony Lemke from Dark Matter, a show I enjoy, but am tragically behind on watching. Saturday, Erick Avari stopped by the table and asked if he could get in behind for a photo. He accidentally bumped the Hall of Armour which fell on a lightsaber causing significant damage to both. For a second I considered leaving it all as it was with a sign the read “Destroyed by Erick Avari”, but he seemed very upset at the damage so I popped it all back together quickly, because LEGO. He was an utterly charming man and stopped by again on Sunday to talk and get a picture with my wife.
Saturday morning as I was getting ready for day two of the Fest, my wife burst in while I was showering to share the revelation that she had read Jason Mewes was huge LEGO fan. Apparently, when he goes to conventions he’s hit the local Walmart and buy sets to build in his hotel room (which he actually then did that day here). I figured I’d go through my sizeable stash of brick and take him a set he probably didn’t have. I knew he was a huge geek like me, but he probably hadn’t been into building sets as an adult for as long as I have. He was busy making movie in the late 90’s when I got back into the brick. I took a small Indiana Jones set and he was stoked when I gave it to him. So, much so that the next time I looked at him he was building it at his autograph table in between interactions.
I had enough time my self to go around and talk with the comic artists as well and it’s always nice to reconnect with some I’ve known for years and others I haven’t seen in a long time. I also picked up some great original art and a few comics to read when time allows. For the first time ever, I was able to do a contest for kids over the weekend where they could guess the number of minifigure heads in a jar and whoever was closest would win a cool LEGO Guardians of the Galaxy set. An awesome eleven year old named Cheyenne guessed 475 which was incredibly close to the actual 488. I certainly hope she enjoys building it!
All in all it was a fantastic convention and you would never guess it was the first year by the way it was run. The organizers and volunteers were excellent and you could tell it was a labour of love. I see a lot of great potential for growth with this convention and if I’m fortunate enough to be invited back I hope to see even more LEGO fans in 2018!
Again, thank you to everyone involved with Fundy Fan Fest for doing such a fantastic job and to everyone who came by to see the display and chat. I hope to see you all again soon.
Keep Building.
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