February 18th, 2023 – Brazoria Historical Museum

The Museum Event was a huge success, making Museum Staff very excited. Total attendance of guests was 409 persons coming through the event. There were a total of 30 Volunteers; including Club members, the 501st, a Nasa spokesperson and County employee staff volunteers. Our displays consisted of a Western town, Fort Velasco & Titanic, USS Lexington, USS Texas , Alamo, Alvin Post Office and Fire station, Roman Circus, Pokemon Sculpture, Aquarium and Zoo, Star Wars, Farm and Zoo, Trains, Space Architecture, Piano, 1939 MOC of County Court House, San Sac, County Courthouse Medical wing, Re-Established MOC of Buccees and a Lego creation station set up for the kids to build.

February 19th, 2023 – Club Meeting – Bricks & Minifigs Pearland

We had 25 members and 4 new members in attendance. We talked about upcoming events. We mentioned AFOL day on March 11th and took a poll to attend the Baybrook Mall LEGO® Store. We also discussed the success of the Brazoria County Historical Museum event that took place the day before. 

We asked for member input on what they would like to see at our upcoming meetings. It was decided that we would have another blind build because the participants really enjoyed it during a previous meeting. 

The business meeting part was adjourned and next we started our draft of the Majestic Tiger Set. The draft took roughly an hour and a half and was over around 4:45. 

February 25th-26th, 2023 – Houston Children’s Museum

6 AFOL’s and 1 TFOL in attendance for this event.

We have displayed at the museum for many years. This year we had 8 tables each day.  We put on a nice display with a classic space module, hands on Technic machines, an airport, kinetic sculptures, a UCS set and many speed champions . We also had the club’s Christmas Cactus, Banner and Brick Rodeo signage.  The Museum provided tables, tablecloths and stantions. 

January 15, 2023 – Space Cadets

On January 13th, 15 of our members met at Space Cadets Collection Collection in Oak Ridge North near The Woodlands. Owner Jen King brought out a bunch of tubs of bricks for us to pick through. It was a great time finding the bricks we needed to finish our MOC’s, add to our collection or finding some of the special pieces that are no longer in production.

This was a great place for having our meeting, talking about upcoming events, and learning from each other while digging through the part bins. Everytime we get together I always learn something new or of a theme that I didn’t know existed.

Space Cadets Collection Collection is a great place to stop by and add to your Lego(R) collection, they always have a tub just waiting to be picked through as well as some retired sets for sale and minifigures in the display cases to choose from. I find this place very reasonable and they are always so nice and helpful.

December 3, 2022 – Holiday Party

Houston Brick Club had an amazing Holiday Party with 31 members present on December 3rd this year at a members home. The celebration was full of fun, food and events and of course LEGO(R)! We had a draft, brick built ornament trade and gift exchange. The gift exchange was quite a riot with all of the “steals”! We also had an incredibly generous member bring a tub of bricks to share with all!

We collected LEGO(R) sets to donate to charity which is one of my favorite things that we do! I think it says a lot about the heart of our club. These sets and polybags go to Texas Children’s Hospital to support those who need a little something special during the holidays.

Next years activities were discussed as well as a possible collaberation! Make sure to check out our Calendar of Events to see all of the exciting upcoming meetings and events.

Fall Activities

Houston Brick Club has had a variety of activities in the fall of 2022. The September meeting was held at the LEGO® Brand Retail Store in The Galleria mall. About 20 members discussed upcoming activities and plans, socialized, and enjoyed early shopping. Thanks to the store manager and staff for opening early for the Club!

The October meeting was held at Bricks and Toys Destination in Katy where sixteen members were on hand. Members teamed up in pairs for a Telephone Build competition – this was the first time a few of the members had done this activity. Several members brought Halloween-theme MOCs, and there was a lot of discussion about upcoming activities. Thanks to the owners of Bricks and Toys for allowing the Club to use their space!

On October 28, six Club members performed a live build at the soft opening of the Brickman Awesome exhibit in downtown Houston. A “Holiday Cactus” was designed ahead of time and built onsite in about 4 hours. Club members were also allowed to view the exhibit, which featured about 30 incredible builds made from LEGO® bricks.

There were just a few public visitors to the event on this day: it was the unpublicized “soft opening” of the exhibit, and the Houston Astros were playing Game 1 of the World Series practically next door, later that evening. The exhibit runs through the end of December .. the Club’s build and an informational sign will remain on display through the duration of the exhibit and should be seen by thousands of people. Thanks to Houston First for inviting Houston Brick Club to this activity!

A week later, on November 5, nine Club members provided displays of MOCs at Tech Fest Live at the Ion in Houston. This event aimed to provide exposure to technological resources that educate and inspire youth to effectively use technology to access, evaluate, create, and communicate information. This was the first time this event was put on; we look forward to taking part again in the future. Thanks to Innovation Spark for inviting us to participate!

Brick Rodeo 2023

The Brick Rodeo LEGO® Fan Convention and Exhibition will be held July 6-9, 2023, at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land. This event is returning to the same location it was held in 2021. Members of Houston Brick Club are organizing this event, along with a team of LEGO® fans from all over Texas.

Brick Rodeo combines a four-day convention with two days of public exhibition. Full convention members will play games, attend presentations, set up custom creations made from LEGO® bricks, and socialize with friends new and old. On Saturday and Sunday, public visitors will be able to view all the custom creations and talk with the builders.

The custom creations are called MOCs by LEGO® fans – meaning My Own Creations. The models on display at Brick Rodeo will all be custom-designed and built by LEGO® fans – these are not sets sold by The LEGO Group. MOCs and displays may be smaller than your hand, or more than 20′ long.

Examples of MOCs and displays from previous years include castles, pop-culture scenes and figures, mosaics, spaceships, city buildings and scenes, historical recreations, and much more. Some builds are highly realistic; others a fantastical and humorous. There is truly something for everyone at Brick Rodeo!

Brick Rodeo is a non-profit event run by volunteers. The event also includes fund-raising and charity events to benefit local childrens hospitals and Fairy Bricks – an organization based in the UK that provides LEGO® sets to children in hospitals around the world.

You can visit BrickRodeo.com to learn more about the event, and to sign up for an email newsletter. You can also follow Brick Rodeo on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media. In 2021 the convention memberships and public tickets both sold out – you don’t want to miss the fun!

Art and Dragons, August 2022

Houston Brick Club members participated in two activities in August, 2022. On August 6, four members spent the day at Dragon’s Lair, a local comic and gaming store. Club members displayed MOCs and talked with visitors about LEGO®, Houston Brick Club, and Brick Rodeo.

On August 13, ten Club members were at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring, Texas. This small museum has been running an exhibit of custom models built from LEGO® bricks this summer. On this day, Club members organized public building activities.

Earlier this year, The LEGO Group sent several thousand 2×4 bricks in assorted colors to LEGO® User Groups around the world. This generous gift was in honor of the company’s 90th anniversary being celebrated this year. Houston Brick Club brought these bricks to the museum where visitors (adults and children) created a wide assortment of builds – flowers, characters, a pyramid and sphinx, and much more. With the guidance of Club members, some visitors built larger bricks from the 2×4 bricks; these larger bricks were then combined into two large towers.

Another activity today was a presentation by Club member and brick artist Tim Hutchings. He talked about his art background and how he uses that to create models such as “Desert Mountain Landscape,” on display at the museum.

The museum had about 400 visitors today, about double their usual Saturday attendance. Attendance for this exhibit of LEGO® artwork and models has far exceeded any summer exhibit they have put on.

Houston Brick Club would like to thank The LEGO Group for their generosity and support, and we would like to thank the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Art for the opportunity to share our love of LEGO® bricks with their visitors.

Brick Rodeo 2022

Brick Rodeo was held June 30-July 3 at the Renaisssance Marriott in Austin, Texas. Over 50 Houston Brick Club members attended as full convention members or public visitors.

Many Club members were recognized for their fantastic builds, including Steve Laughlin receiving “Best in Show” for his large Fabuland display. Other Club honorees were Don Seibert, Jason Maggitti, Valerie Maggitti, Brian Costello, Alexander Harber, Peter Myers, Greg Jonason, Robert & Eloise Roche, Patrick Frain, Jeff Schroeder, Ethan Dungan, Noah Sher.

Keynote speakers Richard Board and Flynn DeMarco (“Tricky Bricks” on social media, and contestants on season 1 of the LEGO® Masters TV show) talked about their brick-building journey over the last few years. They also met with the public and led an exciting building challenge game.

Brick Rodeo featured 12,000 square feet of custom-built models made from LEGO® bricks. Many vendors were present to sell a variety of parts, minifigures, new and used sets, and other related merchandise. Convention members spent Thursday and Friday setting up displays, playing games, attending workshops, and socializing. Public visitors arrived on Saturday and Sunday.

Next year’s Brick Rodeo will be July 6-9, 2023, at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land. Sign up for email newsletter at brickrodeo.com, and follow Brick Rodeo on social media for information.