To some, they are not much more than colorful little building blocks for kids to create things with. Then, there are the true aficionados who can craft a virtual city out of the myriad little Lego bricks. Put them together, and you've got a wide range of fun for seemingly everyone regardless of their skill base or creativity. The City of St. Joseph, with underwriting support from United Federal Credit Union, will kick off the 4th Annual Build Your Way Around Town Lego Bricks event in the week ahead.
The month-long affair will launch on March 3rd and run through April 3rd with seven individual downtown sites will spark the imaginations of all ages with amazing displays, competitions, professional builds, games and even movie mania.
Here's the projected itinerary and how to find the activities, round by round:
- March 3: Builders' Bash will be held during Family Fun Night at Silver Beach Carousel from 4pm to 8:30pm. This will be the Grand Opening Event for the Carousel's Amazing Lego Display. See more than 100 brick creations and ride the Carousel at half price. There are also free hourly drawing for ages 3 to 16 in this event.
- March 3 to April 3: Amazing Lego Display at Silver Beach Carousel will showcase pre-built exhibits created by ages 4 to 18 years. Visit www.silverbeachcarousel.com for specific hours. Admission and parking are free.
- March 4 to 6: Big City Build at the Shadowland Ballroom located inside the Silver Beach Center, featuring the inspiring skills of professional builder Jason Spear and the Western Michigan Lego Train Club. See their masterpiece and talk with the builders Friday and Saturday from 11am to 9pm and Sunday from noon until 5pm. Admission and parking are free.
- March 7 to 21: Build Your Way Around Town Lego Prize Drawing will be held weekly at the St. Joseph Today Welcome Center. Children can turn in entry forms each time they visit any of the participating sites. Lego prize packages, donated by United Federal Credit Union, will be awarded in random drawings held March 7, 14, and 21. Winners need not be present to win.
- March 7 to 23: Self Portraits Coloring Contest is this year's Box Factory for the Arts activity. Children from 5 to 10 years old can use any medium to create a Lego figure portrait. Entry sheets are available at the Box Factory for the Arts, Silver Beach Carousel, St. Joseph Public Library and St. Joseph Today.
- March 12: Lego Bricks Building Competition at The Heritage Museum & Cultural Center will challenge the brick stacking skills of 5 to 18 year olds. Students will compete using their own Lego or Mega Bloks bricks; no other materials (paper, glue, etc) will be permitted. The entries must fit a 12-inch by 12-inch space and be no taller than two feet. Ages 5-7 and 8-10 are to bring their prebuilt Lego creations between 10-10:45am. Ages 11-13 and 14-18 are to bring their own bricks and build their entries between 10-11am. Team entries are permitted and will be judged in the category of the oldest participant. Winners will be announced at 11:15am and their entries will be displayed at the Heritage Museum through April 9. All other entries must be picked up by noon on the day of the competition. Admission and parking are free.
- March 14-19: Lego Movie Mania will feature a different Lego movie Monday through Friday at 4:30pm and Saturday at noon in the St. Joseph Public Library. Admission and pariking are free.
- March 16: All Things Lego will be a special tween-aged event in the St. Joseph Public Library at 5:15pm, immediately following the Lego Movie. Students in grades 4-6 will make and eat Lego-themed food, play Lego-themed games for prizes, as well as enter Lego building contests. Pre-registration is required as space is limited.
- March 19: Skyscraper Building and Stop-Motion Workshops at the Krasl Art Center will entertain ages 5-12 from 10am to 4:30pm. Activities and parking are free, but pre-registration is required. Lego Bingo at Curious Kids' Museum will give children, ages 2 to 10, a chance to play for prizes. Games will start every half-hour starting at 1pm, ending at 4pm. Enter the brown door on the museum's south side for free admission to play.
Event updates, directions and more information about Build Your Way Around Town are available at BuildYourWayAroundTown.com or on Facebook.com/BuildYourWayAroundTown.
Build Your Way Around Town is an annual event held each March in St. Joseph, encouraging children to use their imaginations with Lego and Duplo bricks.
