This year The Skyline Band’s Brick Bash will have something for everybody, from trains, towns, and mosaics to dioramas, mechanical and engineering LEGO designs . The LEGO enthusiast community is full of people with different interests that are highlighted by the exhibits every year. Not only are there many things to see but there are many thin
gs to do. Participants can play with tables piled high with LEGOs, do some organized activities, or learn from Tim and Zack, contestants on the LEGO Masters TV show – not to mention Skyline’s drumline performance on Saturday at 2pm. “There’s some don’t touch stuff,” says Collicott, “but there’s plenty of touch stuff as well!”
Brick Bash will be hosted at Skyline this Saturday February 25th 11am-6pm and Sunday February 26th 11am-5pm. Admission is $5 a ticket at the door.
After going to a LEGO fan convention in Chicago 2005, Duane Collicott, a software developer and AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO), realized he wanted something similar in Ann Arbor. So he created Bri
ck Bash, a public exhibition for adults and kids to show off their creations and connect with the community.
While Collicott managed this on his own for eight years, by 2014 it was slowly but surely growing to a larger scale.
Around this time Skyline’s marching band participated in Eastern Michigan University’s band day where students got to work with college marchers for a day. Unfortunately the experience was slightly dampened by the unexpected rain.
Collicott’s son, a member of Skyline’s band, later came home to say that Skyline’s band director Jason Smith was looking for a fundraiser to buy raincoats for the marching band. Realizing the opportunity to give back to the community, Collicott started organizing subsequent Brick Bash events with Smith. He said that this was a great way to connect his interest while giving back to the band programs of AAPS of which his family has collectively been a part of for nearly 30 years
.
Although the event started out spanning one day, it has grown to take up two weekend days so that the exhibitors and sellers have the time necessary to highlight their work after time spent traveling and hours setting up.
