Gen Y-er On The Loose: Brickity (Bricks Cascade 2016)

BRICKS CASCADE 2016

The 5th Annual Bricks Cascade, Portland's LEGO convention, occurred last weekend. Three days of recovery later... and it's time to blog!

(See also: Bricks Cascades of the Past: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)

For the second year in a row, I was a theme co-coordinator for Town & Train. Like last year, we had a huge showing of cool, lovely, creative, unique, and/or amazing creations.

This year we had 3 regular trophies and 3 mini-trophies for honorable mentions to give out.

With over 60 creations in Town & Train altogether, giving trophies to only 6 of them was painful.

The main trophies were:

Structurally Sound - "Awarded to an impressive and/or unique build."

This trophy was awarded to Kristina R. for her Copacabana Beach Hotel. Kristina employed some dazzling detail on this building. I was impressed by the simplicity, yet effectiveness, of the color scheme. A beautiful creation.

Stellar Scene- "For a MOC that tells a story and/or is rich in interesting details."

This award went to Dorothy W. for her "Train Repair Workshop," which was a kind of LEGO building I'd never seen done before, so points for creativity. Inside and all around the shop there were these cool features and details. Obviously, a lot of thought went into this, and I really enjoyed looking in and around the workshop.

Classically Trained - "Awarded to a creation in Town & Train that best exemplifies this year's convention theme ('A Modern Classic.')"

Despite having the word "train" in the name, and the trophy having a train on it, this trophy could have gone to any MOC that fit the bill. But, it just so happens, it went to a train... Amtrak Cascades, by David H.

(That's the brown-green-and-white train, in case you're not familiar with the Amtrak Cascades.)

I chose this one, first off, because of the nostalgia associated with train travel... I feel that train travel is both a modern way to travel (because it's better for the environment than driving) and classic (because it's been carting us around for almost 200 years). Plus, I've ridden on the A.C. a few dozen times. Ah, memories...

More importantly, the build itself was gorgeous and finely detailed... and the train was motorized and even ran around the tracks!

The 3 Honorable Mentions went to:

1. Copacabana Beach, by James R, full of lots of humorous details (and definite runner up for the second trophy above.)

2. Abandoned House In The Forest, by Mark K., which was gorgeous, and makes me think we need a trophy for LEGO Landscaping next year.

And last but not least, Lori Clarke's "Little Brick Houses," a row of simple LEGO houses. Each one had a story to go with it, explaining the minor differences in the surrounding scenes. It was kind of a "What if my childhood had been different... like this... or like this...?" It was super creative, and it's a reminder that LEGO isn't just about building... it's about making us see the world in new ways. Great job!