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The 2023 BrickCan Lego convention is coming back to Richmond in full force.

Photo by Alex Saar

The 2023 BrickCan Lego convention is coming back to Richmond in full force.

Photo by Alex Saar

The 2023 BrickCan Lego convention is coming back to Richmond in full force.

Photo by Alex Saar

BrickCan Lego convention

By Matthew Cheung

Published 12:18 PDT, Fri April 14, 2023

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The 2023 BrickCan Lego convention is returning to Richmond in full force. For the first time since the pandemic, avid Lego fanatics and fans can attend the two-day convention that between April 22 to 23. The convention will be held at the River Rock Casino Resort Show Theatre. The convention will be split into six sessions, at two-hour intervals, a morning, midday, and afternoon session.

The BrickCan organization is looking forward to hosting the event in person and the reactions of the young children who visit as well as the parents or grandparents that brought them.

“For us it’s like having a family reunion with a whole bunch of amazing Lego models to look at. We have fantastic conversations about creations, new sets coming out, and the innovations and techniques used in our creations. For the ticket buyers I see their faces light up with inspiration and nostalgia, young builders are excited to get home and build with their own Lego and moms, dads, and grandparents are taken back to a time when they spent hours creating with these wonderful little bricks” says Allan Corbeil, chairman of BrickCan.

BrickCan is made up of a small group of Lego fans who volunteer their own time to run this not-for-profit group. It started out when the group came together and wanted to show off the creations they had made. In 2016, the group had decided to host their own Lego convention after attending some that had taken place in the United States.

“We came together because we love this hobby and wanted to spend time where we live with our friends doing what we love to do, build and show off our Lego creations. We sat down and talked about what we liked about other events and what we wanted to bring to our event. It was very important that we have our own local take on a Lego exhibition” says Corbeil.

The goal of BrickCan is to promote community events in Canada for Lego builders, collectors, and all fans. As well as provide networking events for groups who have interest in collaborating, building, collecting, and displaying Lego creations or products. In addition, BrickCan hopes to be able to increase awareness of the Canadian Lego fan community and Canadian culture.

“It was very important to us that we have our own local take on a Lego exhibition. With the help of our Lego fan community, we made it happen and have had a lot of fun doing so” says Corbeil.

Over the past three years the BrickCan Lego convention, like many other events have had to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many events had to be shut down, businesses continued to lose money due to the protocols and lack of customers. For BrickCan, the abrupt cancellation was disappointing but understandable. BrickCan adjusted to the circumstances and went virtual that same year, followed by an online gallery in 2021, and a limited in-person event in 2022. Nonetheless, the virtual events do not do the exhibitions justice.

“We did a virtual event each year with one in 2020 being something we put together rather quickly. We tried to engage local fans with an online gallery in 2021 and 2022 with very limited success and engagement from the public. Looking at the Lego creations does not compare to seeing them in front of you. The Adult Lego Fans still had fun chatting at our virtual event and planning for 2023” says Corbeil.

Since their 2016 inaugural event, the organization has quickly grown in size and appreciates the opportunity to host such an event in the Lower Mainland with fellow Lego fanatics.

“We have been very lucky to live in such an amazing place with Lego fans wanting to come and see our creations. We have had a great turnout right from the start at our first event. We sell out of tickets now a bit faster than we did in year one and we are thrilled with people’s love of these colourful bricks” says Corbeil.

With many creations being brought to the event for display, there are bound to be some creations that stand above the rest. Some notable creations are the Jurassic Park build or the Ice Wall from hit television series Game of Thrones.

“I am always impressed with the stuff that I have little skill at creating myself, such as the great ball contraptions. They are always a crowd pleaser. I really appreciate seeing the collaborations. It is the creations where the builder has really thought outside the box when making their model that always amazes me. I am impressed with even the smaller models in which the builder has created something using a part in a unique way” says Corbeil.

Tickets went on sale in early January but were quickly sold out two months later, according to Ticketmaster, as a limited quantity of 900 tickets per session were sold.

For more information about BrickCan, visit brickcan.com.