On Saturday 22nd April we held a little one day show at a local school that our Ambassador at the time has a very close connection to. This local show raised £1,744.31 for the fantastic Friends of Waycroft Academy and was attended and enjoyed by hundreds of people, many of who had children at the school. GertLUG member Georgia Hill shares her thoughts below in her own words:
I recently had the absolute pleasure of showing my latest builds at the Waycroft Academy in order to raise money for their school. I was amazed by the support we received from the school; in the build up to the event the school had put on LEGO related activities for the kids, encouraged them to play and continued to run amazing LEGO related games alongside the show.
It always makes me nervous displaying my builds, I wonder if people will understand what they are or my passion behind building them. But this show was different, the parents, friends and children of the school were so engaged with mine (and everyone else's) builds. They took the time to listen to me talk about my animals, asked questions and shared their experiences with the animals that I'd built, and the LEGO models they'd created at home. The engagement from all the people that came to the show was amazing and by the end, even the parents that "don't like LEGO" (if that's something that's even real) were talking about their favourite builds and things they wished they could do at home. Children were coming out of the build room, showing the GertLUG members the builds that they'd just created, and the joy on their face and excitement they shared with us was phenomenal!
These shows also give me a good opportunity to meet and chat with the other members of our group. I often can't make the socials due to work commitments so being around all the fantastic builds that everyone creates gives me the perfect opportunity to talk to people I've never met before, share tips and collaborate on ideas. I always leave these shows so hyped from the publics, and our own groups, compliments and suggestions that in no time I've already created another ten builds in my head. The shows we put on increase my passion for building tenfold and I love being apart of our community.
I always forget how inclusive LEGO can be, and these community shows are a great reminder of the wider world that encompasses LEGO and how people get into building and playing. From children to adults the most common things I'll hear at a show are "LEGO is so cool" and "I wish I could build like this".
Every time I tell them "You don't have to be good at building with LEGO, the best builds start with an idea."
Thanks to Georgia for her thoughts and a huge thanks to everyone else who came along to display, volunteer and visit the show and our excellent hosts at Waycroft for ensuring it all ran so smoothly.