Crowds queued in Masterton’s midday heat for more than 45 minutes to see some of New Zealand’s finest Lego builds.
The crowd packed out Solway Showgrounds on Sunday for the first-ever Wairarapa Brickshow.
The Lego showcase event was a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Wairarapa and Autism Wairarapa.
Alzheimer’s Wairarapa spokesperson Julia Mahony said it was the only dementia support service in Wairarapa.
She said the organization received no government funding, so it relied entirely on grants and fundraisers.
“The days of sausage sizzles and bake sales were over; we needed to think big and come up with
an event that all demographics in Wairarapa would come to,” Mahony said.
Close to 1500 people, from grandparents to young families to adults, flocked to see the displays and support the fundraiser.
Members of Wellington Lego Users Group [Well-LUG] set up 35 Lego displays, ranging from Star Wars builds to
a 1.8 metre-long Titanic.
The guests of honour were Pahiatua resident Glenn Knight and Kapiti’s Jake Roos, the teammates who won this year’s
Lego Masters New Zealand television show.
Mahony said the show had contributed to the recent surge in Lego popularity in New Zealand.
“It was great to see how many kids were there to see Glenn and Jake after they won the TV show.
“Some kids have sports heroes, while others have Lego heroes.
“It’s a timeless toy that never goes out of date, and we were lucky to hold our fundraiser while Lego is so popular.”
She said with lines out the door next year’s event was expected to be huge.
