Big LEGO Play Day in Salaspils

A somewhat unusual event for us, which we would not have known about at all had not enthusiastic LEGO fan Lauris Kļaviņš (also a member of BNI Vivaldi Latvia) invited us. When we arrived shortly after eleven at Rīgava (Salaspils Culture House), he and several other LatLUG (Latvian LEGO Users Group) activists were already working at full steam. LEGO bricks were spread out on the tables, from which young and old were trying to build something.

But the most interesting and the main attraction for visitors was the 7.5 m² LEGO city that had been built, complete with shops, a cinema, private houses with a duck pond, a hotel, and other buildings important to any city, as well as the LEGO minifigures themselves. Around it, two trains continuously ran back and forth.

On the neighbouring table, LEGO characters from Star Wars had been arranged - clone troopers, Jedi, large and small spaceships, and goodness knows what else. Curious little ones crowded around, their fingers itching to pick up a figure or play out a little battle. But the watchful eye and low voice of the grown-ups - pointing out that everything here was for viewing only - immediately restrained any mischief.

There were quite a lot of LEGO cars here. Both those that had been painstakingly built and placed on the exhibition table, and the simpler ones with little motors that took part in drag racing and line-following competitions right there in the hall. The latter frequently went off course, sliding under the rows of benches, or crashed into the edge of the stage with the body flying through the air. In short, watch where you step.

On the hall stage, tables had been set up where board games were taking place. All around everything buzzed, whirred, and flickered in the many shades of LEGO bricks. Information about upcoming events and the LEGO movement in Latvia can be found at www.latlug.lv