Greenville's first-ever Brick Convention draws acclaimed LEGO builders, capacity crowds
ACPin, whose nickname is derived from his full name, Amado Canlas Pinlac, is known worldwide as an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) Master.
The New Jersey native first started LEGO building with his three sons. He had never played with LEGO as a child.
As an adult, he said brick building became an unlikely hobby. Pinlac realized he could design and build his own unique creations that others enjoy viewing, eventually displaying his works at his local library.
He never expected his works to gain the attention they would eventually receive. Pinlac has been featured in BrickJournal magazine, Denmark's LEGO House and New York City's LEGO Rockefeller Store, among other accolades.
Pinlac was one of many AFOLs at Greenville's first LEGO Brick Convention, held Aug. 26-27, at the Greenville Shrine and Event Center.
Pinlac's wife, Marleth, took more of an interest in her husband's hobby when he began designing nature-themed works of art for LEGO House.
"Marleth got more involved with My Own Creations (MOCs) when I started designing botanicals, as she makes our displays more eye-pleasing and presentable," Pinlac said.
Pinlac builds floral LEGO arrangements as an expression of love for his wife. One gift for her, a botanical bouquet for their 40th anniversary, landed on the cover of BrickJournal.
Mark Lorah from Augusta, Georgia is another AFOL whose designs were showcased at the convention.
A structural engineer, Lorah uses LEGO to extend his real-life design practices, such as the retrofit and repurposing of historic buildings.
He has commissioned a recreation of an Augusta theater for the Augusta Museum of History and developed "LEGO: More than a Toy," a presentation that teaches parents, grandparents and caregivers how to use LEGO to relate to kids and others in their lives.
Lorah has been working on a LEGO city for over 10 years with no plans of stopping. He said children inspire him to build what's next.
"One of the kids saw my ski slope up there and says, 'Where is your ski lift?' Ok, well now I have to build a ski lift." he said.
Children have also mentioned details about the town, that over time, he has forgotten about, he said.
"'Why is Harry Potter watching your baseball game?' 'What are you talking about?' Well, I had just taken all of my mini-figures and thrown them into the stands. I didn't even know I had a Harry Potter, but it's a thing now, so I have to keep him there watching the game from now on," he said.
What to know about the LEGO convention in Greenville
Initially, the convention was scheduled to host just two sessions, which sold out shortly after its announcement. Due to popularity, the convention added a third session.
A portion of proceeds from the event benefitted Creations for Charity, a nonprofit organization that provides underprivileged children with new LEGO sets over the holidays, said Greyson Riley, creator of Brick Convention.
Attendees stood in long lines in the 90-degree heat to experience the Greenville-first.
At every turn at the event, eager fans were met with intricate LEGO creations and childhood nostalgia. At booths, sellers sold custom LEGO mini-figurines and merchandise. Fans dressed in Star Wars Storm Trooper cosplay and marched around the event cracking Star Wars jokes and posing for pictures with guests.
3-D LEGO Pokemon and Super Mario Bros. sculptures were displayed throughout the show, along with LEGO portraits depicting Michaelangelo's "The Creation of Adam," The Mandalorian's "Din Djarin" and "Grogu," Taylor Swift and Marvel's "Venom" by LEGO artist E.J. Bocan.
"There are so many things you can do with LEGO," Riley said. "There's history, technology, engineering, architecture, art. There's nothing you can't do."
A look into Greenville's own AFOL LEGO community
A trip to Haywood Mall's newly opened LEGO store put SC Bricks co-founder Andrew Mansbach in contact with his fellow co-founder, John Lamers.
At the store's Pick A Brick wall, the two bonded over their love of LEGO and decided to establish SC Bricks in February 2018. The group is an AFOL User Group (LUG) and is a 501 C7 social club nonprofit recognized by LEGO.
The duo started recruiting group members from the LEGO store and online.
"What we really love about LEGO is I consider it like an art medium. It's not just a toy to us," Mansbach said. "You can express yourself. It's something that you can do creatively."
Most AFOLs were into LEGO as children. Mansbach said some LEGO lovers enter the "Dark Ages" where they stop building and then return to the hobby later in life.
Since its inception, SC Bricks has thrived in the Upstate.
The group holds monthly meetings at the library or Greenville's Bricks and Minifigs store. Online, they collaborate on their LEGO creations through Facebook and Discord. They also get together to throw LEGO shows throughout the year in cities like Anderson, Greenville and Columbia.
"It's all about building a community," Lamers said.
"It's really a great community and it's all really positive people who get together. It's a good distraction from everyday life." Mansbach said.
Nina Tran covers trending topics. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville's LEGO Brick Convention draws capacity crowds. What to know.
