The AFOL History Project @ Jain's Guidehttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/1223352000utf-8The AFOL History Project @ Jain's Guide is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.Jason Whittenburgjason@jainsguide.comCopyright 2008 Jason Whittenburg, Some Rights ReservedZend Framework - Zend_Feed 1.5.1enGoogle honors the LEGO brick's 50th anniversaryhttp://www.techweb.com/showPressRelease.jhtml?articleID=X670091A LEGO brick-inspired 'Doodle' appears today on the Google homepage to the mark the 50th anniversary of the world-famous creative building brick.2008-01-28HispaBrick 2007http://personales.ya.com/hispabrickThe 1st AFOL event in Spain, it was held in December 8 and 9. 2007-12-08LEGO officialy announces end of 9V train systemhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/LEGO announced final decision to end manufacture of the 9 volt train system with electrified rails.2007-10-01Next-Gen goes uphttp://www.next-gendesign.comA TFOL building site goes up.2007-08-22Brickshelf reviveshttp://www.brickshelf.comAfter a week of furious activity in the community, Brickshelf is officially resurrected.2007-07-20Brickshelf dieshttp://www.brickshelf.comThe AFOL community was thrown into confusion when Brickshelf, the most prominent community site for displaying images of MOCs, seemed to die. Upon accessing the site, the following message appeared: "Brickshelf has discontinued operation. We apologize for any inconvenience."2007-07-14Brickworld 2007http://www.brickworld.usThe first Brickworld event took place in Wheeling, Illinois June 21-24. The head event coordinators were Bryan Bonahoom and Adam Tucker. Richard Stollery was the keynote speaker.2007-06-21JLUG goes downhttp://news.lugnet.com/off-topic/debate/?n=28497JLUG.com, the adult oriented LEGO site, went down due to a database failure.2007-06-20Stajinaria.net goes onlinehttp://news.lugnet.com/off-topic/debate/?n=28507Stajinaria, an adult-oriented LEGO forum, goes online. It was created as a response to JLUG.net going down.
2007-06-20Eric Brok passes awayhttp://www.ericbrok.com/legomind/index.htmEric Brok, a Dutch AFOL active in De Bouwsteen, succumbed to the effects of cancer. Eric was an early pioneer in the on-line community with his site LEGO on my Mind, one of the first LEGO Ambassadors, and designer of the set 10190, Market Street.2007-06-11Brickfest 2007http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2007 was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon from 03/30 to 04/01. This was originally slated as Brickfest PDX 2007, but relabled as simply Brickfest 2007 when the August convention was cancelled.2007-03-30Brickfest 2006http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2006 was held at the Sheraton Premiere at Tyson's Corner, Virginia. The lead organizer was Joe Meno. There were approximately 420 people in attendance. The public expo drew about 3500 people. This was the first Brickfest since the launching of Lego Mindstorms NXT, and many of the MUP and MDP members were there to talk about it. Allan Bedford, author of The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide, was also there, signing copies of his book.2006-08-25MechaHub goes livehttp://news.lugnet.com/build/mecha/?n=14520Bryce McGlone announces a new site dedicated to LEGO Mecha2006-06-14Bill Swanberg arrestedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_SwanbergBill Swanberg was arrested after stealing more than $200,000 worth of LEGO from Target stores by replacing barcodes.2005-11-17PennLUG is foundedhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pennlug/PennLUG is formed, first meeting in York, Pennsylvania2005-09-15Brickfest 2005http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2005 was held on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia from 08/12/04 to 08/14/004. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 330 people attended. The public expo drew about 3000 people. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen owner of the LEGO Group and grandson of the founder, attended. Jake McKee and Mark Hansen announced the release of LEGO Digital Designer. With Lego Digital Designer, customers can design custom sets online, and LEGO will pack it up and send it them. 2005-08-12LEGO sells ownership of Legoland parkshttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/LEGO announces its sale of majority ownership of the Legoland theme parks to the Blackstone group.2005-07-13First issue of BrickJournalhttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2964Joe Meno releases the first ever BrickJournal issue in a free, downloadable format.2005-06-22Star Destroyer Speed Build Tournament - Celebration IIIhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/At Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis, Indiana, a team of 8 AFOL's and 2 kids win first place in a single elimination tournament. The objective is to build the 10030 Imperial Star Destroyer faster than the competing team. Eight teams start on April 22. The "Indy AFOL Knights" finish their 3rd ISD the next day to take first place.2005-04-23LEGO Ambassador program announcedhttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/?n=3116Jake Mckee heralds the creation of the LEGO Ambassadors, as a group to help foster communication between the fan community and the LEGO company.2005-01-06Classic-Space Forum goes onlinehttp://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=37547Classic-Space Forum goes online2004-12-19Russian community DoubleBrick goes onlinehttp://www.doublebrick.ruThat was a day, then the first Russian AFOL community DoubleBrick.ru goes online. 2004-11-07Brickfest 2004http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2004 was held on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia from 08/12/04 to 08/14/004. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 250 people attended. The public expo drew about 2000 people.2004-08-13The L PRIZE is announcedhttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=2606Tim Courtney, Contest Director of the L Prize, announced the "L PRIZE ": a new and exciting open competition that was to be officially launched at SIGGRAPH 2004, and concluded in February 2005.
The L PRIZE was to foster advances in LEGO CAD technologies by stimulating competition and bringing the contestants and the user communities together.2004-06-28First MALUG meetinghttp://www.malug.hu/tiwaka/tiki-index.php?page_ref_id=281First MALUG meeting with 4 attendees.2004-05-08LEGO Locks Colors and Finalizes Color Changehttp://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=47149After much debate and many AFOL objections, the changing of three of Lego's colors becomes final according to Jake McKee. They are light gray, dark gray and brown.
The term 'Bley' becomes almost universally recognized to indicate this changing of the greys.2004-05-05MALUG Forum goes onlinehttp://www.malug.hu/forum/index.phpThe website for Hungarian AFOLs goes on line.2004-03-03Brickfest 2004 PDXhttp://brickfest.comBrickfestPDX was held in February 2004 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. It was the first Brickfest to be held outside Virginia. Approximately 200 people attended. The public expo drew about 1200 people.2004-02-20Travis Kunce passes awayhttp://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=44534Space loses Travis Kunce, one of our best and brightest.2003-12-23LEGO Acknowledges A Changed Color Palettehttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/?n=533Jake McKee confirms the change in colors that Lego enthusiasts had just discovered days earlier. He states that products from 2004 onward will use the new color palette, including new grays, as well as some other colors (the other major one not announced at this point being brown).2003-11-183vil Emerges from Deep Spacehttp://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=282013vil Emerges from Deep Space2003-09-21Classic-Castle goes onlinehttp://news.lugnet.com/castle/?n=18015Classic-Castle, a LEGO Castle resource and fan site, goes online.2003-09-15Brickfest 2003http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2003 was held in August 2003 on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 220 people attended. The first public expo drew about 1000 people.2003-08-08LEGO Road Showhttp://www.suave.net/~dave/pre_roadshow.cgiThe 2003 LEGO Road Show kicked off with a practice run in Enfield, CT, before touring North America. AFOL representatives from NELUG were present (rather last minute) to help demonstrate to the company what might be expected from participating enthusiasts.2003-06-20Bricks Magazine Delayedhttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/brickmedia/?n=4Tim Courtney, posting on behalf of BrickMedia, LLC announced that there were delays in the production of the preview issue of Bricks Magazine, and that the first full issue was to have been available mid-summer 2003.2003-05-20Eastern Block is Bornhttp://www.jainsguide.com/report/report/id/95The Eastern Block sub theme is born when Chris Giddens creates the ZOG-312003-05-03MOCpages goes onlinehttp://www.mocpages.comMOCpages web site goes online 2003-04-01Bricks Magazine Charter Subscription Offeredhttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/brickmedia/?n=3Bricks Magazine Charter Subscription - USD12 for 6 issues was offered.
Matt Gerber made the announcement as Editor-in-Chief of Bricks Magazine.2003-03-17International LEGO Train Club Organization (ILTCO) goes publichttp://www.iltco.orgA briefing was presented at BricksWest which outlined the charter of ILTCO.2003-02-17First ISD Team Buildhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/A team of 13 AFOLs at BricksWest built the 10030 ISD in 103 minutes, starting a trend at LEGO events trying to break the existing record for fastest team build.2003-02-14BricksWest 2003http://www.jainsguide.com/history/BricksWest 2003 is held in Carlsbad California, organized by Matthew Gerber.2003-02-14COLTC Foundedhttp://www.coltc.orgThe Central Ohio Lego Train Club was founded on this day by Paul Janssen, John Bucy and others.2003-02-09Bricks Magazine Announcedhttp://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=40446Bricks was to be the first LEGO fan magazine ever published... created by the
LEGO fan community for the LEGO fan community.
The announcement was made by Matt Gerber on behalf of BrickMedia, LLC.2003-01-04Yoda Eyes Prankhttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=5028&t=i&v=aTroy Cefaratti posed a fake LEGO set by Ken Koleda entitled Yoda Eyes and fooled quite a few people with this silly prank2002-08-08The Moonbase Project is Bornhttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=1704The moonbase project created an easy to follow standard that would allow builders from around the world to build separate "modules" that could be connected seamlessly in a large Moonbase layout. The idea was an instant hit. Moonbase modules were being created within days and after only 2 months the first massive Moonbase layout was put together across the country at a LEGO fan convention in Seattle.2002-07-26Brickfest 2002http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2002 was held in August 2002 on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 180 people attended.2002-07-19Jon Palmer's Alphabet Projecthttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/moc/?n=67Jon Palmer's Alphabet Project displays that small can also mean elegant. Fighters can take the same design and planning as large capital ships.2002-02-08BrickBay becomes BrickLinkhttp://www.bricklink.comBrickBay changes its name to BrickLink after a dispute with online auction site eBay.2002-01-28Brick Testament goes onlinehttp://thebricktestament.comBrendan Powell Smith announces the start of his Brick Testament project. The BT has received extensive media attention beyond the AFOL community and has resulted in three published books.2001-10-03Fibblesnork domain goes roguehttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=1251The Fibblesnork domain name expires and is purchased by web squatters, who link the URL to adult content.2001-08-26Lego showcases Monty Python "Camelot" videohttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=3219As part of Lego's Studios campaign, Brad Justus announces the professionally done animation of Monty Python's "Camelot" song.2001-08-22Brickfest 2001http://brickfest.comBrickfest 2001 was held in August on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 150 people attended.2001-08-15LEGO Train Summit held in NYC with LEGO Directhttp://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=9509In 2001 a small group of Train AFOLs from around the United States where invited to meet with some folks from Lego Direct ( Brad Justus, Peter Andersen, Jorn Kristian Thomsen, Jake McKee and Steven Hawco ) in New York city and talk about the future of LEGO trains.
The attendees included
John Neal GMLTC
Steve Barile PNLTC
Conan Collopy - GMLTC
John Gerlach GMLTC
James Mathis - PNLTC
Dan Parker PNLTC
Larry Pieniazek poly-LTC
Mike Poindexter - BAYLTC
James Trobaugh - NGLTC
2001-02-03Fleebnorks introducedhttp://news.lugnet.com/people/?n=1461Mark Sandlin introduces the world to Fleebnorks2001-01-10LEGO announces its plans for bulk orderinghttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=880LEGO announces its nondescript plans for what would eventually become bulk ordering and LEGO Factory. Fans rejoice at the prospect.2000-12-06LEGO Shop@Home goes onlinehttp://shop.lego.comLEGO begins online purchasing through Shop@Home.2000-10-17Brickwise Shopping Report goes online @ LUGNEThttp://guide.lugnet.com/shop/Brickwise Shopping Report goes online @ LUGNET2000-09-04The Galactic Shipyard goes onlinehttp://zemi.net/shipyardJon Palmer launches the Galactic Shipyard for profiling hugh ships2000-08-05BrickBay launcheshttp://www.bricklink.comBrickBay launches as an online marketplace dealing exclusivly in LEGO.2000-06-19Brickfest 2000http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=623Brickfest 2000 was held on June 9 to June 11 on the campus of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. The lead organizer was Christina Hitchcock. Approximately 60 people attended.2000-06-09Mark Sandlin unveils the SpiffCrafthttp://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=2396Mark Sandlin gives us one more little update that becomes one of the most recognizable crafts in the history of .space.2000-06-09The Guild of Bricksmiths is announcedhttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=537The Guild of Bricksmiths is announced-- a select group of hobbyists designing custom LEGO model kits.2000-03-31Brickshelf announces public gallerieshttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/brickshelf/?n=44Kevin Loch announces that BrickShelf will host people's images for free!2000-02-10DixieLUG is foundedhttp://www.dixielug.orgDixieLUG is founded, first meeting in in Macon, GA2000-01-22The idea for Castle World is proposedhttp://news.lugnet.com/castle/?n=1670Pawel Nazarewicz posits the idea of having a large LEGO-castle themed site, which received its name some 3 days later on Jan 22nd by co-creator Craig Hamilton.2000-01-19LEGO begins offering bulk orderinghttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=14LEGO Direct is pleased to announce that bulk sales from LEGO2000-01-14Brad Justus announces LEGO Direct on LUGNEThttp://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=11596Brad Justus introduces himself and the newest venture from LEGO to reach out to the LEGO community and open dialog between the company and it's fans.1999-12-091000steine.de goes onlinehttp://www.1000steine.deGerman website 1000steine.de goes online, though the domain name was registered January, 6th in 2000.1999-11-28From Brick to Bothans goes onlinehttp://www.fbtb.netFrom Bricks to Bothans, a Star Wars LEGO fansite, goes online.1999-10-27MIT MindFesthttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/One of the first national gatherings for AFOLs in the USA, the MIT MindFest was the inspiration for the first BrickFest event in 2000. The event was held at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA. MindFest's primary goal was to serve educators working with LEGO, but a high degree of AFOL participation gave the event an additional LEGO hobbyist focus.1999-10-22Tom McDonald discovers spamcakehttp://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=55Tom McDonald discovers spamcake. Its importance was unrealized... until later.1999-09-24Datsville is born!http://news.lugnet.com/cad/dat/models/?n=268Following the desire for a community DAT project, John VanZwieten launches the Datsville project, first known as LCadville.1999-09-01First NELUG Meetinghttp://www.nelug.orgNELUG has its first meeting in Melrose, MA with 5 members attending.1999-08-10LDraw.org goes onlinehttp://www.ldraw.orgLDraw website goes online1999-07-07Idea for Jambalaya first proposedhttp://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=5215Todd Lehman pitches the idea of a traveling box of Lego where people can trade their less desirable pieces, resulting ultimately in the Jambalaya boxes.1999-07-05Legoland California openshttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/The first Legoland outside of Europe opens in Carlsbad, California.1999-03-20German AFOL forum goes onlinehttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/German LEGO Fan Forum goes online, founded by Michael Schian (became part of 1000steine.de in 2000)1999-02-05LUGNET goes livehttp://news.lugnet.com/space/?n=1LUGNET, a Lego community site is launched, featuring a heirarchy of newsgroups, and allowing email subscriptions and a web interface.1998-09-18kl.net (BrickShelf) begins hosting instruction and catalog scanshttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/Kevin Loch opens his personal website up to hosting scans of LEGO instructions and catalogs from the past.1998-04-19James Jessiman passes awayhttp://www.ldraw.org/Article222.htmlThe worldwide community of LEGO fans lost a bright light in the passing of James Jessiman, creator of the LDraw file format and original LDraw program1997-07-25First Bring Your Favorite Minifig To Work Dayhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/Before becoming an annual event, people are encouraged to bring their favorite minifigs to work (or school) all on the same day.1996-12-13Acronym "AFOL" is first usedhttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/04c106513528bd1c?hl=en#e6eb68cc2f5c38eaMatthew Verdier first coins the acronym AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO), noting that it sounds like "A FOOL".1995-06-14The USENET newsgroup rec.toys.lego is createdhttp://www.faqs.org/ftp/usenet/news.announce.newgroups/rec/rec.toysThe voting ended on December 21st 1993 for the creation of the new newsgroup rec.toys.lego.
rec.toys.lego charter:
To provide a forum for the discussion of all things and experiences
relating to the Lego(tm), Duplo(tm) and compatible construction toys.
Including interesting models that one has built, experiences one has had
using legos, or questions about how to build particular components.
1993-12-21Legoland Park in Billund is openedhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/Legoland Park in Billund is opened, in which 3,000 people visit on the opening day1968-06-07Ole Kirk Christiansen dieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Kirk_ChristiansenOle Kirk Christiansen dies1958-03-11The LEGO Brick patent is filedhttp://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US3005282&F=0&QPN=US3005282The original LEGO brick with its stud-and-tube coupling system is born1958-01-28LEGO was officially registered as a trademarkhttp://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllego.htmThe word LEGO was officially registered as a trademark in Denmark1954-05-01Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is bornhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is born1947-12-27Fire destroys the LEGO factoryhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/When a factory fire destroyed the LEGO factory and it's content in 1942, Ole rebuilt all the production models himself to get the company back up and running.1942-04-03The company Ole Kirk Christiensen founded in 1932 becomes LEGOhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/The company Ole Kirk Christiensen founded in 1932 becomes LEGO.1934-12-01The company that would be LEGO is foundedhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/The LEGO company is founded by Ole Kirk christiensen. The LEGO name came two years later.1932-09-10Godfred Kirk Christiansen is bornhttp://www.jainsguide.com/history/Godfred Kirk Christiansen is born1920-07-06Ole Kirk Christiansen is bornhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Kirk_ChristiansenOle Kirk Christiansen is born1891-04-07Kanohi-Power Startshttp://news.lugnet.com/technic/bionicle/?n=1149Michael Edwards and Christian Gemunden announce a new Bionicle fan site, Kanohi-Power.com.2001-08-10BZPower Launcheshttp://bzpower.com/story.php?ID=415The Bionicle fan sites Kanohi-Power and BZ Community join forces to become BZPower.com.2002-07-20BZ Community LaunchesA new forum for Bionicle fans is launched.2001-07-21Train April Fools Prankhttp://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=5208One of the most successful April Fools hoaxes, Ben Beneke releases a fake 2001 train catalog with many enticing models that got fans drooling.2000-03-31BrickShelf Imposes Moderationhttp://news.lugnet.com/publish/?n=3461Thanks to some inappropriate content being posted, BrickShelf starts requiring content to be moderated before becoming public.2002-06-25First Cool Lego Site of the Weekhttp://www.lugnet.com/cool/site-001.htmlEd Boxer's LEGO Castle wins the first Cool Lego Site of the Week.1996-06-02BrickFair 2008http://www.brickfair.com/BrickFair 2008 begins, hosted at the Sharaton Premiere in Tysons Corner, VA.2008-08-29BrickCon 2008http://www.brickcon.org/BrickCon is held at the Seattle Center in Seattle, WA.2008-10-02BrickWorld 2008http://www.brickworld.us/BrickWorld 2008 kicks off in Wheeling, IL.2008-06-19LUGNET hosting changeshttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3251Administration of LUGNET formally passes from Todd Lehman to Rene Hoffmeister.2006-06-17Kjeld Steps Downhttp://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?page=pressdetail&contentid=12504&countrycode=2057LEGO announces that Kjeld Kristiansen is stepping down from his role in the management of the company, and Jorgen Vig Knudstorp is taking over as the new CEO.2004-10-21The Brothers Brick Beginshttp://www.brothers-brick.com/2005/07/The Brothers Brick, a new Lego blog starts commenting on all things LEGO.2005-07-25LAML Radio #1http://radio.laml.org/lamlradio-1-nottingbley-castle/LAML Radio publishes its first interview.2007-11-24MLCAD Releasedhttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.toys.lego/browse_thread/thread/d9ff0e07f4c8732f/6f9f6fb0d489f6e7?hl=en&lnk=st&q=#6f9f6fb0d489f6e7Michael Lachmann releases a new LEGO CAD program, MLCAD, for creating and editing LEGO DAT models.1999-07-14LEGO Millyard Unveiledhttp://www.see-sciencecenter.org/visitors/millyard-project.aspxThe LEGO Millyard Project, a collaboration between AFOLs and LEGO, is officially completed and unveiled with sponsors Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and Dean Kamen.2006-11-29BayLTC EstablishedBayLTC is founded-- a club for LEGO train enthusiasts in the San Francisco Bay area.2000-03-12BayLUG is named!http://news.lugnet.com/loc/us/ca/sf/?n=104AFOLs in the San Francisco Bay area agree on a new name for their club, and establish a website!1999-03-04Ambassadors reveal the end of 9V Trainshttp://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3183LEGO Ambassador Eric Kingsley reveals some of LEGO's plans for 9V Trains to the community, starting what would later be named the Save 9V Trains movement among fans.2006-03-30LEGO Recalls Truckhttp://news.lugnet.com/mediawatch/?n=2164One of the few recalls in LEGO history, LEGO decides to recall the 3509 LEGO Explore Super Truck. The truck's wheels were found to detach more easily than expected, revealing a dangerous metal axle.2006-10-20Little Armory's First OfferingJeff Byrd begins offering custom Star Wars guns through FBTB.net, beginning the Little Armory.2002-07-18Legends Line Announcedhttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/announce/?n=38Brad Justus announces the first Lego Legend, set 10000 Guarded Inn.2001-06-08Lego Announces the My Own Creation Serieshttp://news.lugnet.com/lego/direct/?n=3848Lego formally announces a new line of sets designed by fans, starting with Daniel Siskind's Blacksmith Shop, #3739.2001-12-14BrickFilms Launchedhttp://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=25465Jason Rowoldt announces a new site, BrickFilms, dedicated to keeping track of Lego movies across the internet.2000-12-20
First Colossal Castle Contesthttp://www.classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=223&highlight=colossalClassic-Castle announces the first Colossal Castle Contest, encouraging castle MOCs both small and large.20031119EuroBricks Launcheshttp://www.eurobricks.com/EuroBricks, a popular hobbyist forum starts.20040128First LEGO KidsFesthttp://www.legokidsfest.com/The first LEGO KidsFest showcases in Hartford, CT, with the intent of being a travelling expo focused on LEGO and kids.20091120BrickFest 2007http://www.brickfest.com/BrickFest 2007 was held in Portland Oregon, originally as "BrickFest PDX", but later became the official BrickFest for 2007.20070330BrickFest 2009http://www.brickfest.com/BrickFest 2009 was again held in Portland, Oregon with about 240 registrants and approximately 4000 visitors on the public expo.BrickWorld 2009http://brickworld.us/BrickWorld 2009 is held in Chicago, IL20090619BrickFair 2009http://www.brickfair.com/BrickFair 2009 starts, held at the Sheraton Premiere in Tyson's Corner, VA20090821