Report Bricktopia Munstergeleen 11 & 12 April 2026
On 11 & 12 April, the time had finally arrived. Our first exhibition in the sports halls of Munstergeleen. For many of us, it's a familiar location where club days, meetings, community builds, and other events are held. Thanks in part to Nico's hospitality, we (as I experience it) always feel welcome. The sports hall behind the Trefpunt proved to be very suitable and spacious enough for large exhibitions. Visitors did have to travel a few extra metres to get to the hall. However, the route to the hall was cleverly decorated with good signage by Maurice. This made the children very excited, while I heard countless parents complaining that it was a bit far (well, if you want to see nice LEGO, you have to make a bit of an effort).
As we were guests in a sports hall, some precautionary measures had to be taken first. For instance, the hall had to be fitted with large, thick mats to avoid damaging the floor. This was quite a job for the members present on Friday, given that the mats were large, heavy, and unwieldy. As if that weren't enough, there also turned out to be a shortage of mats. In a rush, some shorter pieces were fetched to fill the last gaps. As an added challenge, these were, of course, rolled up wet. It's fortunate it didn't rain, otherwise, the mood on Friday afternoon could have been very different. Once the mats were in place, the tables with cloths could be set up. A little after 3 PM, neatly according to plan, the most important part could finally slowly begin: building with LEGO!
On Saturday morning, the final touches were put in place and, following a short speech from the organisers, the event could be opened punctually at 10:00 am. From the opening, various families with enthusiastic children were already waiting. The day passed in a friendly atmosphere and it was pleasantly busy. There was ample space to chat with members and give curious visitors explanations about our MOCs (My Own Creation). Lunch and dinner were well catered. If you were still hungry after that, that was your own fault. There were even enough frikandellen left for a doggy bag.
Despite the tiredness of some members, the fair started again on Sunday at 10:00 AM. Saturday's trend continued. It was once again busy and lively all day. However, Frank still had plenty of energy left after giving his workshops. He had thought of something: In the Sunday afternoon, a dino suddenly popped its head up at various exhibitors’ MOCs. The dino went wild at almost all exhibitors, while its owner (read: Frank) took great pleasure in the panic it caused among the Lego inhabitants of our exhibitors. The dino first appeared at the jousting tournament in Barend and Thijs's Medieval realm. After that, the dino visited various exhibitors. The dino was spotted at Frank's, Wilchry's, Nard's, Sybrin's, Hans's, Joos's, Joeke's, Patrick's, Kevin's, Jean-Paul's, and Ted's. Towards the end of the afternoon, my build was also unexpectedly visited by Frank's Dino. Here too, there was panic among my LEGO inhabitants.
Frank's dino wasn't the only guest on Sunday afternoon. For those in the WhatsApp group, you may have already received some updates. Our club member Roel has been busy for some time designing, collecting, and building a real, existing optician's shop in Reuver. Namely, the optician's shop Heiming Aben. It was a very successful final result with all the trimmings. From the shop's entrance to the fitting rooms at the back, including a detailed toilet. The special thing about this commission was that the owner of the optician's shop was completely unaware of it. He was quite surprised and impressed by the construction. He was, of course, thrilled that he was allowed to take the entire structure home with him (something you don't often see at a Lego exhibition).
After another pleasant afternoon, just like at other shows, time flew by. So, it was soon time to pack everything away and store it. As usual, everyone went about it differently. While some had a clear system, others figured out on the spot how best to fit the LEGO back into the box. I fell into this latter category... Yes, I couldn't remember how it had been put in initially. But hey, that was sorted out in the end. One thing was certain, all the members had plenty of experience, because about an hour later, almost all the LEGO was put away and a large part of the tables had already been folded up.
After that, the next phase began. Fortunately, there was a lot of help from all the participants. Both the exhibitors, volunteers, and vendors helped out. As a result, the tables and cloths were stacked and put away relatively quickly. The thick mats that caused some stress on Friday still needed to be tidied up. For this, we could use a manual rolling frame that required 4 people. After figuring out how the frame worked and which side of the mat had to go first, it eventually ran like a well-oiled machine. It sometimes seemed like a military operation, something that was sometimes taken very literally…
It paid off, because at 19:31 (instead of 20:00) the last roller went out, done by Barend, who had already put out all the other rollers. The last ones remaining were: Patrick, Roel, Jeen, Dirk, Frank, Maurice, Twan & Sandra, Barend, Thijs, Joos, Marco, Kyan and myself (apologies if I've forgotten anyone!). Satisfied, we looked back on a pleasant weekend which we wanted to end with a drink. But the bar was already closed. So everyone went home, tired but content.
I look back at the weekend with satisfaction, already looking forward to more. It was great to see everyone again and speak to as many people as possible. Fortunately, Bricktopia Horst is almost here again, so we won't have to miss each other for long. In my opinion, and with a total visitor count of 754, this was a very successful first edition of Bricktopia in Munstergeleen for me.
Off to Horst, 11 and 12 July we will be there for the second time in the Bloody hell!
Maarten
