Get Ready to Build Your Way Around Town With LEGOs

A punny guy once said that the fun of LEGOs is “really stacking up” these days. Reality is, that pun-slinger was right on the money when it comes to the 7th Annual Build Your Way Around Town LEGO event officially getting underway tomorrow, Thursday, February 28th and running all the way through April 7th.

You could say full on family entertainment “is stacking up” in St. Joe during the big event with six different sites all hosting brick building events, each with free admission and parking.

Here’s a full list of the opportunities ahead so that you can make plans now to attend:

Feb. 28: Builders’ Bash Family Fun Night, 4:00 to 8:30 pm at the Silver Beach Carousel, 333 Broad Street. More than 100 LEGO and DUPLO brick creations will be on display in the Carousel House. During the evening, visitors can meet the builders (ages 4-18 years old). Builders ride the Carousel for free, visitors ride for only $1; free hourly drawings also will be held.
Feb. 28-April 7: Amazing LEGO Display, Silver Beach Carousel, 333 Broad Street. Check silverbeachcarousel.com for hours, including extended days and times during spring break week, March 30-April 7. This amazing display showcases more than 100 LEGO/DUPLO creations made by local youth. While there, families can ride the Carousel, play games, enjoy snacks from the refreshment stand and browse The Brass Ring Gift Shop to see their spring collection of toys, gifts and collectibles.
March 1-3: LEGO Big City Build, Friday and Saturday, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and Sunday, noon to 5:00 pm in the Shadowland Ballroom, 333 Broad Street. Professional builder Jason Spears and the Western Michigan LEGO Users Group will create a magnificent cityscape with replicas of buildings from Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph. There also will be a display of science fiction creations. Viewers can ask Club members for LEGO construction tips as well as make their own LEGO creations from a large supply of the colorful bricks.
March 4, 11, 18 and 25: Weekly drawings for LEGO prizes at St. Joseph Today, 301 State Street. Children ages 2 to 16 years old can enter at each of the six participating Build Your Way Around Town locations. Winners will be announced each week at Facebook.com/stjoetoday.
March 9: LEGO Bingo, 1:00 to 2:30 pm, Curious Kids’ Museum, 415 Lake Boulevard. Bring children 2-10 years old to play BINGO for prizes. New games will start every half hour. Enter the brown door on the south side of the museum for free admission to play. For an admission fee, extend the family fun with dozens of hands-on learning exhibits upstairs in the museum.
March 9: LEGO Family Build and Prize Drawings, 3:00 to 5:00 pm, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph YMCA, 3665 Hollywood Road. Enjoy this build time with the entire family, including grandparents and cousins. Enter to win free prizes for YMCA memberships. That evening, children 2-12 years old are welcome to stay for the Kids Night Out event from 5 to 10 pm. Activities include gym time, crafts, a movie and healthy dinner plus snack. Ages 5 to 12 can swim, too. Cost is $18 per child in advance, $25 per child on the day of the event. Pre-register at ymcaswm.com/KNO.
March 11: LEGO Build Event and Cooking Demonstration, 5:00 to 6:30 pm, St. Joseph Public Library, 500 Market Street. Tweens in 4th through 6th grade will participate in LEGO building and watch a LEGO-centric cooking demonstration that they can replicate for the family at home.
March 16: Space Station Challenge, Session 1 from 12:00 to 1:30 pm and Session 2 from 2:30 to 4:00 pm, Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Boulevard. Using a LEGO Architecture Studio kit, children 5-7 years old will work in teams to design and build space stations on different planets. Each planet presents a unique design challenge such as low gravitational force or extreme temperatures. Pre-registration is required at https://krasl.org/education/youth/camps/.
March 16: Stop-Motion LEGO Animation Challenge, Session 1 from 12:00 to 1:30 pm and Session 2 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm, Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Boulevard. Young animators ages 8-12 will pick a random title from a hat such as “The Obsession of Wizards,” “The Trainer of the Star” or “Vision of Elves.” Using LEGO characters and iPads, participants will work in teams to bring these titles to life as short stop-motion animations. Final videos will be uploaded to the Krasl Art Center YouTube page to be seen by the public. Pre-registration is required at https://krasl.org/education/youth/camps/.
March 25: LEGO Build Event, 5:30 to 6:30 pm, St. Joseph Public Library, 500 Market Street. Elementary students in first through third grades will have a chance to out-build each other while enjoying snacks and meeting others who are crazy about LEGOS.