Solvang LEGO Building Competition

Solvang (www.SolvangUSA.com), the Danish-rooted, Santa Ynez Valley wine country town along California’s Central Coast, will host its first annual Solvang LEGO Building Competition the weekend of April 2 and 3, 2022. LEGO®, the famous Danish building block brand, serves as the inspiration behind the two-day, family-friendly competition which will pit some of the top LEGO builders against each other as they construct their own takes on Solvang’s five fabled Danish bakeries.

The town-wide event kicks off on Saturday, April 2 at 10:00 AM, as the builders begin their projects. Stationed throughout the walkable Southern California village, with Northern European architecture and ambience as a backdrop, Saturday’s build will run through 4:00 PM in ten competitor tents scattered about the town. The public is welcome to spectate as the invited pros work their building block magic into their best version of a storybook bakery.

Sunday, April 3 brings a judging period at 12:00 PM, followed by a 1:00 PM Awards Ceremony for the best build, both to be held at the Solvang Visitor Center (1639 Copenhagen Drive, Solvang, CA 93463). Prizes will be awarded to the top three builders in the competition.

Kid-favorite LEGO blocks were originally made of wood; Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen created the first version of the building blocks in the 1930s. He named his company LEGO, a mix of the Danish words “to play” and “good.”⁠⁠ Denmark is still home to the original LEGOLAND® and LEGO® House.⁠

Additional details about the weekend event will be released via social media over the next few days (@SolvangUSA), including the announcement of all ten of the pro-builders who will be participating in the competition. One of the registered participants is none other than Zack Macasaet, block builder extraordinaire featured on Season 2 of the FOX competition series LEGO Masters. Also slated for the Solvang competition is Bill Vollbrecht, a former Master Model Designer and LEGOLAND Parks designer; Mariann Asanuma, the world’s first female, freelance LEGO artist and former Master Model Designer at LEGOLAND California, where she was the first American woman to hold that LEGOLAND title; Gwyneth Kozbial, a writer for BrickNerd; and, Chris Wight, whose LEGO craftwork has helped with projects for the LA Auto Show, and the construction of an oversized model of the neurology wing at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Assembling the Solvang LEGO Building Competition participants, and serving as one of the weekend’s judges, is LEGO artist Allyson Gail, whose food-famous work has been featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Brothers Brick, by LEGO, and more.

The Solvang LEGO Building Competition is open to the public, free of charge. Event updates will be posted to the SolvangUSA Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts: @SolvangUSA, facebook.com/SolvangUSA, and twitter.com/SolvangUSA.

Please Note: LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this event.⁠