The Lockington and District Community Centre was a Lego lover's wonderland on Sunday as ‘Locky Blocks’ took place for its second consecutive year.
The event was a collaboration between the Lockington Neighbourhood House and the Bendigo Lego User Group, following its huge success last year.
Exhibitors travelled from around the region to share their creations, including from Melbourne, Castlemaine and Bendigo.
The main attraction of the day was the ‘Blackskull Archipelago’, a five-metre pirate display designed by 12 creators, including Locky’s own Owen O’Brien.
Mr O’Brien has been a part of the Lego world for over a decade and is one of the event co-ordinators for Locky Blocks.
Mr O’Brien said the ‘Blackskull Archipelago’ took about a year to bring together.
“I worked with others on this pirate build, that’s been our big build for the year,” he said.
“We spent 12 months planning and creating it because there were 12 people involved in it, so we had a lot of meetings and discussions.
“It’s the first time we’ve tried doing something of this scale, and we’re really happy with how it turned out.”
Although the ‘Black Archipelago’ took centre stage, the other exhibitors had a range of designs to enjoy — everything from delicate botanical sets to creations inspired by memes.
Local youth got involved again this year by building their own designs, which were on display at the event.
Eight-year-old Te Maire Mancer was one of the many young local exhibitors on the day.
Te Maire’s mum, Jannelle Mancer, said her son had wanted to take part after his friend had participated last year.
“His friend had joined in last year and made something, and he wanted to do it this year,” she said.
“We already had the Mario kits, and I’d had a Donkey Kong expansion kit sitting in the cupboard, so I said, ‘Hey, let's do this’ and that's how it came together.
“He doesn’t have the capacity to concentrate for a long time so for him to be sitting down and actually making something is great.”
The event had a strong turnout, with a steady stream of Lego lovers of all ages continuing to visit throughout the day.
Mr O’Brien said the event was a great opportunity for both exhibitors and visitors.
“I’m really happy with the setup, I think we’ve put on a good show,” he said.
“Us exhibitors are always looking for an excuse to display our Lego builds... we spend a lot of time building them so we like to let people see them.
“That’s the whole fun of it, seeing the smiles on people’s faces and how much they appreciate it.”