LEGO crowd to meet in Wheeling

When my younger brother was little, he used to adore LEGOs.

I, too, loved creating things with the little colorful blocks, but he really got into them. One New Years Eve, my parents bought him a new box of "Apollo 13" LEGOs, with little space men and space vehicles to build.

Before midnight, he had meticulously put together the entire set, sticking out his tongue while he followed the pages and pages of instructions.

I'm sure our LEGOs are buried in a back closet somewhere (I'm feeling nostalgia at the moment), but for real LEGO enthusiasts, their favorite building toys will be front and center this weekend in Wheeling.

More than 800 exhibitors will share their LEGO creations with the public at Brickworld 2010 at the Westin Chicago North Shore, 601 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Wheeling.

From the "Monster Chess" exhibit – a life-size chess game on a 156-square-foot chess board made out of, and controlled by, LEGOs – to other robots, trains, castles and more, visitors will have plenty so see, and they'll be able to talk to the inventors, too.

The fun takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 19, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 20.

Admission is $7 for children and seniors, and $10 for adults.

For more information, visit www.brickworld.us.

And when you get back home, pull those LEGOs out of the closet and have at it. I think I will.