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Spectacular Lego Build To Go Down At New West’s “River Market” August 30-31

The River Market is located at 810 Quayside Drive in New Westminster, B.C. | 604-520-3881 | www.rivermarket.ca
The River Market is located at 810 Quayside Drive in New Westminster, B.C. | 604-520-3881 | www.rivermarket.ca

The GOODS from River Market

New Westminster, BC | LEGO holds a very special place in our hearts and it brings out the little kid in us all. To celebrate that little kid, River Market is holding a two day LEGO building spectacular. They are inviting the community to come together and build 18 tiles which will form together into a postcard style mosaic commemorating summer. This event coincides with the Curious Flea, their signature vintage market, which takes place on August 30th and 31st.

Since opening its doors late in 2010, River Market at Westminster Quay has encouraged a healthy sense of curiosity. The 72,000-square-foot market is divided into the Hungry Floor — with tempting tastemakers like Wild Rice Restaurant and New Westminster landmarks such as the Paddlewheeler Pub — and the Curious Floor upstairs, where visitors can try a circus class at Vancouver Circus School, learn an instrument at Music Box, take in a temporary art exhibit or rent desk space by the hour at the Network Hub. Now there are even more opportunities to play and explore and we want everyone to join us in this LEGO building adventure.

To take on such a challenge, the marketing team at River Market needed an expert. They have been working with Joseph Cassidy, a local steam-punk and alterworld artisan and LEGO master who goes by the moniker ‘who’ to help them make the ultimate LEGO postcard. Who has been building complex LEGO structures and art pieces for decades and is a confirmed AFOL (adult fan of LEGO). You can find his creations on his web portal http://whovianart.com/ and at the upcoming Curious Flea.

From mosaic design to image creation to piece acquisition, Who educated the marketing team of LEGO fans (now aficionados) through the many ins and outs of creating a massive LEGO installation. As many of the colours being used in the structure were uncommon and not easily accessible through LEGO itself, the team relied on independent sellers to acquire the over 42,000 1×1 pieces. “We were looking for deals online through Brick Link and buying LEGO in bulk based on market prices and demand. It was like a LEGO stock market and eBay combined” said Salim Hassan, Marketing Manager at River Market. The sourcing of the LEGO started in the second week of June and it took almost two months to get the 2000 Black, 8300 White, 11100 Medium Blue, 3850 Green, 9300 Yellow, 500 Bright Orange, 1750 Reddish Brown, and 5500 Dark Blue; of 1×1 pieces from all over the world, including Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany and all corners of the United States and Canada. The 48×48 tiles for building the mosaic were purchased at Toy Traders in Langley www.toytraders.ca, BC’s largest independent toy retailer and the display board was built by local sign company Visual Information Systems.

River Market is the ideal location for an epic LEGO build. The open space in the brightly lit 2nd floor Community Square is a natural gathering place for curious adults and kids that wish to LEGO their day away. We’d love to see local kids organizations, scout troops, PAC’s and more jump on board to build a tile in our family mosaic. If you would like to participate in the LEGO event, you can email manager [at] rivermarket.ca and put “I want to be part of the great summer LEGO build” in the subject line.

So with all the time spent finding pieces, building images (over 15 hours of detailed computer work creating the mosaic alone), sorting the 42,300 pieces into individual bags and more, will River Market do this again? “We’re already planning the next one,” said Hassan. “Suffice to say, we’ve caught some LEGO fever”. For more information about the LEGO event and River Market, visit rivermarket.ca/lego.

DETAILS

810 Quayside Dr. | New Westminster, B.C. | V3M 6B9
Telephone: 604-520-3881
Web: www.rivermarket.ca | Facebook | Twitter

GALLERY

  • 016 - Boardwalk
  • GreatWallTea
  • Garden
  • Edible Garden
  • Donald's
  • SummerNight
  • Re-Up

THE PEOPLE

Mark Shieh: Director
Mia Ciric: General Manager
Deana Lancaster: Marketing Manager
Kiran Rai Office: Administrator
Jennifer Lee: Graphic Designer
Leslie Shieh: Project Planner

ABOUT RIVER MARKET

When faced with the task of revitalizing the Westminster Quay Public Market back in 2008, the River Market team wondered: How to reinvent a public market without becoming a mall?

The concept — food-led revitalization centred on local, independent businesses — has proven to be successful since the market opened in November 2010. All of the tenant-partners are founded in the Lower Mainland, if not right in the Market itself. The innovative approach unites people around the activities of food, its emphasis on cultural and communal activities helps distinguish the Market from other retail outlets, and a customer loyalty program reinvests 1% of money spent at River Market into grassroots projects in New Westminster.
The Market’s food precinct, based on a unique “Food 360” vision, celebrates the full circle of food. At River Market, you can grow herbs in edible garden plots, shop for organic produce in Donald’s flagship store or at the Royal City Farmers’ Market, participate in cooking classes, share meals in restaurants and cafes, and enjoy food festivals. The 360 degrees is completed with a Market-wide composting program.

In addition to food for your body on the first floor, River Market feeds your curiosity on the second floor with an Artisan Market, Music Box Music School, The Network Hub and the Vancouver Circus School. The Market plays host to events such as workshops and speakers’ series, to engage and educate the public on a variety of subjects.

The goal is to help strengthen the links between residents and local businesses, and with the local food system.

There is 1 comment

  1. Unfortunately, Lego has chosen to partner with Royal Dutch Shell, a petroleum company that has chosen to exploit deposits in the arctic. It seems like Shell hopes that they can cleanse their image with the partnership, but Greenpeace has started a campaign to pressure Lego to step back from it, and to publicise the dangers of arctic petroleum exploration and, eventyally, extraction. Here’s a third-party article on this matter:

    http://www.cnet.com/news/legos-deal-with-shell-drilled-by-well-oiled-greenpeace-campaign/

    In case it wasn’t evident, I think Greenpeace has it right and Lego has it wrong. So does Shell, but they are a petroleum company and they do what they do… as long as they are allowed to do it. I don’t think it can be business as usual with Lego until they see the errors of their ways.
    Sorry to be a drag.