Lego My Lego.

by Robin Matthews

I can tell, just by the amount of time that my kid spends playing Lego, that there is little he prefers doing. Sure, he likes watching Netflix (he’s thankfully backed off the Barney in favor of Clifford, finally) and he’s always up for a rousing game of “Firefighters Rescue”, but given a choice, it’s Lego. Hours and hours and hours of Lego. And I don’t know about your Lego collection, but ours is taking over. He went from a small box of random pieces to nearly every major Lego “City” set sold in stores practically overnight. His Thanksgiving-week birthday following immediately by eight nights of Hanukkah, combined with being an only child yielded an impressive, if overwhelming amount of tiny, nubby plastic bricks swarming our modest little rowhouse.You’d think this would be enough for one little 5-year-old. Alas, it turns out that the only thing he likes more than playing with his own Legos, is playing with someone else’s. The sheer delight in discovering “specialty pieces” that he’s never seen before is matched only by the excitement of recognizing pieces in someone else’s collection that he has in his own. So, imagine his delight in finding out that our local library hosts a monthly “Lego Club” wherein kids are invited to just hang out for a couple of hours with their enormous, donated, hodge-podge Lego collection. Tables lined up in a row, just strewn haphazardly with bricks and minifigures and plates and half-pins and wheels and axles and tiles and…and…and…

Lego Club. Its advent is genius to this mother. Bring your kid somewhere on a weekend where he will sit quietly and play independently (or, occasionally collaboratively with a fellow builder) for two hours? Yes, please. (And — I can’t lie. I kinda love building, too. In fact, we’ve been working on a 6-story free-form Lego structure at our house for weeks and I find myself looking forward to adding to it.)

And what’s better than Lego Club? Why, Queer Lego Club, of course! And thus was born the PFP Lego Club. The Lego table is always a hit at big PFP events like the New Year’s Brunch and the Valentine’s Day Party, so it seemed like a no-brainer. And with the William Way Center generously partnering with us and offering the space, it’s a win-win. Our first PFP Lego Club was last month and we’ll be continuing it on the first Saturday of every month, from 12-2pm. This month, we’ll even be adding board games because — who knew? — April 5th is Table-Top Day. (Really?)

Bring yourself, bring your kids, bring your neighbors and friends. The build is on for April 5th at the William Way (and every first-Saturday thereafter) from 12-2pm. I already know it will be the highlight of our month!