Wheaton: Lego Train Club Christmas Show

Wheaton, Illinois (Dec. 14, 2013) -- Any show put on by the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club is a guaranteed good time, so making time for a trip to Cantigny this weekend to see their annual Christmas Train Show was a must do for our family. For this weekend, Cantigny's visitor center is entirely filled with Lego displays by club members, as well as vendors offering unique brick collections and accessories. As always, seeing the huge collection of Lego trains is just part of the fun. Make time to really look at the scenes and find the goofy humor and cultural references crammed into every inch of the layouts. (I'm not quite ready to let the kids watch Dr. Who, but seeing Daleks and Weeping Angels in Lego made me laugh. They thought the "Brick-Fil-A" restaurant was a sillier thing.) The only disappointment we had was not making time to step outside for the for the trackless train rides before they ended for the day. Oh, well, plenty to see inside. 

The show goes on for one more day: Sunday, Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. The trackless train rides are $1 and run until 3 p.m. Bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots and parking your vehicle will be free! Otherwise parking is $5. The main event is is free. 

Addison library: LEGO train display

Image courtesy of Idea go
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To my mind, a pile of Lego bricks gives a child one of the best playthings possible. I also firmly believe that after that first build of the model pictured on the box, its perfectly okay for the direction booklet to get lost and the sets to get mixed together. Let the creative inspiration for the next structure (or garden or monster or...) come from everything around us.

The Addison Public Library will feature the work of one group of talented Lego enthusiasts this weekend with a display crafted by the Northern Illinois Lego Train Club. The layout will fill the library's meeting room from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 and 1 till 4:40 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27. Addison library card holders can stop by ahead of time for free tickets. The rest of us are welcome to drop in. Library staff will allow people in the room as space allows. Tables in the children's area will provide Lego-building opportunities for youngsters.

If you go to this or any of the NILTC shows, give your group time to fully enjoy the display. These layouts always draw a crowd, so a little patience is always a good thing. Any waiting is worthwhile, though, because this club provides settings that are so much more than a train circling past some buildings. Club members create scenes with details full of humor and pop-culture references. Kids and adults love discovering unexpected characters or places as they take in the presentation.

The NILTC has crisply designed and easy-to-navigate website worth looking at to get a sense of the quality of its work, including videos introducing the group's activities. The site also gives a history of the club and answers common questions about what you'll see at their shows.

Coming up in December, the club will make a return appearance at Cantigny Park in Wheaton on December 14-15. Past shows have attracted more than 10,000. Plan now to bring a toy for Toys for Tots and your parking on the day of the event will be free!

The Addison Public Library is at 4 Friendship Plaza, Addison, IL. More information about this weekend's Lego train show is available in the library's current newsletter.