This year we received a Deluxe goody-box-set

This year was the ten-year anniversary of Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend. To mark this milestone, let’s take a look at the history of the event, the LUG behind the event, and the AFOL Networking Events program.

That story begins twenty years ago in 2005 when an ambitious LEGO employee , Jan Beyer, had the opportunity to organise a LEGO event in the small town of Skaerbaek in Denmark (or Skærbæk in proper Danish spelling). He took the opportunity and helped create the “LEGO Fan Weekend.”

Jan’s intention was to take the AFOL hobby to the next level. He wanted to encourage AFOLs to look beyond borders, visit LEGO events abroad, and build an international network of LEGO friends. Considering the number of AFOLs now travelling to all corners of the world to attend events, I think he succeeded.

Arte em Peças

Nineteen years ago in 2006, a group of friends in Portugal started a LUG: Comunidade 0937. Like many other LUGs their group, they slowly grew and after a few years they wanted to organise an event to show their MOCs to the wider world. They had their first events in the city of Tomar.

Google Translate wrongly translating Paredes de Coura as Leather walls — No Google, Paredes de Coura does not mean Leather Walls.
It is the Valley of the river Coura.

One of the early members, Miguel Guerreiro, worked for a town council in the North of Portugal. The mayor there turned out to be a big supporter who provided the club with a home in his town. It was only logical then that their event would be relocated there, in “Paredes de Coura.” (And no, that name has nothing to do with paradise, nice as the town may be.) So in 2010 they held their new event, “Arte em Peças” or “Art in Pieces.” It was a success, so it was repeated the next year and then became an annual event.

Arte em Peças 2010 Poster. Image from Flickr.

Two things helped with that success. First, Comunidade 0937 had some incredibly talented builders. I don't know if it’s a record for a LUG, but five of their members have gone on to work for LEGO as set designers. That’s Marcos Bessa, Tiago Catarino, Pablo González, Ricardo Silva and César Soares.

Second, they had found a town with a friendly mayor who gave them a great location. It is a unique setup. Caixa de Brinquedos is a community centre where children can play and learn, and where the LUG can use the space to display, build, and store their LEGO collection. It’s such a great concept, you wonder why it’s not done in many more places. Over the years, mayors have come and gone, but the town of Paredes de Coura has continued to support Comunidade 0937.

“The event in Paredes de Coura has always been one of my favorites due to the extreme high MOC quality, the super friendly and welcoming AFOLs and the great location.” - Jan Beyer, former LEGO Community Relations Manager

Those friends from Porto started visiting LEGO events around Europe. As they started making international friends (apart from talented builders, they’re also really nice folks), those friends started visiting the Arte em Peças event in Portugal. Among those friends was that same Jan Beyer of the LEGO Community Engagement Team, and he liked what he saw. The event location, the way everything was organised, and the atmosphere.

The 0937 crew also started taking their models abroad. In 2015, they shipped their Enchanted Forest to Skaerbaek and then to Brick 2015 in London. Both are important dates and locations in this story.

“Enchanted Forest” built by members of Comunidade 0937. Image from Flickr.

Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend

You see, “Skaerbaek” 2015 was a special edition. After organising the LEGO Fan Weekend for ten years, the LEGO Company decided to pull out. Fan Weekend 2014 would be the last one. However, as you’re probably aware, it’s still going. Fans took over the organisation starting in 2015 and renamed the event as the Skaerbaek Fan Weekend. At the end of that year at Brick 2015 in London, Kim from the LEGO Community Engagement Team announced that there would be a second “Hub Event” as they were initially called, and they had selected Paredes de Coura.

Event organiser Miguel Reizinho holding a Nerf gun — Reizinho. Miguel Reizinho.

The name “Hub Event” was related to the Hub offices LEGO was opening around that time in London, Enfield, and Singapore. Both served a similar purpose; Billund may be the center of the universe, but it’s not easy to invite that whole universe to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. You also can’t send the people from HQ in Billund to every fan event around the world, so having local hubs would make it easier to arrange visits and other resources.

As Arte em Peças became Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend, the 2016 event was a big change from the previous years. There were more international participants who could no longer all be housed in one location, more MOCs, and more activities—it was a big step up for the logistics of the organisation.

That organisation is a team led by “the other Miguel,” Miguel Reizinho, and they put on a great event. I wasn’t in attendance in 2016, but I was in 2017. It was fantastic. We stayed in a villa just outside the town with a veranda and a pool. In our group were, if I remember correctly, Belgians, Irish, Brits, Australians, Americans, Germans, a Croat, and a Norwegian. (Could it be more international?) The chats by the poolside in the evenings were great fun and very interesting. We all had breakfast together before heading over to the event hall.

“I’d go back in a heartbeat if I could! I love the community feel, both when it comes to the accomodation and the event itself. And of course the legendary AFOL Lounge.” - Are Heiseldal, Bricknerd contributor

The international vibes continued there, with food and drinks from all corners of the world adding to the Portuguese offerings in the AFOL Lounge. The AFOL Lounge is a place to take a break, write an article, eat, drink and talk to other AFOLs.

At lunch time, everyone hops on the bus (or walks—it’s not that far) to a local school where the dinner ladies serve a nice meal. You get some established groups who stick together, but you often end up sharing the table with strangers. By the time dessert comes around, you’ll have made a new friend. This year, for example, I met Mo Childs of Need Mo Bricks. He held a presentation the next day where I remember he had a lot of nice things to say about Paredes. If only I’d taken notes…

AFOL Lounge Treats; Portuguese cake, Irish chocolates, Dutch ginger biscuits and Stroopwafels

For example, I had no idea that no fewer than five of the people in our villa would end up writing for a website called BrickNerd. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of BrickNerd yet because I hadn’t attended the presentation by Tommy Williamson, the founder of BrickNerd. (I would get another chance, though, with a new editor for the site, even if that took a while.)

2020 - The World Takes a Break

We (my wife and I) wanted to return in 2018, but the event clashed with my dad’s 80th birthday. In 2019, we had tickets for a concert that weekend. In 2020, the world was closed and Fanweekend was cancelled, and then in 2021, there was a virtual event. This online event was very well organised, and included many interesting presentations. One was by Michael Peebles, one of the Ozzies we shared the villa with in 2017. Another was by Tore Alexandersen, who gave a great insight into the design of graphics for LEGO sets—more than you realise! And then there was Dave Schefcik who spoke about this revamped website “BrickNerd” where he had recently taken over as Nerd-in-Chief. This time I do remember the presentation. I also remember thinking, “That sounds like a great site to write for,” so I sent Dave an email. And look what happened...

As the event was online, the welcome pack was posted to everyone at home. In that pack was the next installment of the life and times of Ricky the Rooster. Every year, the LUG produces an event set, and they get better every year.

Ricky the Rooster event set for the 2021 online event.

It all started in 2016 with Ricky the Rooster himself. In 2017 he got a car, in 2018 a girlfriend, Henriquetta, and in 2019 they had a son, Gregg. In 2021, Ricky and Henriquetta went on holiday in a biplane. Since then, we’ve seen them on a train and in a hot air balloon, and Ricky has been on a jet ski and in a rocket. It’s one of the many aspects of “Paredes” that make it special.

“Paredes Fan Weekend is the most relaxed, most welcoming, most inclusive AFOL event I’ve been to.” - Ruth Vallenduuk, brick.ie member

After the online event in 2021, Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend has gone back to in-person events. And while the number of participants has gone back up, the number of MOCs, unfortunately, hasn’t. The big marquee tent that stood beside the community centre from 2016 to 2019 has not returned. What hasn’t changed is the AFOL Lounge, where you still find a smörgåsbord of snacks and treats from around the world. What also hasn’t changed are the activities, like “AFOLs in Nature.” Think school sports day, but with LEGO-related games. Where else would you play Speed Champions Relay Speed Build?

The Hub Events are now called AFOL Networking Events, a name that better explains what these events are about. There are now three of them in Europe: Skaerbaek Fan Weekend, Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend and Bricktastic. Each has its own character (and I don’t mean Casper, Miguel and Kevin!). The program has also been expanded to include six US conventions (BrickCon, BrickFair Virginia, BrickSlopes, Brickworld Chicago, Brick Rodeo, Bricks Cascade), BrickVention in Australia, Japan Brickfest and China AFOL Festival.

It will be interesting to see what will happen to the AFOL Networking Events. Will more be added? Will they grow bigger? Miguel has dropped some hints about stopping, but like a rock band on their fifth farewell tour, he keeps coming back. I’m already looking forward to our trip to Portugal in 2026!

Have you been to the Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend, or any of the other AFOL Networking Events? Let us know in the comments below!

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, Dan Church, and Roxanne Baxter to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more