Michigan LEGO® Users Group

MichLUG at the Grayling Harvest Fest in Grayling, Michigan, October 2-3, 2010

Attendees:		Layout:
Jim Garrett Michele Van Hecker Chris Leach Sandy Leach Ethan Leach Tom Morse

Picture Galleries:
Jim Garrett	youTube Video – Slide show youTube Video – Overview youTube Video – Onboard a LEGO train All videos by Tom Morse

by Tom Morse

Introduction

The Michigan LEGO Train Club participated in the Grayling Harvest Fest on October 2 and 3, 2010. I was designated to pull the club trailer for this show. I met Chris at the storage lot the day before the show to get the trailer and all the LEGO needed for this show. I had all my stuff packed and ready for the next morning. When I picked up the trailer the wires for the lights had been broken in half and I had to fix them before heading up to Grayling. The next morning I picked up Michele at her house on the way to Grayling. Arriving after a three and a half hour trip, I checked into the hotel and then went on to the show.

Setup

We arrived at the Grayling Middle Scholl at 2:30. Clases were not out yet so Michele and I sat down by the Au Sable river and talked away the time. Another member of the club, Jim called us and told us school was out and we could start setting up now so we went back to the school. We unloaded the trailer and the cars and set up the layout except for all the minifigures and it took until 8:30 pm. We all went to Subway for supper and ate it at Jim’s family cabin. We sat and talked until 10:30 before I left for my hotel room. I unpacked my stuff and went down to the pool for a swim until 11:30 before going back to my room for bed. I got up the next morning at 7 am and ate breakfast at the hotel before going to the school to finish setting up the display. I arrived first and started setting up the minifigures. Chris arrived late at night at the hotel and arrived at the school with his family to help finish setting up the display in the morning. We finished set up just before 10 am when the show was to start.

The Show

While the show started at 10:00am on Saturday, it took a while before people started to arrive at our display. During the day there would be ten to twenty people around the display and then the room would clear and sometime later ten or twenty people again would come around the display. That is what most of the day was like; most of the venders were not happy with the low crowds. A radio station interviewed us on air about our display to get more people to come and see the show. Chris and Michele had to leave and go home at around 1:30 so that just left Jim and I to finish the day out. After the show closed for the day Jim and I went to the Historical museum (housed in Grayling’s old train station) and afterwords watched the “Timberliner” train leave for the evening. We ate supper ate Big Boys (not too many fine dining choices in town) and then spent the evening out at Jims family cottage. I went back to the hotel that night and jumped in the pool before going to bed again.

I didn’t get up until about 8:30 am Sunday morning and ate breakfast at the hotel again. I arrived at the show just before Jim arrived and Chris and his family arrived soon after that. This day went just about the same as the day before, so venders were picking up early and the food venders didn’t even open up at all.

Teardown

We started picking up the display at 4 pm and had everything loaded in the trailer and our cars in an hour and a half. We ate supper at Big Boys before heading home. The next morning I met Chris at the storage lot and parked the trailer.

New LEGO Creations

Jim’s 4 track version of the Detroit Union Station.

Other LEGO Creations

Chris’ factory and two wharehouses.
Chris’ fire station and brownstone block.
Chris’ Civil War reenactment scene.
Jim’s 19 story Ford Building.
Jim’s 8-wide Hogwarts Express.
Michele’s mansion and Cafe-Corner block.
Tom’s: 4449 Daylight passenger train, Freedom Train, Polar Express.
Tom’s: Yoda Eye Clinic.
Tom’s: Bates Hamburgers resturant.