Whakatāne 12-year-old Daemon Knight has been building with LEGO for longer than he can remember, and this weekend he will proudly showcase five metres of creations at the Whakatāne Brick Show.

The Bay of Plenty LEGO User Group (BOPLUG) Brick Show will be held at the Whakatāne War Memorial Hall tomorrow from 10am to 4pm. Entry is $5, with children aged 3 and under free.

The St Joseph’s School student is a member of BOPLUG and has been busy preparing an assortment of builds for the show.

Daemon celebrated his 12th birthday on the day the Beacon interviewed him for this story and had already received three LEGO sets and planned to buy another later that day. His grandmother, Melissa Broadmore, said he would spend all his time building.

“It would be 24/7, if he could.”

Daemon said he built most days, with some sets taking one day to complete and others taking longer.

His favourites have changed over time.

“It used to be Lego City, but now it’s definitely mixed themes,” he said.

This weekend will be his fourth time displaying at a Brick Show, but the Whakatāne event will give him considerably more room than usual.

Broadmore said Daemon would normally have one table at a show, but this time he had two.

“Because it’s Whakatāne and it’s a special place for us, Daemon’s got two tables, and that’s five metres worth of table that he’s going to cover.”

Daemon said he loved displaying his LEGO and was particularly looking forward to showing his school friends his creations.

He and his grandmother became involved with BOPLUG after attending one of the group’s shows about a year and a half ago.

“I never knew I could find people who love Lego as much as me,” Daemon said.

“So, I decided to join.”

The group has members from across the Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua, Katikati and Tauranga, with Daemon and his family currently its only Whakatāne members.

Broadmore said members met on the first Sunday of every month and were given a monthly challenge.

“If they’ve done a build over the month, they put it on a showoff table, and everybody comes round and has a look and listen.”

Past activities have included building a structure to travel down a zip line and constructing a bridge capable of holding bottles of water.

BOPLUG’s Whakatāne Brick Show will feature 19 displays covering a wide range of themes and styles.

These will include LEGO art, trains, BrickHeadz, Star Wars, Technic, Western and Space displays, Great Ball Contraptions and remote-control cars, along with moving and technical creations.

Visitors will also be able to have a go themselves at a brick pit, where children and adults can build their own creations, while second-hand LEGO will be available for sale.

A coffee cart will be at the venue, with the local Scouts running a sausage sizzle and bake sale outside.

Whether visitors are lifelong LEGO enthusiasts, families looking for a day out or simply curious about what can be created from thousands of colourful bricks, there will be plenty to discover.

For more information, visit Bricks of Plenty – Bay of Plenty LEGO User Group on Facebook or go to www.boplug.nz