Jan Beyer over on the LEGO Ambassador Network has released a statement regarding the AFOL Networking Events that are supposed to be going on around the world. Due to the Covid-19 situation, there have only two events (Bricks LA/Bricks Cascade) that happened because they were held before everything shut down. Jan has given his thoughts on the ANE for 2020 that have not been cancelled yet (BrickFair Virginia/Skærbæk Fan Weekend/BrickCon). He also talks about some ANE that have gone virtual but that is no replacement for physical events.

Dear all, I hope you are all safe and healthy and have time to spend on your LEGO hobby.

Today I like to give you an updated about the situation regarding AFOL Networking Events in the current Corona Virus pandemic.

Due the never seen before circumstances unfortunately only 2 ANE (Bricks LA and Bricks Cascade) in early 2020 could happen. Since mid March all ANEs are cancelled due to governmental or local restrictions for physical meetings and larger gatherings.

This is of course understandable but hits the organizers and participants as well as the AFOL Community quite heavy.

We do our best to be as supportive as we can be to the cancelled ANE but of course it is a very sad situation and we are right now all very uncertain how the future for large physical gatherings looks like.

There are still 3 ANE left for the remainder of 2020 (Brick Fair Virginia, Skærbæk Fan Weekend and BrickCon) which are not cancelled yet and we all cross our fingers that they hopefully can happen but with all local as well as travel restrictions and global flight traffic down it seems very difficult but hopes are still high.

On the positive side of all this crisis spur creativity and several ANE have organized (e.g. BrickCan and BrickWorld) or plan to organize (BrickWorld, Brick Fiesta and Bricks by the Bay) virtual events which are a great addition (definitely no replacement for a physical event though) that allow different approaches and points of view. So I can strongly recommend to check a virtual ANE out as there is usually a great program and also some fun activities and several LEGO colleagues are joining too.

This is of course something which came up for many last minute and in crisis mode but it gives a new perspective to things and probably can add another layer to ANE for the future.

If you have any comments or concerns feel free to let me know and I wish you all the best for the future – please take care and stay safe and healthy.

Jan

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