Bricktopia Vaals 2025: a successful weekend, with high visitor numbers on both days

For the very first time, Dutchbricks organised a Bricktopia in Vaals. Following the resounding success of our anniversary edition “Bricktopia World” at the MECC Maastricht last May, this time it was the beautiful town of Vaals where we were able to present our LEGO creations and collections on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October.

Given the favourable location near the border triangle, we expected quite a few tourists and visitors from Germany and Belgium. It was a good thing that the “Alleen kijken” (viewing only) signs we put on the tables also included German text, because that came in handy here in Vaals.

After working hard for a few hours on Friday with the volunteers present, we had the hall filled with tables, as straight as possible. Just in time for an afternoon full of LEGO building fun. It was a real spectacle to see all the boxes, crates and bins being unpacked one by one. On Saturday morning, we quickly continued building, and at 10:00 a.m., the exhibition was finally ready to open. It was raining cats and dogs outside, but that didn't affect the fun inside. The waterfall in the hall at the entrance even added to the atmosphere and experience, even though it wasn't part of the plan.

During the fair, Roel Killaars' fairground attraction attracted a lot of attention. It was prominently displayed as soon as you entered the hall. As a fellow builder, it was also nice to see that he keeps all the compartments on LEGO trailers when the attraction is not set up. He builds his Booster according to a fixed schedule, just like in the real world at a real fairground! 

Slowly but surely, the hall in Vaals filled up with lots of LEGO bricks. From Technic cars and trucks to Star Wars, (modular) buildings, trains and even a really cool marble run! The most beautiful structure could be admired on the stage, where a piece of André Rieu's concert on the Vrijthof was displayed once again. This structure was part of the community build “Het Vrijthof in LEGO” that Dutchbricks built with some of its members in the run-up to Bricktopia World in the MECC. The complete set-up was too large to be displayed in Vaals, but the stage with the surrounding buildings and part of the shopping street with terraces could be seen in Vaals. For various visitors to this fair who were also there in May, it was a nice reminder or even a new introduction to details that could now be better viewed thanks to the different set-up.

We welcomed many visitors on both days to admire all the beautiful creations. The Obelisk in Vaals was pleasantly busy almost the entire time. Together with our members and co-organisers Vols Brasserie and carnival association De Plintepuutsjere from Vaals, we managed to make it a fun weekend and a successful event. We would therefore like to thank everyone who contributed to this Bricktopia in Vaals for their efforts. See you next year in Munstergeleen (on 11 and 12 April 2026) and Horst (11 and 12 July 2026)!