When Chris Steininger was a boy, the best day of the school year was Take Your Parent to School Day. Other kids’ dads were doctors, lawyers, whatever. Steininger’s dad was the coolest of them all.
A Lego master builder.
“I was a rock star,” says dad, Dan Steininger. He would show Chris’ classmates his elaborate Lego creations and give them little packages of Lego bricks.
Chris followed in his father’s footsteps. Today both father and son work
as master builders at the Lego North American headquarters in Enfield. There are only eight master builders in the world, all of them in Enfield. The Steiningers are the only father and son.
“We do actually get paid to play for a living,” Chris says.
Both Steiningers will be in Hartford all weekend Dec. 2 to 4 for the Lego KidsFest, an annual celebration of all things Lego at the Connecticut Convention Center. Hartford was the city where Lego KidsFest was founded in 2009, and this is its fifth visit here. The events usually sell out far in advance, so buying before the event is essential.
The upcoming Hartford fest will be the last LEGO KidsFest. Since its founding, it has expanded from its home city to encompass events in Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta, San Jose, Cleveland, Richmond, Phoenix, Portland, Houston, Milwaukee and Cleveland. BuzzEngine, the West Hartford-based events management firm that produces LEGO KidsFest, announced Thursday the end of the event’s seven-year run. “We hope New Englanders will join us for one last jump in The Big Brick Pile,” said Chris White of BuzzEngine.
The Steiningers will bring about 25 different models to KidsFest: Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman, Wonder Woman, Lightning McQueen, velociraptors, other animals and superheroes. They will do workshops, give out design tips, teaching kids how to be better at using the Legos they already own.
“Our models are meant to inspire the children,” Dan says. “If you have enough of these bricks, you can make it.”
Dan began his adult life as a TV and movie actor, then moved to carpentry. He enjoyed sculpting, so when his son was a boy he enjoyed playing Legos with him. “For me, Lego was a medium like metal or wood,” he says.
More Lego sculptors may be on the way in the Steininger family. “My son has a ‘future master builder’ shirt,” Chris says.
Other activities at the KidsFest include an interactive Lego “Star Wars” relay race, a “Star Wars” action figure building area, models from the movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” a Disney princess play area, a model museum, a construction zone and a massive, loose pile of Lego bricks.
Lego KidsFest New England will be at the Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Blvd. in Hartford, from Friday to Sunday, Dec. 2 to 4. Admission for each 4-1/2-hour session is $19 to $22. Tickets, time frames and details at LEGOKidsFest.com.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previous version to announce the end of the seven-year LEGO KidsFest run.
