2023
November 4-5, 2023: Maker faire Orlando
Central Florida Fairgrounds, Orlando, FL
GFLUG Members returned to Maker Faire Orlando this year to display a LEGO Great Ball Contraption. Great fun was had by all and the members of GFLUG walked away with another award, a Blue Ribbon "Maker of Merit"!
OCTOBER 21, 2023: CENTRAL FLORIDA RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Central Florida Railroad Museum, 101 S Boyd St, Winter Garden, FL 34787, USA
GFLUG was invited to set up and operate a Lego Train Display inside their historic train station and museum. As always, this was a fun event for all. We had a public crowd of nearly 900 people from 9am-4pm.
OCTOBER 14, 2023: NMRA SUNSHINE REGIONAL TRAIN SHOW, PLANT CITY, FL
HCC Plant City Campus, Trinkle Center, FL
GFLUG is always happy to attend the Plant City Train show with a compact Lego Train layout. This was a Saturday only event.
August 18-20, 2023 tampa brick fan fest
Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa, FL
This was Tampa Brick Fan Fest's first event in the Tampa Area. GFLUG Members displayed nearly 4000 s.f. of LEGO trains/City, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Harry Potter, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at the event.
There were some AFOL activities on Friday afternoon and Saturday night. Friday saw a variety of AFPOL build games and an afternoon Flea market. Saturday night there was an awards show, dinner, magic show and LEGO trivia by one of the LEGO MASTERS. Afterwards, the lights were turned off to see all of the lighted displays. GFLUG won the award for "Best Large Layout "(City/Train)!!! Not bad for our first time.
may 13th, 2023 national train day at tampa's union station
Tampa, FL
The GFLUG layout was up and running with other model railroads and activities at Tampa's Union Station. This was a free and open to the public event to support National Train Day and the future refurbishment of the Main Terminal. The Baggage building where we had our train displays was recently renovated to include new lighting, air conditioning and other upgrades. We had a good turnout and fun was had by all.
April 23, 2023 PLanes, Trains & Automobiles
Plant City Airport, Plant City, FL
"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is a beloved one-day community event featuring a wide variety of activities geared towards families each year at the Plant City Airport. Featured highlights will be numerous aircraft on display, a car show, and operating model train layouts. First responder vehicles and personnel along with train safety vehicles and equipment will also be in the lineup.
There will be many hands-on stations for kids, including STEM education exhibits and flight simulators from the Aerospace Center for Excellence, Young Eagles discovery flights conducted by our local Experimental Aircraft Association chapter, Scout merit badge opportunities, a pinewood derby, and many other activities. Younger children will enjoy inflatable bounce houses and other fun adventures just for them! Food trucks and local vendor displays will also be part of the lineup."
GFLUG was in attendance with a big Train, Airplane and Automobile Display.
March 28-April 2, 2023 megacon orlando
GFLUG Members displayed Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at the largest Sci-fi/Fantasy convention in Florida.
MEGACON Orlando is the South East’s largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming event, attracting over 100,000 fans each year across four big days. This year they set another record with nearly 150,000 attendees!
FEBRUARY 18-19, 2023: RERAIL TRAIN SHOW & SALE
Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto, FL
GFLUG was in attendance with our LEGO train layout.
2022
November 5-6, 2022 maker faire orlando
GFLUG Members returned to Maker Faire Orlando this year to display a LEGO Great Ball Contraption. Great fun was had by all and the inclusion of several of our newest GFLUG members.
Ocotber 8, 2022 central florida railroad museum
GFLUG Members displayed a LEGO train layout at the Central Florida Railroad Museum located in historic downtown Winter Garden.
Ocotber 8, 2022 MNRA Plant City train show and swap meet
GFLUG is always happy to attend the Plant City Train show. We had a "split squad" for this event as GFLUG set up LEGO train displays in two locations on the same weekend. As always, they love seeing the LEGO trains run in Plant City.
july 29-31, 2022 tampa bay comic convention
GFLUG Members displayed Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at Tampa's premier Comic Convention at the Tampa Convention Center.
Tampa Bay Comic Convention is Tampa’s largest, true comic convention. Featured are exhibitors that cater to a wide-spectrum of interests including comic books, magazines, toys, games, Star Wars, Star Trek, anime, manga, cosplay, artwork, sketches and apparel. In addition, a roster of comic industry professionals, and comicdom-related celebrities are in attendance for attendees to meet and greet. As admission is kept reasonable for adults and FREE for children, the Tampa Bay Comic Convention is a family-friendly convention.
May 19-22, 2022 megacon orlando
GFLUG Members displayed Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at the largest Sci-fi/Fantasy convention in Florida.
MEGACON Orlando is the South East’s largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming event, attracting over 100,000 fans each year across four big days. This year they set a record with nearly 140,000 attendees!
april 26, 2022: advent health for children hospital
Orlando, FL
GFLUG aided #FairyBricks in delivering boxes of donated LEGO sets for the children at Advent Health for Children Hospital in Orlando, FL. Thanks to Thomas and David for making the delivery.
MARCH 12-13, 2022: BRICK FEST LIVe
Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa, FL
Brick Fest Live: Inspire, Educate, Entertain. GFLUG was in attendance displaying some of our numerous displays including the GFLUG City Train layout, Moonbase, Star Wars, Castle, Harry Potter, and Ships to name a few. We even were visited by Manny and Nestor from Lego Masters, Season One.
FEBRUARY 19-20, 2022: RERAIL TRAIN SHOW & SALE
Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto, FL
After being 'de-railed' by Covid concerns in 2020 and 2021, the Re-Rail Train Show was back for 2022! GFLUG was in attendance with our LEGO train layout.
January 2022 GFLUG virtual meetup
Back by popular demand, we started off the new year with a new virtual meetup. The activity theme was to build a new Habitat with a New Year's resolution theme.
2021
November 13 PInellas Park Train Show & Swap Meet
GFLUG set up a small train layout at this local train show. We went with a holiday theme and brought out our Christmas/Winter themed terrain and Tom showed off some of his newly lit main street modular buildings.
November 13-14 Maker Faire Orlando
GFLUG Members returned to Maker Faire Orlando to display a collection of some new creations, some with a holiday flair.
November 6-7 Tampa Toy Show Extravaganza
GFLUG Members displayed Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at Florida's Largest Toy Show with Toys, Comics, Cars and more at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. The GFLUG "Play Brick" area for children of all ages was a big hit.
OCTOBER 16, 2021: NMRA SUNSHINE REGIONA TRAIN SHOW, PLANT CITY, FL
GFLUG is always happy to attend the Plant City Train show. We set speed records with this event. 2 hours of setup, run trains for 6 hours, and then less than an hour to be packed up and headed out. After the event, we made a visit to the local Lego resale shop in Plant City and then on to the Brandon Lego store to finish out our day.
AUg. 12-15 megacon orlando
GFLUG Members displayed Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at the largest Sci-fi/Fantasy convention in Florida.
MEGACON Orlando is the South East’s largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming event, attracting over 100,000 fans each year across four big days.
July 31-Aug 1 tampa bay comic convention
GFLUG Members displayed Sci-fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Mosaics, and Star Wars themed MOC's at Tampa's premier Comic Convention at the Tampa Convention Center.
Tampa Bay Comic Convention is Tampa’s largest, true comic convention. Featured are exhibitors that cater to a wide-spectrum of interests including comic books, magazines, toys, games, Star Wars, Star Trek, anime, manga, cosplay, artwork, sketches and apparel. In addition, a roster of comic industry professionals, and comicdom-related celebrities are in attendance for attendees to meet and greet. As admission is kept reasonable for adults and FREE for children, the Tampa Bay Comic Convention is a family-friendly convention.
february 2021 virtual meetup
GFLUG Members built Valentine's Day themed MOC's for our February virtual meet-up.
Staying Safe in 2021...
With COVID-19, we are following CDC guidelines and trying not to draw crowds or attend large gatherings for the safety of our community and our members. However, we are actively building for bigger and more creative displays for our future shows! We also continue to meet virtually, and look forward to resuming our showing schedules when it is safe to do so.
2020
December 2020 virtual meetup
GFLUG 20th Anniversary Builds and MOC's for our December/Holiday virtual meet-up.
November 13-14, Pinellas Park Train Show and Sale
GFLUG set up a small train layout at this local train show. As it turns out, it was the only show that we were able to display our Lego trains at this year. Though small, we had fun, even with the social distancing and limited attendance.
AUG 08 Virtual Meetup
Habitats! A lot of habitats! See the all the habitats built for our Aug 8th virtual meet-up.
Fairy Bricks
We assisted #FairyBricks by delivering donated LEGO sets to the children at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital.
2019
DEC 21-22 2019: TAMPA
The Winter Tampa Train show was a huge and well-attended event, and GFLUG was well represented with a huge city-themed LEGO train layout decorated for the holidays. Attendees had a great time counting snowmen hidden throughout the massive display!
Dec 14-15 2019: LARGO
All aboard for trains and lights! GFLUG displays a smaller Christmas-themed set for the Largo train ride under the lights at Largo Central Park.
NOV 09-10 2019: ORLANDO
Maker Faire brought out the creativity in our group, as we participated in much more than lego displays...
COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS
GFLUG Outreach
Our LUG participates in many outreach events. Over the years, these continue to include programs like the Community Window Showcase, assisting at FIRST Robotics Events, LEGO Build The Future, (LBR) LEGO Events and Store Builds.
Star Wars Celebration
Star Wars Celebration was an an annual Fan Event. In the years that it was based in Orlando, Florida, GFLUG partnered with LEGO Marketing to plan a specific Star Wars themed layout. The Club also provided staff for the play area.
Festival of Masters
Festival of Masters was an annual juried Art Show sponsored by the Walt Disney Company. GFLUG participated in this event for many years in conjunction with LEGO Brand Retail. Each year, the LUG selected a Theme, and every member had to submit a build for the event based on the Theme and internal awards were presented.
More Past Events
SEP 03 2014: Florida’s Largest Home Show, Tampa Fairgrounds
While most people in Florida take to the beach for Labor Day Weekend, the Greater Florida LEGO® Users Group was busy displaying at Florida's Largest Home show.
APR 16 2014: H & R Train Show Event Report
GFLTC returned to the 66th H&R; Train Show in full force.
FEB 16 2014: Plant City Train Show Event Report
The Greater Florida LEGO Train Club returned to Hillsborough Community College's Plant City Campus for the 24th Annual Train Show put on by the H. B. Plant Railroad Historical Society.
FULL EVENT LIST
Additional Information
TNov 10-11, 2012 Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney, Orlando, FL
Dec. 2012 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Feb. 2013 H.B. Plant Train Show, Plant City, FL
March 2013 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
March 2013 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
May 11, 2013 National Train Day at Union Station, Tampa, FL
June 2013 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
July 2013 NMRA National Train Show, Atlanta, GA
Aug. 15-18, 2013 GFLUG Lego Display, Seminole, FL
Sept. 2013 Regions Bank Display, Tampa, FL
Oct. 2013 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
Oct. 2013 Orlando Maker Faire, Orlando, FL
Dec. 22, 2013 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Jan 2014 TCA Train Show at Minireg Hall, Largo, FL
Feb 8, 2014 H.B. Plant Train Show, Plant City, FL
March 12, 2014 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
March 22-23, 2014 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
April 11-13, 2014 H&R Train Show, Pinellas Park, FL
May 10, 2014 National Train Day at Union Station, Tampa, FL
June 2014 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
June 2014 Brickworld Chicago, Chicago, IL
Aug. 2014 GFLUG Lego Display, Seminole, FL
Sept. 2014 Florida’s Largest Home Show, Tampa, FL
Oct. 2014 Brickworld Tampa, Tampa, FL
Dec. 2014 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Feb. 21-22, 2015 Star Wars Weekends at Legoland, Winter Haven, FL
March 2015 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
March 2015 H.B. Plant Train Show, Plant City, FL
April 10-12, 2015 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
May 2015 National Train Day at Union Station, Tampa, FL
June 2015 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
June 2015 Brickworld Chicago, Chicago, IL
Aug. 2015 Brickfair VA, VA
Sept. 2015 Brickworld Tampa, Tampa, FL
Oct. 2015 H&R Train Show, Pinellas Park, FL
Dec. 2015 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Feb. 2016 Star Wars Weekends at Legoland, Winter Haven, FL
March 2016 H.B. Plant Train Show, Lakeland, FL
April 2016 H&R Train Show, Pinellas Park, FL
May, 2016 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
May 2016 National Train Day at Union Station, Tampa, FL
June 2016 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
July 2016 Pinellas Park Train Show, Pinellas Park, FL
Nov. 2016 Brickworld Tampa, Tampa, FL
Dec. 2016 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Feb. 2017 Star Wars Weekends at Legoland, Winter Haven, FL
March 2017 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
March 2017 Scale Rails Train Show, Ft. Myers, FL
May 2017 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
June 2017 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Sept 2017 Bricks N Blocks Expo, Brooksville, FL
Dec. 2017 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
March 2018 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
March 2018 H.B. Plant Train Show, Plant City, FL
May 2018 National Train Day at Union Station, Tampa, FL
May 2018 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
June 2018 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
Sept 2018 Bricks N Blocks Expo, Brooksville, FL
Sept 2018 Megacon Tampa, Tampa, FL
Dec. 2018 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
March 2019 Real Rail Train Show, Bradenton, FL
March 2019 H.B. Plant Train Show, Plant City, FL
May 2019 National Train Day at Union Station, Tampa, FL
May 2019 Megacon Orlando, Orlando, FL
June 2019 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
June 2019 Tampa Maker Faire, Orlando, FL
Sept 2019 Bricks N Blocks Expo, Brooksville, FL
Nov. 2019 Orlando Maker Faire, Orlando, FL
Dec. 2019 City of Largo Polar Express Event, Largo, FL
Dec. 2019 Golden Spike Train Show, Tampa, FL
