Ararat Rural City Council today announced the winners of the 2020 LEGO building competition in Ararat.
Entries were judged by previous LEGO Masters contestants, Tim and Dannii, using the same criteria used on the show including aesthetics, storytelling and technical ability.
Ararat Rural City Council CEO Tim Harrison said the unpredictability of this year meant we needed to do something different to celebrate Christmas.
“The challenges of 2020 meant we couldn’t organise the usual events and activities to celebrate Christmas,” Dr Harrison said.
“The LEGO competition provided an opportunity for people of all ages to get involved and get creative and submit their entries online.
“I was proud to see the enthusiasm and quality of the builds from the participants, with over 20 entries received.”
Using hundreds of LEGO pieces Violet built herself a dream destination titled ‘Sparkle City Pet Show and Theme Park’ featuring an animal theme park.
The eight-year-old winner said, “At the entrance, there is an octopus handing out brochures and a person in the ticket booth giving out tickets.”
“There are animals, trolls and a human merry-go-round – and Poppy from Trolls is waiting to get on the ride.
“There’s also King Trollex picking a cupcake from the cafe in the theme park.
“I had awesome fun creating Sparkle City. The hardest part was connecting the front to the pet walk. I am so happy to have won my first LEGO competition,” Violet concluded.
Violet’s mum Lauren said when she told Violet the good news, her response was shock and excitement accompanied by happy tears.
Tim and Dannii added, “We were particularly impressed by the merry-go-round. We know the complexity that rotational objects can bring to the build and loved seeing the creativity behind Violet’s display.”
12-year-old Wyatt’s abandoned asylum took second place in Council’s LEGO competition.
His entry titled ‘Haunted Prison’ includes cells blocks and ghosts wandering within the prison walls.
“My favourite theme at the moment is haunted places and was inspired by places such as J Ward,” said Wyatt.
“I worked on the build for over three days and really enjoyed the challenge of creating something different.”
Wyatt’s mum Rebecca said, “He is very creative and thinks outside the box.”
“I am really proud of what Wyatt has created and his love of LEGO and ideas for builds continues to amaze us.”
The winners took home a range of prizes including vouchers from local businesses as well as special LEGO sets from Tim and Dannii’s personal collection.
2020 Ararat Rural City Council LEGO Competition Winners
1st Place Winner: Violet, Age 8, ‘Sparkle City Pet Show’
2nd Place Winner: Wyatt, Age 12, ‘Haunted Prison’
Aesthetics Category: Owen, Age 10, ‘Exploring Ancient Ruins’
Storytelling Category: Abigail, Age 11, ‘Race Car Pit Stop’
Technical Ability Category: Blake, Age 6, ‘Funny Fun Fun Fun!’
9 and Under Special Mention: Henry, Age 7, ‘House Cruiser’ and Henry, Age 9, ‘City Meets Country’
10 and Over Special Mention: Poppy, Age 11, ‘Countdown Rocketship & The Jenny Haniver’ and Jessica, Age 30, ‘Even Dragon Celebrates Christmas’
