JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — The crowds came out in May to celebrate the creatives in our community at the Spring Heavy Equipment LEGO Show at Catskills Equipment. The show included LEGO builds from children and adults alike, free raffles and a scavenger hunt among the heavy equipment. Local businesses were a part of it too!

Builds are contributed throughout the year from LEGO programs I run—I’m a local educator and enrichment provider, and those builds represent students from across Sullivan County. 

Heavy equipment was provided by several local farmers and organizations, including Smith Family Farm, the Jeffersonville Fire Department, Mullally’s Tractor Sales, Bethel Sanitation, the Town of Callicoon, Catskills Equipment and more. 

Throughout the event, families were encouraged to hunt for LEGO builds alongside their matching piece of equipment. The families discovered a LEGO excavator hidden on top of the real thing, a harvester hidden in a hay baler, a crane hanging from a real crane, and even found unique LEGO versions of local food trucks—Big Rob and the Wandering Peach—while enjoying good food and drinks. Children could climb inside the local fire trucks, visit with deputies from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and learn more about the HumV and its LEGO match, all while checking out police drones.

The event featured local businesses that shared information and experiences with the children. They broke flax from Flax Fiber Farm, and the children enjoyed blooms with Bunny Love Flower Farm, heard about the Children’s Home, and settled in for sweet treats from Ri’s Ice Cream and Whimsical Whisk.

Children shared their creations with the community and saw what others had created. Local high schooler Ruth Joy said her favorite thing about building with LEGO is “the ability to be creative,” and her favorite thing about the LEGO show was “the amount of different kinds of builds that were displayed.” 

Long-time LEGO lover and clubber Veronica said her favorite things about LEGO are that it is “fun to create. People can connect with them. It is pretty awesome to build because they’re small and can help with hand movement development.” 

When asked her favorite thing about the LEGO Show and LEGO Club, she said, “The scavenger hunt was fun, and you get to see LEGO builds on display and everyone’s creativity—and there was a lot of creativity. We get to connect with each other in ways more than other clubs, and make creative things.” 

Some of the youngest builders at the show shared their thoughts and feelings as well. Bowie said his favorite things about LEGO are “the small LEGO, and I like looking at my LEGO and Charlie’s LEGO. I built the one that was extinct, and Charlie built the one that wasn’t.” He was talking about his and his friend’s dinosaur builds—and one was a LEGO fossil.

The LEGO Show isn’t just for kids; adults contributed to builds and came out for the fun as well, including Sullivan Country Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Matthew Sush. “Despite the rainy weather, the Spring Heavy Equipment LEGO Show brought together an incredible crowd of families, businesses and community partners for a truly memorable day in Jeffersonville,” he wrote. “It was wonderful to see both chamber members and non-members come together to create such a fun, engaging and welcoming event for our community. The creativity behind the LEGO scavenger hunt, matching LEGO builds to the equipment and vendor booths, was a huge hit with the kids, and the opportunity to explore the heavy equipment at Catskills Equipment, up close, made the experience even more special. Events like this showcase the strength of our local businesses and the power of community collaboration.”

The owners of Catskills Equipment, Jaimee and Ryan Lowe, are already asking, “So, are we doing this again next year?” They’re looking to make it an annual event. 

If you missed the show this go-around, it looks like another collaboration is already on the horizon! 

Looking to get building? Join the weekly Lego Club at Ratty Books in Jeffersonville on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.