Saturday, August 8, 2015

Get A Dose of Nostalgia At The Little Red Brick LUG SG50 LEGO Show

A long list of free activities began this week in celebration of Red Dot Island's 50th birthday.

Many attractions and sites are either offering free access (like the various museums) or discounted ticket prices (the zoos/ Gardens by the Bay), which would most probably mean snake-long queues and equally long waiting times. So, here's an alternative SG50-related event that is both free and would not need lining up in order to have some family fun!


Red Dot Diva highly recommends a trip to the National Library Singapore (Victoria Street) atrium for the Little Red Brick LUG's LEGO Exhibition, called "Past Forward: Hearts and Crafts".

These lovely structures - over 40 of them - were build by a group of passionate brick builders from the local community. From the displays, it was evident to Red Dot Diva that a lot of heart and soul was lovingly put into the pieces - many of which evoke much Nostalgia Feels.

Red Dot Diva visited the exhibit two days ago with her Mommy Diva and there were many parents taking delight in recounting their favourite memories when they saw some of the familiar displays,  like this old skool calendar and tiffin carrier.


See? Even the sugar icing biscuits are made of LEGO!


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Mommy Diva was all smiles when she caught sight of this build of the heritage Koon Seng Road houses:


The details in this project were amazing!

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As intricate was this tribute to an old Katong landmark - the Red House Bakery.


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There was also one of the old National Library - a marvellous red-brown bricked building which used to be situated at Stamford Road. Many hearts still bleed when they remember about how it was demolished to make way for a road tunnel linking to Penang Road. Such a great loss. As both an introvert and a bookworm, Red Dot Diva often spent her childhood days at the old library, well-hidden in between the metal shelving of the fiction section, and this display brought a inescapable wave of sentimental feelings to the surface.


Before the internet and smartphone age, there were popular entertainment like watching Astroboy and playing with handheld Nintendo games!

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Check out the orange-and-beige-roofed retro bus-stop! Are there even any of these bus-stops left on the island?

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Red Dot Diva bets this nostalgia piece will give local men some good and bad memories - the National Service send-off at the old CMPB, Camp Dempsey. (Awww.. .see the sad momma crying at the back of the huddle of parents.)


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Also featured were mini models or single pieces, like .... VR Man! (How many out there swooned over bicepstuous James Lye... way back then?)

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.... as well as a creative series of LEGO+terrarium, like this one of Changi Airport. Unfortunately, most of the terrariums were fogged up due to the plants encapsulated within, and the tiny builds could not be viewed clearly.



The LEGO show was not just about the olden days though. There were modern buildings, like this awesome one of the Pinnacle at Duxton:

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and a meticulous installation the financial and civil district area.



However, Red Dot Diva thought the funniest was an offbeat display of the first MacDonald's Hello Kitty craze back in 2000, when there were frenzied long lines of collectors and kiasu people vying for the plush toys. Look at the right bottom corner - there's a ragey fight at the corner between two dudes! Oooof!

Now, that's some a LEGO-Singapore story right there.

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These are just some of the delightful exhibits at the Little Red Brick LUG SG50 Show. Within the exhibition were many other pieces that include samsui women, other recognizable heritage buildings and a large Chinese chess set.

Here are the show details:
Venue: National Library atrium, 100 Victoria Street
Date: till 28 August

Whether one is in a mood for some fond memories, or wants to marvel at the creativity and technique of the builders, Red Dot Diva says this an event that is definitely worth going.



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