WHaCKOLuG

Organizers – Janey Red Brick & Jeff Van Winden
Location – Waterloo, Hamilton, Cambridge, Kitchener, Orangeville, London, and Guelph.
Contact – janeyredbrick@gmail.com

Our dinner meetings are held on the third Sunday of every month (except Nov and July), at 6:30 pm at Angel’s Dinner in Guelph, Ontario.
We often participate with obb displays in St Jacobs and the spring and winter Train Shows.  As well, we are actively involved in our favourite AFOL Convention and Expo… Brickfete.com

WHaCKOLuG is the official Waterloo-Hamilton-Cambridge-Kitchener-Orangeville-London & Guelph Lego user group.

Every ADULT (18 or older, please) fan of LEGO (collectors, sellers, hoarders, designers or tinkerers) are welcome!

Please enjoy our photo feed from Flickr or join our Facebook page.

WHaCKOLuG FAQ

What do a people in WHaCKaLuG do?
We talk Lego, share information what we are building, doing, buying and selling. We encourage members to be involved in “show and tell” if they are interest to do so. So please feel free to bring along WIPS (works in progress) or pictures of projects for feedback or discussion. As well, or newly released sets (so other members can have a close up look), or odd Lego items that perhaps are not easy to find in stores, or vintage pieces, or notable in some way always make for interesting dinner conversation.

Are you all freaks?
Yes, (wink-smile). Isnt being different wonderful?

Will you have expectations of me?
There is no expectations of a member aside from being respectful to our other members. If you just want to quietly observe, please feel free to do so. Keep in mind, you get out of a group what you put into it, so if you come with the idea of having fun, more than likely you will. Jenn and I are both pretty outgoing, so you can be rest assured we will do our best to make you feel welcomed.

What if I am just a seller?
We welcome people from ALL aspects of the hobby.

What if I am just a builder?
We welcome people from ALL aspects of the hobby.

What if I am just a collector?
We welcome people from ALL aspects of the hobby. (See the trend here?)

What if I don’t own any/much Lego at all?
You do not have to have a huge collection, or a collection at all. In fact some awesome builders I know have extremely small collections in comparison to some other builders. Keep in mind that this is a Lego group, so you really must have some interest in Lego bricks.

Is this a Lego train group?
… Lego Robotic group? … Lego “name theme here” group?
No, we are not specialized in any one theme of Lego, we are open to all types of building and collecting.

What if my family thinks my hobby is stupid?
Many of us have faced this at some time throughout our hobby, the majority of us have all felt disapproving looks over the years, but I think most people would agree with me, in time, as your own confidence builds as a Lego builder or collector, you will find their input less important. Many people find having other builders as friends does help in minimizing the boring or glazed look your non-Lego friends may of perfected.

Can my child join the group?
While we totally appreciate your childs interest and devotion to Lego, the answer is no, this group is for adults, therefore, all members must be drinking age or up.

Will your group mentor my child?
While we totally appreciate your childs interest and devotion to Lego, the answer is no. There are many other people better qualified for something like this.

What if I want to bring my child to a meeting?
This is an adult group. Our activities and discussions are geared towards adults. So yes, you may bring your child, but do so at your own risk. Keep in mind, Lego topics do not always stay 100% focussed and often we veer off topic. Also notable, we are a group of adults, so language may be questionable for young viewers. You are responsible for your child at all times, as many adults in this group are enjoying “child-free” adult time we ask that your child is well behaved and while he or she may join in conversations, its your responsibility to be sure they do not dominate those conversations.

Isnt the name WhaCKOLuG a bit silly?
Short answer, yes. Long answer, yes, and that is exactly the sort of feeling the founders want to represent. This hobby is fun, not everything in life has to be taken so seriously, and the letters also allowed us to show how encompassing and including we want this group to be by including but not limited to Waterloo, Hamilton, Cambridge, Kitchener, Orangeville, London, and Guelph.

Is WHaCKOLuG the only LUG in Ontario?
No, there is a LUG in Ottawa (ParLUGment), Toronto (rtl) and Ontario (OBB). Please see the LUG List for more information.

Are you trying to steal other LUGS members?
No, while we welcome builders from other LUGS, there is enough population and interests in this area to justify our own LUG.

Is the OBB (Ontario Brick Builders) going to be replaced by WHaCKaLuG?
No, the OBB will continue to operate as normal, which means, business like usual (Dave K will continue to run and organise the Train Shows, and I will continue to run the Hobby Show) The OBB never meets on a regular basis, it’s a blanket organisation for our public shows that includes members from ParLUGment, rtl, the LUGless, and now will include WhaCKaLuG as well.

Do you have any long term goals?
They are in the development stages and will be determined by how many regular and dependable members we have.

Do you need/have an treasurer/secretary or membership dues?
No, we will not be collecting any membership dues, nor keeping formal minutes, there will no formal meeting procedures for a group of this informal nature. Thankfully no one will have to second that, smile.

Do you accept donations?
Yes, in the form of bricks or money, the group would eventually like to have a few staples for events and activities.

What do I get out of being a member?
Exactly what you put into it. If you come ready to share, have fun and be ready to laugh, that is exactly what you will get out of it. None of us are experts in any one field of this hobby, nor do we pretend to be. Collectively we all have tad bit of insight, lots of enthusiasm and an ever growing collection of bricks, that is a promising depository of Lego goodness. You hopefully will make friends, have good times, and perhaps we ALL can learn a few things from each other. Worse case scenario, you get out of the house for the night, and have a place to share some insight about a hobby that others can finally understand.