The Haywood County Public Library will hold its first ever Lego® construction contest at 9 a.m. on Jan. 29

Youth Services Librarian Carole Dennis had the idea for a Lego® contest partly based on her own children’s interest in the popular building block toys, and partly from reading about other libraries holding Lego® competitions. Another consideration was to have something for kids to do after the Christmas holidays during the winter days when other activities might be limited.

“There’s sometimes a letdown after the holidays and kids have been looking forward to Christmas so intensely all year, and then it’s over. I’m hoping this will help extend the fun of the holidays a bit longer,” said Dennis.

The library’s Lego® Extravaganza Contest will require pre-registration due to the limited amount of space available for construction and display in the library’s auditorium.  

“According to my best estimate, we’ll only have display space available for 30 projects,” explained Dennis. Registration forms are available in the Children’s Department of the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Library. Rules for the contest will be posted on the library’s website (www.haywoodlibrary.org). The contest is open to children between the ages of 5-18 and children can enter as individuals or as a team.

“We’re trying to have some relation to books and reading, so for our first contest we’re asking kids to design a character, vehicle or scene from their favorite book or movie,” said Dennis. “That leaves a lot of room for creativity as a character can include a real or imagined person or animal, and a vehicle could be anything from a bicycle to a space ship.”

Dennis encouraged participants to plan ahead what they would make for the contest, as none of the building bricks can be assembled before the contest.

“The only way that I could make sure that the kids were doing all the work themselves was to have them do all the work here during the contest. We’ll give everyone two hours to build their entry here in the auditorium and then we’ll break for lunch. The judges will make their decisions and we’ll have the winners announced by mid-afternoon,” Dennis explained.

There is still a need for volunteers to serve as judges and Carole Dennis is actively seeking donations for prizes from area businesses.

“We’ve had a good response so far from several businesses offering incentives for all participants, but I would like to have some special gifts for the first-, second- and third-place winners in each of our five age categories,” Dennis stated.  

Parents, teachers and community leaders are encouraged to call Ms. Dennis at 828.356.2511 to volunteer as judges or timekeepers.

Winners of the Lego® Extravaganza Contest will also have the option of leaving their creations on display in the library’s downstairs display case beginning Monday, Jan. 31 through mid-February:

“If they can stand being without their Legos® that long,” said Dennis.  Children who have made Lego® constructions at home and are unable to participate in the contest, can contact Dennis at 828.356.2511 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if they would like to loan their creations for display in January.