Creativity clicks into place at Grant County Fair Lego Build-Off
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
From left: Paige LeFave, 5; Rachel LeFave; Levi LeFave, 5; Chelsea Bendickson; and Everlee Bendickson, 7, create artwork with Legos at the Grant County Fair Thursday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Five-year-old Levi LeFave shows off the hamburger truck he made for the Lego Build-Off at the Grant County Fair Thursday.
Arts and Crafts Building Superintendent Lanita Pomeroy displays the two entries she had received at Noon Thursday for the Lego Build-Off: a sports car and driver by Oliver and a replica by Bianka of her stuffed animal.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 24, 2026 3:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — Some people work all year on an artwork or craft project to enter at the fair. And some young creators make theirs on the spot.
“They (the kids) bring in their own Legos,” said Arts and Crafts Building Superintendent Lanita Pomeroy. “It can be a free build, or they can bring in a kit. They build it on the day, and they bring it here, and we’ll judge it and they’ll get a ribbon for it.”
The Lego Build-Off is an annual event at the Grant County Fair, Pomeroy said. It’s not a huge crowd; a typical year brings maybe 10 entries. Two had been turned in by noon, a sports car with its driver next to it, and a creature that was difficult to identify at first sight.
“(The little girl) had a stuffed animal with her, and she was trying to make a Lego creature that matched the animal,” Pomeroy said.
“She did a really good job,” said Carol Whiteside, who was helping Pomeroy.
Twin brothers Tucker and Liam Biggs were Lego pros, their mom Lacey said. Tucker likes to make dinosaurs and Liam had made a submarine that morning. But not a real one, Liam said.
“It’s little,” he said.
Rachel LeFave and Chelsea Bendickson had four children arrayed around the Lego table, all cousins. Levi LeFave, 5, just had to show off the hamburger truck he had made, with a sales window, a top that resembled a sesame seed bun and a bottle of ketchup on the counter.
“They all picked a Lego (kit) at the store and brought it in,” Rachel LeFave said. “They’ve done it all on their own.”
Legos were a new thing to her kids, LeFave said.
“They just started getting into them,” she said. “But it’s great for them.”
“We all do Legos,” Bendickson said. “They just love doing Legos.”
Five-year-old Levi LeFave shows off the hamburger truck he made for the Lego Build-Off at the Grant County Fair Thursday.
Arts and Crafts Building Superintendent Lanita Pomeroy displays the two entries she had received at Noon Thursday for the Lego Build-Off: a sports car and driver by Oliver and a replica by Bianka of her stuffed animal.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
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