CRANFORD, NJ — Hudson Rose and Sarah are “LEGO buddies.”
“They have LEGO dates,” said Jill Karnyski, Sarah’s mom.
“She loves the creativity,” said Jennie Richardella, Hudson Rose’s mom. “Letting her imagination flow.”
“I like following ‘no rules’ when it comes to LEGO,” said Hudson Rose.
Hudson Rose and Sarah were just two of the many young people who took part in Downtown Cranford’s LEGO Night recently.
“LEGO Night is a great event to see everyone’s creativity,” said Caren Demyen, the director of Downtown Cranford. “We look forward to it every year. It’s a fun annual event.” Registration for LEGO Night included a commemorative T-shirt and a bag of LEGO candy. The event was sponsored by Think D’sign Print.
Mike Anderson was there with his son, Brady, 8. He said, “I grew up playing LEGO. It’s cool seeing my son enjoy it.”
Jessica Ferrence was with her son, Silas, 7, who attended the event last year and worked in a group. This year, Silas decided to work solo, building by himself.
“It’s very fun, very exciting, very confident,” said Silas.
Danielle Dimeglio was there with her son, Michael, 7. They attended LEGO Night both last year and the year before. “It’s a nice opportunity for him to do something creative,” she said. “Thinking outside the box.”
LEGO Master Corey Samuels was in attendance and hosted the event. Samuels is the CEO and lead designer/instructor of Samz BREGO LLC. A LEGO enthusiast since the age of 5, Samuels has constructed thousands of LEGO Mocs – an acronym for My Own Creation – through the years, focusing his attention on “Fashion with LEGO” as the primary material. In 2019, he was on the first season of LEGO Masters (USA), alongside his brother, Travis Samuels.
“I love this night,” said Samuels. He challenged the children to “build something that represents Cranford.” The rules were that nothing could be pre-built. “Work as a team. Have a unified vision,” he said.
Luke, who was there with his mom, Kristin Salsberry, decided to build the Cranford Theatre. “I watch movies there and I had a birthday there,” he said.
Jill Sohler, of Cranford, said her son, Henry, 5, is “obsessed with LEGOS.” She added, “Our whole basement is LEGO.” Henry was creating a Star Wars-themed police station. Cranford Sgt. John Guempel said he was impressed!
Michele Stoma was there with her 8-year-old daughter, Madelyn. “The community comes together, she meets kids, builds, has fun.”
Madelyn’s LEGO imaginative vision was “a monster is taking over Cranford.”
To learn more about Downtown Cranford, visit: https://downtowncranford.org/.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta