FSJ Build-Off returns to city for International Lego Day 2026

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John is inviting its residents to create something unique for an International Lego Day event. 

The city’s annual FSJ Build-Off event commemorates International Lego Day on January 28th by having residents send in their Lego creations based on Fort St. John landmarks.  

Kathryn Rutherford, recreation programmer for City of Fort St. John, told Energeticcity.ca: “This is a contest we’ve been running for a couple of years. 

“Usually, it’s just been International Lego Day and we just get people to submit any creations.” 

However, since 2022, the city has asked people to build Fort St. John-themed creations. 

She shared: “We’ve done a Fort St. John build-off specifically to get people to build some local parks, buildings, historical landscapes and things that [reflect what] Fort St. John is or how they feel about their community.” 

This year again, the city has divided the contest into four categories – children (four to 11),  youth (12 to 17), adults (18 and above) and family (at least one adult and one child). 

Rutherford said: “We’re asking people to recreate their favourite place in Fort St. John.

“Last year we had someone submit the Tse’K’wa cave and she won the adult division, then we had someone submit the ice slides from Winter Fest.”

Last year, Alyssa Currie, executive director of the Tse’K’wa Heritage Society, was announced the winner after she built a replica of the Tse’K’wa cave. 

She said: “Now that we’ve switched it to being at Fort St. John specifically, a lot of people are really excited. 

“It’s allowing them to be super creative [with] Lego.

“A lot of times you just get set pieces but this is allowing people to use their imagination [and] think outside of the box.” 

Entries will be judged based on a few basic criteria: 

• Entries have to be a Fort St. John landmark 
• The judges’ ability to recognize the landmark 
• The creativity of the build 
• The entry must include a title and description

“There’s going to be a winner for each category [and] they’re going to receive a Lego-themed prize pack,” Rutherford said, adding entries to the competition are free of charge. 

This year, the city hopes to receive more entries than last year. She said: “I think last year we had around 20 entries. 

“So it would be nice to see [the] build-off bigger than that. 

“But it really depends on if people get excited about it and want to enter again.” 

The city will be accepting entries from January 28th to February 28th and winners will be announced on March 2nd. 

The city asks interested residents to send in a photo of their build with a title, description and the category to recreation@fortstjohn.ca.