Category Archives: Book

Musical Retirement Entertainment

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For almost everyone, music is the key to many wonderful past memories. And it’s one of the easiest ways to host some retirement party entertainment! Take your residents on a walk down memory lane with a musical group.

1. Barbershop Quartet
With perfect pitch and harmony, a barbershop quartet can dazzle any crowd! They generally have a large repertoire of tunes from years past and love singing for older crowds. If your guests have a request, most groups are happy to oblige. And get ready to see the ladies swoon!

2. Boogie Woogie Tribute
The Boogie Woogie is best known for those who lived through World War II. With lively patriotic songs, they entertained troops and kept their spirits up during a tough time in our history! Show your veteran retiree how much their service has meant with a Wartime tribute act. Songs like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Pistol Packin’ Mama” will keep the crowd swaying to the beat!

3. Gospel Group
Depending on the religious diversity of your guest, a Gospel group may be a meaningful performance for them. As people are nearing the end of their lives, faith begins to play a bigger part. Booking a Gospel group guarantees a great show!

4. Crooner
Crooners were king in the ’40s and ’50s, with their smooth voices and sultry songs. Some of the best artists in history came out of this era, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. Your residents are sure to feel some nostalgia with a performer like this! Whether you want an actual Rat Pack show or just a Frank Sinatra tribute, these performers love an older crowd that appreciates their act.

5. Beach Boys Tribute
Gaining popularity in the 1960’s, the Beach Boys launched a new type of musical sound with their “surf songs.” Their killer harmonies and clever lyrics helped them rise to the top of the music charts. Booking a Beach Boys tribute band is definitely one of our more energetic ideas for retirement home entertainment! If you want to see your residents groove to the music, you can’t go wrong with the Beach Boys.

Child-friendly Day

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If you are organising an event of any kind and there are children present then here are a number of ideas to ensure that if yours is a child-friendly day, that the kids are entertained throughout the event to leave the adults to enjoy some adult time…

Balloon Modellers

There are a number of fun balloon modellers to hire that can entertain children in a variety of ways. Not just for children’s parties, these superb artists can make pretty much anything out of their very special balloons. Whether a child would like a dog or perhaps even a hat ‘made’ from Pineapple and other delights, our balloon modellers are more than up to the task. Unlike other children’s entertainment, you might just find your adult guests wanting to get involved as well!

Petting Zoo

The best thing about hiring a petting zoo is that everybody can get involved and enjoy having animals at your wedding. Just like balloon modellers, this idea is perfect for guests both young and old. Children will be in their element as they pet the animals inside the enclosure and they may just be allowed to feed them as well!

Face Painting

A simple and traditional idea and one that always goes down brilliantly, face painting is a hugely popular affair at every event. Whether children would like to go for a tiger look or a butterfly, there are numerous options available to ensure that every single child is happy on your special day. With friendly face painters available all across London, we are confident you’ll be very happy with the results!

The year of the Chicken 2017

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Chinese New Year celebrations last for 15 days. Fifteen. Now, if you’re anything like us, you just can’t see yourself partying for 15 days without losing your job or your liver. So, for the sake of having one big celebration, this is how to throw a Chinese New Year party for one night only.

Set the tone

First of all, cleanliness is a big part of Chinese New Year. To really start with a clean slate, it’s tradition to do a very thorough house cleaning before the new year. Then, at your party, it’s customary to ask your guests to remove their shoes at the door. All of this is said to lead to good luck and a smooth transition into the new year. Once your home is spotless, it’s time to decorate.

Red and gold – that’s your colour scheme. In many Asian cultures, red envelopes symbolize a monetary gift for a special occasion. So, you may consider sending your invitations in red envelopes to go along with your theme (you can include chocolate coins to replace the money). You’ll want to hang beautiful Chinese lanterns throughout your home (and outside, too, so that new guests can easily identify your home). Cover your table with a rich, red table cloth and use gold-trimmed plates or gold napkins, placemats, or other finishing touches. Many choose to adorn their tables with Chinese dragons as centrepieces. However, you can also decorate by placing bowls of mandarin oranges (which represent wealth, luck, and happiness) out for your guests to enjoy.

It also adds to the ambiance to have some music playing in the background. Consider instrumental, western, pop, or ethnic music to add to your event.

Dinner is served!

Crispy Duck, spring rolls, lettuce wraps, won tons, and crispy orange beef, chicken chow Mein are just a few dishes you can serve at Chinese New Year. If you’re not up for cooking, hire a Caterer to make up delicious traditional Chinese dishes for you and your guests. Your desserts should be orange based or otherwise relate to your Chinese New Year theme. When it comes to alcohol, you should talk to your Bar man about serving drinks that involve oranges. Do not serve anything with cream or that is white in colour, as white represents death and mourning.

Party favours

Buy Chinese take-out boxes and fill them with party favours for each of your guests. Some great favours to celebrate Chinese New Year are chocolate gold coins, fortune cookies, oriental fans, Chinese opera masks, character bead bracelets, mini paper lanterns or dragons, and other traditional Chinese sweets or gifts. If your budget allows, you may also consider booking a Photo Booth for your event and laying out themed props. You and your guests can pose with paper dragons, red boas, and other fun props – and the photo strips make great party favours!

Chinese New Year is all about new beginnings, luck, and happiness. So celebrate with your loved ones and have a happy new year!

Diwali entertainment ideas

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One of the most important holidays for Hindu is a five-day festival called Diwali: The Festival of Lights. Spiritually, it signifies the victory of light over dark, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. The first night, Dhanteras, kicks off the festival with new clothes, houses being cleaned, and laying of traditional floor decorations. The second day is Narak Chaturdasi, and includes henna hand tattoos prayers, food preparation, and more decorating. On the third day of the festival, Diwali night, people put out candles in windows and doorways to welcome the goddess Lakshmi, who represents wealth and prosperity and is believed to roam the earth on this night. The festival also includes more prayers, fireworks, feasts, and exchanging of gifts. If you’re throwing a Diwali Party, we’ve got some ways to make it great!

Decorations

As mentioned above, lights are a huge part of decorating for Diwali. It’s the Festival of Lights, after all. The traditional candle is called a diya, and is an oil lamp made from clay with a cotton wick. You can also use traditional jar candles, tea lights, glass oil lamps, twinkle lights, or other decorative lighting instead.

Diya lamps.

Another traditional type of decoration is rangoli, which are elaborate patterns made on the floor with coloured flour or powder, or kolam which are made of flower petals. They are placed near the entrance of the home to welcome the goddess Lakshmi and guests.

Kolam floor decoration with flower petals.
Rangoli floor decorations, made with coloured powder or flour.

Food and Drink

Diwali is all about the fried sweets! And there are plenty of them to choose from. Try serving some traditional desserts!

Gulab Jamun: Fried dough rolled in chilled sugar syrup.
Jalebi: Fried wheat flour, twisted into pretzel or swirl shapes, and dipped in sugar syrup. It’s also dyed orange with food colouring.
Laddu: A ball-shaped dessert that’s made from flour and sugar, dyed with orange or yellow food colouring.
Kheer: A South Asian version of rice pudding, made with milk, sugar, and toppings like almonds or cashews.
Karanji: A dough pastry filled with coconut or sugar and fruit.

Dress for Diwali

Diwali is all about “dressing for excess” in order to give thanks to Lakshmi for your good fortune. To stick with tradition, everyone should be dressed in new, brightly-coloured, and elaborate costumes like saris or robes. Also, don’t hesitate to pile on the jewellery, with gold and silver being preferable.

Decorate your hands and feet with henna. Traditions state that body art is to be treated as a blessing that lights up the soul. Hiring a Henna Tattoo Artist will keep everyone looking festive with elaborate designs that will last for a few days after the party ends.

Entertainment

The final touch on a fabulous Diwali celebration is entertainment. Fireworks are a huge staple, so pass out sparklers to your guests, or set up a show to top off the evening.

Take the party a step further by bringing in Bollywood Dancers or Belly Dancers to entertain the guests with an upbeat performance, or hire a Choreographer to teach everyone some traditional dance steps.

The spirit of Diwali is celebrating good fortune, so gather your closest loved ones and throw a party they’ll never forget!

Event ideas to get you thinking…

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Looking for inspiration in London? Look at these suggestions on how your corporate event can be made to appeal to all of the five senses.

1. Lights on, for a visual spectacular
Think you’ve seen everything London has to offer? Think again. Give your event a whole new look by holding it in one of London’s iconic landmarks – but as you’ve never seen it before. Everyone knows Tower Bridge, but what if it has your logo or a hologram shining on it? It has been done before but what if it was for your event?

That’s exactly the high-impact visual experience Harness the power of cutting edge projection mapping techniques to create visual illusions that will stay in your participant’s’ memory long after your event is over.

2. Get theatrical
Harness the talent of London’s abundant supply of performers to create an unforgettable, totally immersive corporate event. Why not turn your event into a Circus Event? On arrival, guests will walk through the mouth of a clown before being welcomed by a giant elephant, attached to a hot air balloon, floating above them, while a lone strange ring master played gypsy folk songs on the accordion. Very surreal or very entertaining? You decide!!

3. Switch off and boost the taste buds
For a truly unforgettable product launch, team building activity or food and beverage tasting, try depriving your participants of one of their dominant senses – eating in the dark heightens the focus on the food’s flavours and textures. The experience of specialist restaurants such as London’s Dans le Noir shows that events that include dining in the dark offer participants the opportunity to enhance creativity, break hierarchical barriers and interact more meaningfully with each other.

4. Add colour to create the right mood
Match the meeting room colour scheme with your meeting’s objectives. According to the findings of psychologists at the University of British Columbia, colour schemes really do make a difference to participants’ performance. Their research showed that people in a room painted red performed much better at skills that required accuracy and attention to detail, than people in a blue room. But those in the blue room outperformed the red group on creative tasks requiring imagination by twice as much.

Try a party venue like 8 Northumberland Avenue, London’s most central venue, where its white walls mean that you can used coloured lighting to create exactly the mood that matches your meeting’s goals.

5. Use music to generate emotions
Add music to your event strategically, to generate the emotions you want your audience to feel at specific times during their meeting. A recent report suggests that well-chosen entrance music can set the right mood for the meeting. During brainstorming or problem-solving sessions, light classical music speeds up thought, while music related to the conference topic can also be used to introduce activities or illustrate key points, creating immediate recognition and adding to the meaning of the event.

Finding the right type of musicians is made easy by looking on Red Masque directory where you will find London’s most requested professional musicians, from classical to jazz and swing – and beyond!

Casino Christmas Party

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Why not hold a totally glamorous and sophisticated Casino Royale? You could be Joining the jet-set, avoid the paparazzi and stroll down the red carpet into Millionaires Casino.

Be greeted by the infectious rhythms of a live Band, and why not enjoy a range of delicious hot and cold canapes whilst relaxing with a drink at a themed bar

Enjoy a superb 3 or 4 course Dinner accompanied by a resident band and atmospheric tunes, then stand by to be entertained by stunning Aerial Silk and Hoop Acrobats.

Afterwards, head to an opulently furnished Casino where Roulette & Blackjack await or jump on Dodgem Cars. Make it until the early hours and enjoy a Survivors Breakfast!

This is just a selection of Casino Christmas party ideas, this will get your started and ideas will come flooding…

Stroll down the Red Carpet
Live Music from our Resident Band
Delicious Hot & Cold Canapes served
Superb 3/4 Course Dinner
Aerial Hoop Acrobatics
Spectacular Fire Performances
Stunning Aerial Finale
Dodgems, Disco and Casino
Survivors’ Breakfast

There are so many acts and entertainment to hire, but go with a theme and it shouldn’t be hard to slot everything into place just right for your Casino evening.

The wonderful world of Roald Dahl

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

What a wonderful party this would be! There is no doubt a brilliant opportunity for caterers to get imaginative and conjure up all sorts of delicious treats for guests but it also presents a brilliant theme for entertainment as well. Hire a Willy Wonka costume, hire dancers for your event to be oompha loompas and can no doubt put together a magical repertoire of acts to truly make you feel as though you’ve stepped into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

Matilda

The Natural History Museum’s Hitze Hall would be a wonderful setting for a Roald Dahl themed party, certainly a large enough room for some of the magic that will undoubtedly take place as a Matilda event reaches its peak. A digital graffiti wall would be a wonderful addition whilst magicians would be an obvious addition to the occasion. Illusions on the stairs amongst Dippy the Dinosaur will surely be a must see! Just make sure you avoid Miss Trunchbull, the scariest of all costumed characters!!

The BFG

Imagine attending a party where everything is giant-sized! That’d certainly make Roald Dahl party games more fun! From the chairs made out of cotton reels to a scone the size of a table, this is sure to be a 2016 party theme to celebrate the release of the Steven Spielberg film! Wouldn’t that be fun? Giant pencils and mugs can function as theming props whilst the BFG himself can lurk outside a window. But what of the entertainment? With some sneaky production, it’d be possible to magnify the image of a band or circus troupe so that giants are really performing at your event! That’d be a must see as you munch on the snozzcumbers.

James and the Giant Peach

As far as we’re aware, there isn’t a venue in London or the rest of the UK that’s been hollowed out from the inside of a peach but no matter, we you always create one. Okay, perhaps not a real peach but for a James and the Giant Peach party, we think repurposing a circular venue such as the Royal Albert Hall, the London Planetarium or the Round House will be perfect. After that, we can then work on the entertainment.

The Twits

For a final idea, we thought we’d go for spectacle over practicality. You see, as any fan of The Twits will tell you, there are a number of moments in the story that stick out to a reader, not least the finale where The Twits believe they’re upside down. As such, how about sticking everything to the ceiling of your venue and having an ‘upside down’ party? With bird pie on the menu (or not, as the case may be), various practical jokes provided by top comedians and hired party magicians and a few wonderful costumed characters to play the titular characters, there is more than enough here to create a brilliant (albeit highly expensive and unsafe) event. But hey, The Twits themselves would probably enjoy it!

Get up and dance!!!

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Dance floor are perfect for any occasion when you want to get up and boogie! You wouldn’t have a wedding party without a dance floor, a corporate event or a private party. You may be having a talent show night and want the perfect dance floor to stage it. From light up dance floors to chequered dance floors or romantic pretty ones the choice is yours.

Wow your guests with your amazing choice of dance floor. You can fit these dance floors into almost any venue, be it a marque, hall or if you can think it, we are sure our dance floor hirers will have all the solutions. We are sure you will agree a dance floor is the perfect accessory for any up and coming fun event.

Dance floors are very advance nowadays you could have a dancefloor with LED’s which can change colour, mirrors, or even rotating ones. You could have an elevated dance floor, there are so many to choose from all personalised for your particular taste and party. A dance floor will make a venue come to life and your guests will be happy that there is somewhere to get up and dance!!!

Hiring a dance floor is easier than you think, simply scroll down our Red Masque Directory page and see which dance floor takes our fancy. If you need any advice you are always welcome to give us a call and we will be only too happy to help, but we think that the booking process is very simple, just fill out the online booking form and it will go straight to your chosen one. The dance floor hirer will be directly in contact with you to arrange finer details and dates.

Mowtown madness

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Chill out or boogie on down with the superb sounds of some of the UK’s best soul, Motown and RnB (rhythm & blues) acts. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about booking a soul or Motown band for your special occasion.

What is a Soul, RnB or Motown act?

These types of bands play music that is like the soundtrack of your life; up beat at one moment, soulful and heartfelt at another, but always delivered with style!

Rhythm and blues (R&B or RnB) originated from adding a strong beat to jazz and adding lyrics about life, love and freedom. Now it’s a genre of soul music that stretches from funk to ska, to hip hop, and encompasses artists as diverse as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, and Mariah Carey.

Soul music is the love child of rhythm and blues and jazz, with American gospel as an auntie. Born in the late 1950s, soul music combines irresistible rhythms and powerful, heartfelt vocals that have defined pop music and funk alike. Think Little Richard, James Brown, Sam Cook, Jackie Wilson. Otis Redding and the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin.

Motown is a type of soul music named after the Motown record label, based in Detroit USA. The Motown sound fused soul and fledgling pop into a string of massive pop hits that have filled dance floors and discos alike ever since. You’ll know the sound when you hear it and you’ll certainly know the Motown artists: Smoky Robinson and The Miracles, Diana Ross and The Supremes, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Jackson 5 and Steve Wonder.

These types of bands play music that is like the soundtrack of your life; up beat at one moment, soulful and heartfelt at another, but always delivered with style!

What to look for in quality Soul, RnB and Motown acts

Soul, R&B and Soul can be in all sizes, from stunning solo vocalists to full-on soul party bands and everything in between. So, how can you tell the soulful stars from the RnB also-rans?

Wide range of repertoire Look for artists with a wide range of music in their playlist. The range and choice might sound a bit odd at first, as many mix modern and classic tracks in their sets. Actually, that’s a sign of great musicianship and will ensure every one of your guests has something they’ll know and love in each set – and want to dance to.

What space will my soul, RnB or Motown band require?

As you might have gathered by now, the space required depends largely on the type of band your booking. Since these acts specialise in providing a visual show as well as superb dance music, chances are they’ll need a larger space than comparative bands in other genres, such as jazz. What’s more, the more players and equipment they bring, the more space they will require both on stage and off. Also, don’t assume just because you booked a soloist they will come with just a small speaker and microphone. Chances are they will come with some very high-tech sound equipment for their backing tracks, to make sure they sound at their very best.

Hire a celebrity Line-Up

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Everyone wants their party to be memorable. One fun idea is to hire celebrity lookalikes to mingle with your guests. Nothing loosens up a stuffy corporate crowd quite like sharing cocktails with Kim & Kanye.

At one party a pianist was hired as entertainment for a corporate party. What he didn’t know was that they had also hired Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey and Elton John impersonators to work the party as well. Before he took the stage, he spoke with all three and asked if they would mind singing with him. He figured out what songs they could all do, and then they began their act. After the act the impersonators were mingling with the guests. The acts continued doing the show again and then 30 minutes later Frank took over the stage with a medley of his greatest hits,

I thought that the choices of Frank and Elton John impersonators were particularly inspired because they are both over-the-top personalities and you can’t help but have a good time and smile in the face of such flamboyance. We think Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Beyoncé and other larger-than-life entertainers would all be great choices too.

Just look on our list of celebrity lookalikes and see who could be at your party!!