Category Archives: Booking

Your very own BAFTA award ceremony

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With the BAFTAs, Oscars and the BRIT Awards all upcoming this month, we are fully invested in awards shows and awards month, so today we’re taking a look at how to make your awards show that much more exciting!

Unless you’re actually shortlisted or nominated for an award, an awards evening can be a rather dull affair. Thankfully, here are five fabulous ways to improve the awards evening using event entertainment.

Live Show

This goes without saying but many people don’t really ever think about it, despite the fact that every famous awards show tends to begin with one hell of an exciting opening. Simply look on Twitter the day after a big awards bash and no doubt an eight-minute host –led song and dance routine will have had the crowd in raptures. You might not have the budget to hire Huge Jackman, but there are always other options. An indoor fire display is sure to get the pulse racing ahead of the nominations.

Awards Stings

We’ve all seen awards shows on television and to be honest, they all do the same frustrating thing when somebody wins an award. The lucky winner stands up, hugs a few people nearby and then proceeds to the stage whilst a brass band play. A brass band? This is 2016! Let’s liven it up a bit. If you hire a beatbox crew, you get an astonishing slice of entertainment every few minutes.

Cocktail Maker

Why not make getting a drink a little bit more fun than usual? The easy way to do this is to hire a few cocktail makers who understand the art of theatrics and entertainment in putting together a cocktail. It is not simply pouring a few liquids together but perhaps setting it alight, throwing it up and down and adding an umbrella at the end.

Vintage Paparazzi

With vintage paparazzi at your event, everybody will get their photo taken and feel like their privacy is being invaded just like the celebrities you see in the paper. Great fun and you’ll get to sigh with relief that it doesn’t happen to you every day!

Great ideas for the oldies

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Someone special in your life is about to turn 80 years old or even 90. It’s a milestone! They’ve lived a long life and you’re ready to celebrate. Here are a few party ideas to make your loved one’s birthday special.

Know the difference between surprising and startling.

Many older people like quiet, calm surroundings. It’s very sweet to throw them a surprise party, but you don’t want to alarm them. Instead of leaping out from behind furniture and shouting “SURPRISE!” just assemble the guests in a room with balloons and party hats. The surprise will speak for itself.

Select your guest list carefully.

You know your loved one best. Would they prefer a small, intimate gathering of close family and friends, or a big surprise party with extended family? Make sure the guest list works well with the environment they favour.

Opt for daytime over the evening.

Chances are, at the age of 80/90, they’re early to bed, early to rise. You don’t want to plan a party for them in the evening hours when they may be tired or not up for it. Instead, opt for a midday party or luncheon. That way, they’ll have plenty of energy to keep up with their guests!

Get sentimental.

One of the most important things you can give someone for their 80th/90th birthday is your appreciation for the memories shared. Collect photos from other family members and friends to create a slideshow. Pair it with a beautiful song and you’ve got yourself an unforgettable birthday gift. Just don’t forget the tissues!

Take photos.

This is a big moment in your loved one’s life and you’ll want to look back on it someday. This is a great opportunity to get a photo of multiple generations if you have extended family present. Ask your Photographer for advice on staging your photos and make sure to get some candid shots as well!

Celebrate with a custom cake.

This is a special birthday! Ask your Cake Decorator to create a cake that celebrates the occasion and ties in the birthday gal or guy’s interests. You could get a cake inspired by one of the activities they love like crossword puzzles, gardening, knitting, painting, or card games.

Serve their favourite foods.

You probably know them pretty well by now. Whip up some of their favourite dishes or hire a Caterer to do the cooking for you. Nothing says “special birthday” like a buffet in your honour!

Entertainment is a nice touch for some.

For many, entertainment is a great way to celebrate a birthday. Some older folks don’t always have the energy to go out to a concert, but you can bring the show to them as an alternative! If they love music, search for an act you think they’d like. Opera, Jazz, Barbershop Quartets, and Singing Telegrams are all great options! On the other hand, if your loved one has a great sense of humour, you may want to hire a Comedian to entertain your family instead. You could even fill them in on some of your family secrets for a special roast – all in good fun, of course!

At the end of the day, you just want to make sure that the birthday boy/girl is feeling loved and appreciated. They’ve made it this far with the help of wonderful family and friends like you. Now go give them the birthday party of a lifetime!

Unforgettable Stag Weekends

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Your best mate is getting married and you’re on the prowl for ideas to make his Stag party unforgettable. As hard to believe as it may be, not every man’s dream Stag party involves a stripper jumping out of a cake. For the men looking for something different for their parties, here are five unique suggestions.

Explore.

If there’s a place within driving distance that your friend has always wanted to go to, now’s the time to do it! Get your best friends together and explore. Go on a hiking expedition and climb that mountain he’s been talking about, or go white water rafting, rock climbing, or kayaking. Have some fun in the great outdoors

Viva Las Vegas

If Vegas is too far for you to travel, bring the excitement of the casino to you by hosting your very own Casino Party Blackjack, Roulette, Slots, and other games will get the competition started. Don’t forget to hire a cocktail waiter to whip up delicious drinks and Las Vegas Style Entertainers for the live show!

Go for a beach holiday weekend

Spend the weekend at the beach with your best friends! Take advantage of the waves by surfing or playing water sports. Have your very own party on the beach, complete with a pig roast!

Night Out On the Town!

Treat your friend to a night out on the town with his best mates. Grab dinner at that new restaurant he’s been dying to try, go to a wine tasting, and then finish the night off with a burlesque show! If there aren’t any burlesque clubs near you, you can hire Burlesque Dancers for a private party.

No matter what you decide, make sure that your last hoorah before the wedding is memorable and leaves the groom feeling lucky to have such great friends at his side!

Retirement fun

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A retirement party must be special. After all, the guest of honour worked their whole life for this achievement, so take every measure to ensure that this is the party of a lifetime! Here are some tips to celebrate the retiree’s life and work.

Guest List

This is the foundation of the party, so take your time. Start compiling it months ahead of time. Thoroughly sift through every potential guest – this isn’t a party any friend of the retiree wants to miss! Also, go back through the guest of honour’s life, find those special friends who left the company years earlier or old college buddies who haven’t seen the retiree in decades–in other words, cast as wide a net as possible, since this party is the culmination of a person’s career. Let them look back on their life and all the people who’ve helped them, taught them and assisted them through years of work. It’ll mean the world to them.

Venue

You’ll want this to be big. Your guest list, of course, will determine the size required, but make sure to secure a venue that can potentially hold more than you’ve planned. For a party this important, people will show up. They’ll also accept the invitation last-minute and plus-ones will become plus-fours. So get a big place, because you’ll also want to leave space for…

Entertainment

Also a must. Consider the retiree. Would they want a DJ or a Cover Band? Or maybe they’ll want something more specific, like an Oldies Band, maybe hire a Tribute Band, or a Rock Band or maybe music isn’t the best entertainment for them. What about a Comedian? Or a variety show filled with various performers? Whatever remains true to the spirit of the retiree, that’s the talent you should hire.

Decor

Keep it simple. If the guest of honour’s calls for something more elaborate (from exceptionally elegant to tremendously silly), then by all means do that. But for a party of such significance, the focus should remain on the retiree. Rent some Tables & Chairs, maybe hire someone for general Party Decorations and let the people and the occasion take centre stage.

There you have it. Keep things simple, make sure you invite as many people from the life of the retiree as possible, and put all of the focus on the guest of honour. Now, all the retiree’s got to do is figure what they’re going to do with the rest of their life!!

Hosting a Private Party

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Hosting a private party can be a lot of pressure. A lot of love and careful planning goes into making an event a success, so it’s important to start early to get the best of the best. Here are some tips to help you put on the party of the year.

Set Your Budget

Your budget will help you determine many things, from what venue you choose and how many guests to invite, to what kind of party entertainment and services to hire. It’s best to determine your budget as early as possible and adhere to it with every step.

Set The Date & Secure a Venue

One of the first (and most important) details that you need to figure out is when to host your party. Typically, it’s best to select a date that falls on the weekend, as many people don’t work on the weekend. However, you know your guests best! Choose a date that will work for the majority of them. Depending on the size and formality of your event, you will want to select a date and have booked a venue anywhere from 6 weeks to 1 year ahead of time. It’s important to secure your venue early so that you can begin planning your event and send out detailed invitations.

Book Entertainment & Services

Depending on the occasion and/or theme of your party, this will vary quite a bit. Peruse other Party Ideas for more specific examples. However, you have plenty of entertainment to choose from – from Rock Bands, Jazz Bands, and String Quartets to Aerialists, Clowns and Stilt Walkers. Once you know your party’s theme, it will be easier to determine what kind of entertainment would best suit your event.

If you plan on having food and drinks at your party, you may want to consider hiring a Caterer, Cake Decorator, party Waiters or Bartenders to enhance the quality of your event and take some of the pressure off!

Invite Your Guests

Again, depending on your event, the timing for invitations will vary. But, generally speaking, it’s best to send invitations out 4-6 weeks in advance. For informal events, an e-mail invitation or group event on Facebook may be a sufficient way to get the word out. However, for more formal events, or just to add a nice touch, send customized invitations that fit your theme or occasion.

Decorate

It’s best to plan out your decorating scheme ahead of time and buy all non-perishable decorations in advance. Wait until the day before or morning of to purchase any fresh flowers or helium balloons so that they’re still standing strong at your party. Ask a Party Decorator to help you plan your party decor with colours that complement your event’s theme. For outdoor events, you might consider renting Marquees, Tables & Chairs, or Portable Dance Floors to add to the atmosphere.

Make Memories

Your party is a hit, so of course it will be memorable. Hire a Photographer to make the rounds at your party and take photos of the guests as they celebrate. Later, when you’re sending out thank you cards, you can include a few of your favourite shots of each guest! Alternatively, you could set up a Photo Booth so that your guests can pose as silly or serious as they’d like and take home the photo strips as party favours.

5 basic planning rules

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Hiring entertainment for your event can seem like a struggle but it doesn’t have to be. It’s natural to stress over all aspects of an event but if you follow these five basic event planning rules, you’ll be a brilliant event planner in no time! So whether it’s your first time booking entertainment for an event or you’re an old hand, here are a few tips that it’s always worth remembering.

Make a List of Entertainment Ideas

Always make a list of the entertainment ideas you have in mind for your party or event so that you don’t get side-tracked when looking at our gallery! There are a lot of superb entertainment acts out there but not all of them will be suitable for your special event. As such, it’s best for event planners make a list of the sort of thing you’re looking for even if you have quite a broad spectrum of what it is you’re after.

Know the Trends

One of the most important things about being an event planner is that you need to know what is available on the market. After making your list of entertainment ideas, it’s now time to look out for any other acts the people seem to be excited about and consider the date as well. October? Then Halloween themed entertainment may be nice. December? Of course that’s Christmas! Like any industry, events go through trends and it’s important to be on the ball to ensure that you’re getting what you pay for in terms of the latest exciting entertainment act.

Budget Wisely

Decide on a budget far in advance of when you sit down to allocate the funds to each part of your event or wedding. Entertainment can be pricey, as can each part of event planning, but shrewd event planners are the ones who do not waver from their initial costings and ensure that they are getting a good deal. Musicians in particular vary widely in price but rest assured we only work with the very best acts who have passed our auditions process.

Give Yourself Some Time

People like to plan early so don’t leave it until the last minute before booking the entertainment for your event. Some of the most popular acts like Motown Supreme are already being requested by event planners for weddings late in 2016, so don’t delay if there’s a piece of entertainment you just have to have! It’s better to book sooner rather than later as this also gives time to deal with any possible song requests or dealing with venue difficulties like sound limiters.

Think About Everything Else

Well, once you’ve booked a great act for your party it’s time to focus on other things. Event planning is all about juggling tasks and assigning time to each of them. Once your entertainment is booked, start thinking about how to improve your venue by picking a nice theme. Then onto the catering and flowers. It feels like it’s never ending but it doesn’t have to be. So book your event entertainment early and then allow yourself some time to think about everything else

The Bo Diddlers

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So if you thought you knew all about Morris Dancing, think again…

This group of Morris Dancers calling themselves The Bo Diddlers are a new kind of Morris Dance act who are ‘experimenting’ using a blend of contemporary and folk dance. And do you know what? It really works well.

They put a humorous touch in their act (it gets quite physical) with live music the group creates something quite mesmerising and downright funny, so if you were expecting the traditional Morris Dance (which can be a bit bland) you will be more than pleased you booked these guys

They have created an hour long show called Stump and it has been put together especially for the theatre, it gives a traditional outdoor event an exciting twist whilst having a sense of being theatrical

The Bo Diddlers have performed at the Brighton Fringe Festival and danced at the Royal Court Theatre as well as other prestigious events.

So if you want an event to be a bit different in and unexpected then you should book The Bo Diddlers. At your corporate event which will break the ice and get people taking, this is a definite act to hire.

The unexpected is always good and a seemingly ‘ordinary’ event which is custom for you to go to year after year and where the entertainment is always quite ‘samey’, this act will certainly be a wonderful surprise.

So if you have been put in charge of organising this years’ corporate Christmas party and you wanted to be in your CEO’s good books, we believe you are looking at the main act of the year!!

Adult fun at Halloween

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Incorporate fun adult Halloween party games into your monster event this year. Halloween party entertainment for adults can be competitive, scary, or even silly as long as they are Halloween inspired. Adult party games are also a great way to entertain your guests and make your party more memorable.

Here are some easy adult Halloween party game ideas to play at your spooky soiree:

Mummy Wrap: Teams pair up and each get a roll of toilet paper. Then one person spins around the other turning them into a mummy. The person becoming the mummy generally also tries to spin to help the team finish first, which is the goal. With all that spinning and drinking, it’s bound to be entertaining for those watching and playing! 

Shot in the Dark: This is a great scary Halloween party entertainment for adults. Play a scary movie in the background or in a separate room. Set up some movie rules, like whenever someone gets shot, everyone does a shot. Or whenever a character screams, everyone drinks. Or whenever they say a certain word, everyone cheers. You get the point. You can get really creative, however it’s generally a good idea to watch the chosen movie ahead of time to get an idea of how many times you’re going to have people do each thing.

Monster Mash Dance Contest: Get everyone up and dancing with this Halloween party game. Have a monster mash dance contest and award the best dancer a prize. All you need is a Halloween themed playlist and two dance judges. Have several dance off rounds and eliminate a few people each time until one winner is left. Make a fake plaque that reads: “monster mash—best dancer award.” Everyone will want to keep dancing way after a winner is declared.

Who am I? This is a Halloween twist on a classic name game. Write down characters from famous scary movies on notecards. Tape one note card on each person’s back as they arrive.  The objective of the game to have everyone ask questions and talk to each other them if they are that character to give them hints. Once everyone guesses his or her “identity” the game is over.

When you plan the games and activities for your party, it’s always important to consider your audience. Most adult Halloween parties involve a lot of mixing and mingling so try to mix in a couple of your favourite game ideas to keep things interesting!

Cool Venues in Manchester

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Here at Red Masque directory, we like to give you ideas for different cities that you could hold your event. Today we are taking about Greater Manchester:

We provide a directory for you of fun entertainment ideas and equipment hire.

Why host your event in Manchester?

  • Crowned the world’s ‘Best Sports City’ in 2012
  • Ranked as Europe’s Top city for business competitiveness in 2010
  • Started Manchester Enterprise Zone
  • Third most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors

If you’re interested in organising a corporate in the city but want a venue with a difference, here are 10 unique places to choose from:

1. The Palace Hotel, Oxford Road

What could be better for a conference, wedding or charity event than an iconic, Grand Victorian luxury hotel? 

The Palace Hotel features a beautiful glass-domed lobby, stunning art deco interiors and 885 metres of space for up to 900 guests- so there’s plenty of room for entertainment equipment. 

2. Audit Room, Chetham’s School of Music

Chetham’s School of Music is the largest specialist music school in the UK and the only music school based in the North of England. 

If you’re organising an event and looking for a vibrant atmosphere in a setting with gothic windows and 17th century doors, what better venue than a building that is nearly 600 years-old and truly magical.

3. Players’ Lounge, Hotel Football

Want to say that your event is in a building founded by the infamous Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville? The Football Hotel is a unique venue situated yards from the Old Trafford stadium.

The Players’ Lounge is a great space that can accommodate up to 200 standing and 100 guests seated. 

4. Main Gym, Evolve

Work up a sweat by hosting a fun, innovative event at Main Gym!

The venue has the capacity for up to 200 people and the combat sports facility comes complete with boxing ring, trapeze, gloves, shin pads and more. 

5. Rovers Return, Coronation Street

If you’re a big Corrie fan, take to the Manchester cobbled streets by hiring out the nation’s famous pub. 

The venue tour can hold up to 250 standing guests or 80 dining, and you get wine and dined in the main studio, surrounded by the iconic sets. 

6. Zombie Shack

Just the name of it is unique and cool!

The Zombie Shack, near Oxford Road Station, is the loudest and wildest Tiki Cocktail Paradise in Manchester.  Please note it’s only available to hire midweek. 

7. 2nd Floor; K2 Karaoke Nightclub

One might associate a nightclub with an evening of music, drink and dancing but it can be so much more with a cocktail bar on hand and a dance floor space that’s ready for you to throw out some shapes!

The K2 Karaoke Nightclub, located in the heart of Manchester’s China Town, plays host to corporate events and private functions on a weekly basis.

So if you want somewhere different to host your event (and also get your groove on), this place is ideal

8. Chill Factore

The Chill Factore is home to the UK’s longest indoor skiing and snowboarding slope and is a brilliant family day out but it’s also a great place to hold an event whether that’s a team building experience with your business or a conference. 

It’s situated just off the M60 so it’s super accessible too!

9. The University of Manchester

It’s not just a place for learning! The University of Manchester offer fantastic conference and event facilities all year round. 

Its inspirational heritage and convenient location make it an excellent choice and some of their venues are suitable for up to 1000 delegates which is perfect if you’re planning a large scale event. 

10. Museum of Science and Industry

Situated on Liverpool Road, the Museum of Science and Industry is a truly unique venue with gorgeous galleries and state-of-the-art function rooms. 

The historic building offers an amazing backdrop for events and conferences and it can accommodate a variety of event sizes from 50 to over 300.

Street Dance Parties

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Children’s party entertainment is something that many parents lose sleep over. Where do you find something that will keep your kids busy and engaged for the whole duration of the party, and something that they haven’t already seen before? It’s a challenge most parents would gladly forgo, so Red Masque is here to help. We have access to an eclectic mix of party games, party entertainers and a fund of children’s birthday party ideas that are new and different.

It’s quite challenging thinking up every year of something ‘special’ and different for the right reasons for your child’s/teenagers birthday this is why Red Masque hold the key to taking the stress out of trying to think of something unique.

We at Red Masque advertise only the best children’s party entertainment, for any age group, which can thrill, enthral and astound the audience; from balloon modellers to magicians, street dancers to caricaturists and even green screen photography entertainments, plus a whole series of indoor and outdoor games which include:

Indoor -Dance Machines, Photo Booths, Table Football, Air Hockey and Skittles.

Outdoor – Funfair Stalls, Connect 4, Ker plunk, Table Football and Giant Scalextrics.

All the performers are CRB checked (a necessary precaution these days), and each has been assessed for the quality of their performance, both by us and by the harshest critics of all, the audience. So, if you’re looking for children’s birthday party ideas London, look no further than Red Masque.