Tag Archives: best

Ice Venue

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The Ice bar will give your guests an experience that will be a talking point for months to come. Ideal for receptions, hen and stag parties and even team building exercises as staff brave the environment with an icy cocktail in hand! After the 40 minute session you can recline in warmer areas outside of Ice bar. They can dine on delicious dishes in the restaurant which has a capacity of up to 180 guests standing. Enjoy drinks and canapés in the smaller lounge with space for 45 guests or the ground floor cocktail bar for up to 70 guests.

This is one of the most unique party venues that London has to offer; just off Regent Street. As the name suggests this stunning venue is made completely out of ice – the walls, bar, tables and even the glasses – kept at -5 degrees all year round, this venue isn’t just a seasonal occurrence.
Using the clearest ice, a team of skilled ice designers and sculptors create this stunning ice landscape, which is completely reinvented once a year. Sessions are booked in 40 minute time slots due to the low temperature inside the venue and guests are given thermal gloves and capes to wear when experiencing this amazing environment!

London is one of the world’s most multicultural cities offering a whole host of exciting attractions and activities that you won’t find anywhere else. Amongst the bustling streets is a treasure trove of unique venues perfect for hosting corporate events and private functions. You can look forward to venues with stunning Birds Eye views across the city, boudoir-style cabaret clubs, a floating cinema and the UK’s only permanent ice bar and to name only a few…

No corporate event is complete without entertainment to impress and engage staff. Red Masque entertainment directory has a number of walkabout acts that would fit perfectly with this cool venue. Our canapé girls will look right at home wrapped in elegant furs handing out mini oeuvres will add to the winter atmosphere and create a great talking point.

Strolling Entertainment

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If you’re planning entertainment for an event or party, be it corporate or private, strolling entertainment may well enhance your event far beyond what you first envisaged.

When people first think of hiring event entertainment, they normally think of having a band at the end of the room, blasting out a variety of hits from the 60s to the 80s. If a band isn’t in the budget, then perhaps a DJ, who will remain static as they whirl through a selection of pop hits. But not many people seem to appreciate how fantastic strolling entertainment can be.

From acoustic bands to strolling classical duos, there is certainly something for everyone. It ensures that nobody misses out and everybody gets seen. And there’s more than just music!

Caricaturists can ensure that a good number of guests will walk away with a memento from your day, whilst silhouette artists have to be seen to be believed. They literally walk around the party with some tiny scissors and black card, before snipping this way and that way for just a few minutes. Before you know it, there’s an incredible likeness of yourself suitable for framing. Amazing!

In this social media age, everybody always wants to be taking pictures and sharing things over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Are you more likely to get people doing that and chatting at how amazing the entertainment is with a function band in the corner or with a circus acrobat effortlessly lifting one of your colleagues into the air and posing for the snap? Exactly.

Entertainment should be at the centre of your event and can be a fabulous idea for enhancing any occasion. Be it weddings – where the entertainment can form the icebreaker

So next time you’re thinking about a band and hey, they are perfect for certain events, why not add in a little strolling entertainment whilst you’re at it?

Getting the entertainment just right

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Sometimes you need some inspiration and here’s a real story of what somebody hired from Red Masque Directory to liven up their private party!

“I was searching for some kind of fun and unexpected entertainment for a birthday party for my Grandfather’s 80th. We were having live party band after dinner but I wanted something to kick off the party with a spark of fun after everyone arrived.

Our family knew that Grandad adored Frank Sinatra. I took the opportunity of hiring a celebrity lookalike; and I was very glad I did. I had the opportunity of talking to the act before and to go through all the particulars. The act told me he was rehearsing for a theatrical play in the West End and told me about all the other roles he has been involved with.

When my Grandad’s 80th birthday arrived. I was so excited when the party entertainer to came in, when he walked into the party there was definite ‘stage presence’ he engaged with my Grandad and his stage act dance was so authentic. He loved every minute of it.

A group picture was taken with the Frank Sinatra lookalike surrounded by all our guests.
One of our guests, who is 85 years old, came up to my party entertainer lookalike to tell him he had met the real Frank Sinatra. He was gracious and listened to her story all the while keeping in character.

We knew we found someone special in this act. He was not only charismatic, young and talented; he was charming and a delight to work with!

Well done Red Masque and of course Frankl!!!

The year of the Pig

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This is how to throw a Chinese New Year party for one night only

Crispy Duck, spring rolls, lettuce wraps, sweet and sour pork, crispy orange beef and 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 Bartender about serving drinks that involve oranges. Do not serve anything with cream or that is white in colour, as white represents death and mourning.

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 Photobooth for your corporate event and laying out themed props. You and your guests can pose with paper dragons, red boas, and other fun props.

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.

You can also hire party suppliers and have some music playing, which adds to the ambiance. Consider instrumental, western, pop, or ethnic music to add to your event.

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

Hire some excitement

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Do you love to see acts that keep you at the edge of your seat or are toe curling? Do you in need of a bit of excitement? Why not hire a few acts that will do just that.

Be more creative and hire some party entertainers which would be a bit extraordinary and a crowd drawing experience. Dare to be different and make it a night to remember where your guests will be talking about your party for months to come.

Fire acts are very entertaining where the act or acts jump through fire hoops or indeed set alight!! Knife throwers are also nail biting, dare your audience to participate while this professional act throws knives at him or her.

A sword swallower is another act which is very intriguing to watch albeit between your fingers!! We’ve all seen the Britain’s got Talent sword swallower, that got everybody talking!!
Maybe you want to be ahead of the rest and want to hire some tightrope walkers or stilt walkers to draw in the crowds to direct them to your special event. Maybe you could be launching a new product where people will be curious as to what was going on.

You would have to agree a stilt walker handing out flyers would be a bit more unusual than your average Joe handing out leaflets.

If you need some inspiration think about Covent Garden in London. We think it’s not just about the shops or the great restaurants but the ambiance of the street entertainers. If you have ever been to Covent Garden, you will see there are always small crowds wrapped around a Mime artist or indeed Living statues intently watching their every move or lack of movement if they are a statue!!!

Use entertainment to sell a product

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Work Out What You Want
Have a think about what your unique selling point is and how best you can draw attention to that in an original way. If there’s a certain audience you’re after then focus on that at this stage too. Graphologists are cool but it’s difficult to convince sixteen year olds who may well prefer Weapons of Junk.

Get Creative
At the ideas stage, nothing matters. To put it another way, everything does. You see, there is no such thing as a bad idea when you’re looking at a product launch and everything should be considered. Even the bad taste ideas could bring your brand a little promotion through the Chip Shop awards some time down the line. Moreover, you never know which awful idea will inspire the one that you ultimately end up going with. Don’t follow the crowd, think outside the box and allow your mind to run free!

How Will It Be Seen?
It’s not just the idea of your advert that needs to work but ultimately, it also has to be seen or else there was no point coming up with such a creative idea in the first place. Maybe come up with a unique hashtag that can get people engaged? Or maybe even launch an inspired competition involving your entertainment in some way. It pays to be creative but remember that means nothing unless people see it.

Create an Event Around the Product
People enjoy feeling special. Is there perhaps a way that you can create an event and use your choice of entertainer in an impromptu performance to launch the ad? Think about the current trend of secrecy – UberLIVE, Secret Cinema – much of the public love being invited to a showcase but not being entirely sure what to expect. If you pick the right venue, and use the main act on the night, you can rest assured there’ll be a flurry of social media activity.

However, you want to promote or launch your product, the best event entertainment can be a great way of doing so. Take a tour of the site and see if anything ignites a spark.

Book a cartoonist for a conference

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When it comes to booking entertainment for a conference, there are a whole raft of options available to event organisers. Naturally the speakers and host for the day will have to be worked out far in advance but as far as everything else goes, there is quite a lot of leeway as far as the rest of the conference goes.

Many clients for conferences like to book party entertainment for when guests arrive or to break up the day. Sometimes they will book an interactive form of entertainment to enhance teamwork amongst the conference attendees or perhaps book a strolling act – a magician or caricaturist to keep things light and fun. Today though, we thought we would offer up a unique form of entertainment that has proven to be a hit at innumerable conferences and corporate days.

You can book Alex Hughes the cartoonist to bring a completely new form of entertainment to your event. Sitting in a corner for the day, Alex will pay close attention to the goings on at the conference and draw up to 25(!) cartoons that sum up the occasion. From topical moments where things might go wrong to key phrases that encompass a particular speaker, there is a lot to enjoy and the best bit is, you can put a camera on Alex throughout, ensuring that everybody sees his sketches as and when he comes up with them.

Once the conference is over and everybody has gone home, the conference organisers or company responsible for putting on the event get to keep the original drawings to frame in offices and Alex will digitally scan each and every one when he draws them, with his clients able to use their drawings for whatever reason they see fit from that moment on.

A truly excellent and different choice for conferences and corporate events, we highly recommend booking Alex Hughes for your next event.

Entertainment for your award ceremony

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Let’s take a look at how you can have our very own awards show, and how to make it extra special and fabulous ways to improve the awards evening using event entertainment.

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!

Live Show
This is pretty obvious but many people don’t really ever think about it, despite the fact that every famous awards show tends to begin with an exciting opening. Simply look on Twitter the day after a big awards bash and no doubt an eight-minute host – a massive song and dance routine will have had the crowd in raptures. You might not have the budget to hire ​James Corden ​, 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 2018! Let’s liven it up a bit. If you hire a beatbox crew, you get an astonishing slice of entertainment every few minutes.

We have the hottest acts

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Here at Red Masque we think we have some of the best acts for your party which will capture your imagination. So, what are the best of the best for corporate event entertainment for your next corporate event in 2019?

Red Masque directory have the hottest trends and acts for corporate, and company parties to ensure your VIPs are very impressed and your boss is very happy.

Aerialists use aerial circus and dance theatre with dynamic lighting and music to create evocative shows using trapeze, ropes and silks. Available as a solo artist for smaller venue, or as large a troupe as you wish, their show can be tailored to create the atmosphere you require, whether humorous, quirky, elegant. With a range of associated acts, including aerial champagne pouring, we are sure you will find your perfect act on our website.

Circus act entertainers have given the world of corporate entertainment a whole new generation of aerial artists, defying gravity to present unique. Even if you haven’t got a skyscraper to use as your stage, these circus-inspired artists can perform in almost any space, for any corporate event.
Add in some more celebrity lookalikes. Everybody wants to be pictured with the stars of today, especially if there is a hot female lookalike!!!

Bespoke dance groups provide a superb spectacle that transcends language, and can be precisely tailored to your corporate event theme. From ballet dancers to contemporary rock dancers, your guests can enjoy a show full of energy, passion, augmented by state of the lighting and sound systems.

Whatever the occasion, you’ll find a dance troupe to suit; that can offer themed events such as Arabian Nights, Argentine Tango, Burlesque, Flamenco, Irish Dancing, Ballroom Dancing, and Vegas Showgirls for example.

That’s Magic

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When it comes to magic, you might think you know what you are getting at an event. A few strolling tricks, a vanishing card and perhaps even a flame or two! But these magicians go a bit further than that and seek to differentiate their act in new ways!

Singing Magician
This is certainly a bit of fun. You could book a singer and a magician for your party but why bother when you can book a Singing Magician and get more bang for your buck! Able to sing the classic songs or any song of your choice and astound you with his magic tricks and cheeky banter! Destined to draw a large crowd!

Keelan and Charlotte
A bit of a unique idea this – both wonderfully entertaining magic and expertly executed. Changing outfits as quick as a flash which will amaze your audience and bring a smile on their faces. Great for Corporate events and Private parties. Keelan and Charlotte are an original act and will bring a bit of fun to your event.

David Willmott
Perfect for both stage and strolling magic, he is a huge hit at events during December and is just the right option for a themed festive party. David’s unique brand of close-up magic is so flexible and engaging that it works wonders in a huge variety of different social situations.

His warm and approachable character enables him to break the ice effortlessly, then he mesmerises people, spreading laughter, amazement and entertainment. He creates talking points that really gets the party going and leaves everyone with memories they’ll treasure for years to come.

Andi Gladwin
Close up Magician – Andi can provide a fantastic show that will astound you, but if you are looking to go one step further, then booking a close up magician might be just up your street. He literally performs amazing miracles with playing cards, coins and various borrowed objects. Each guests gets to experience amazing magic right in front of their noses!. We think he would be great to hire especially if it’s a Star Wars themed evening!

David Redfearn
David doesn’t just put on a stage show for guests but creates an entire comedy routine out of his magic tricks that are sure to raise a laugh and have entertained thousands both in the UK and abroad. It is an electric evening of entertainment and a CEO or special person in the room can even be brought on stage to accomplish some magic of their own. A winning act for all!