Tag Archives: event

Your very own BAFTA award ceremony

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With the BAFTAs, Oscars, BRIT and MOBO Awards all getting everybody excited let’s take a look at how you can have our very own awards show, and how to make it extra special!

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 Ellen DeGeneres , 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 2017! Let’s liven it up a bit. If you hire a beatbox crew, you get an astonishing slice of party 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 cocktail maker 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!

The best way to send out invitations

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Once you have all your event details set, you need to get the word out to potential attendees through various channels:

Email – A great place to start is your own list of email subscribers. Because they’re already engaged and invested in your brand, they may have a higher likelihood to attend an event you have. Send party and events invitations via email far enough in advance that your subscribers can plan it into their calendars. Make sure you include all the necessary information in your email. If you’re hosting a physical event, include the full address of the venue, parking information, etc. If you’re inviting people to a demo, or new service, include full log in or sign up details. Also include a link back to your website, and contact info such as a phone number or email address for your business so someone can call with questions if need be. Always include a call to action to register or sign up to attend the event.

Plan to send a few email invitations and reminders as you get closer to your event. You can offer early bird discount pricing, or offer different level of tickets and benefits to instill a sense of urgency.
Mail Invitations – In the digital age we live in, some may pooh-pooh the notion of sending invitations by mail, but invitations are very effective to get the word out. If you use compelling imagery and messaging, your recipient has a good chance of reading it. Invitations also serve as easy reminders because they can be placed on a desk or fridge as a visual cue of the event.
Social – In addition to inviting potential attendees via email and postal invitations, you can also invite guests via Facebook by creating an event. It’s a great way to invite people that you don’t have email addresses for.

Make sure you cover your other social bases by sharing details and a link to register on your other social channels like Twitter and LinkedIn. Create a hashtag for your event and use it every time you share details about your event on any social network. Just be sure you research any hashtag prior to using it to ensure it isn’t being used for something else you might not want.

School fundraising ideas

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Raising money for schools and colleges are always needed and worthwhile. We are sure you have some great ideas of your own, but a few more ideas wouldn’t go amiss!!

School Garage Sale
At least once a year, people clean out cupboards, attics and garages to discover things that are accumulating dust. A community garage sale is a great way for people to get rid of these items while donating to a great cause. Organising an event like this also brings parents, teachers, students and members of the local community together in a social environment. There can be virtually no costs to hosting the event especially if it’s held at the school. All people do is drop off their items, and then organize a group of volunteers to help with sales. Consider adding a coffee and cake-sale as part of the event so people can eat and drink as they shop.

Student Serve-a-thon:
Create a twist to your typical walk-a-thon or jog-a-thon event and host a serve-a-thon where parents and students work together to serve their community. Instead of walking for a cause, students donate their time mowing the lawn for an elderly neighbour, or cleaning up rubbish at a local park, or tutoring a younger student… this is a great way to earn money while helping those in need. Make your event a greater success by offering prizes to top performers and classrooms.

School Disco’s
School disco’s don’t have to be for Christmas or for anything special, why not hold a monthly Disco where parents can also come along and spend some money? Hire a live band or dj for your event and have a dance-off.

Some schools achieve great success hosting an event for the local community. Not only can these fundraising events bring in a great deal of money, but they also provide an excellent opportunity for families and students to socialize. You can raise funds by charging a small admission fee for guests. Then raise additional funds by selling raffle tickets to participate in games, contest or purchase food. You may want to consider bringing in a vendor with bouncy castles or other inflatables. Have each class put together a different themed basket to raffle off.

Sales contest
Product sales are a great way to get students involved in raising funds for your school or organization. Many schools sell sweets, cakes, magazines, or gift or discount cards. There are many benefits of selling discount cards. They are small and portable with a low overhead cost, and can be easily mailed at the cost of first class mail because of their size. Be sure to add in incentives and awards for top fundraisers to build in some healthy competition and encourage participants to raise more money.

Event ideas to raise money

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Sports
Sports fundraising ideas provides a great way for coaches, parents, and schools to raise funds for new equipment, team uniforms, or travel funds for competitions. In addition, sports fundraising teaches children the importance of community service and being part of something larger than themselves. Sports fundraisers can also tie in values such as teamwork, sportsmanship and more.

Football fundraising
Fundraising is a great way for football teams, summer leagues and traveling teams to earn extra money for team uniforms, new equipment, training tools, entry fees and referee fees for traveling teams. Why not organise the event entertainment with a sponsored football kick about or a penalty shoot-out? Don’t forget to buy some medals for the winners.

Dance Team Fundraising
If you are a dance or cheerleading team, consider hosting a dance-a-thon. This type of fundraiser works just like any walk-a-thon, however instead of walking… participants are dancing! Pick a day where dance team members and teachers teach dance lessons to others in the community. Incorporate fun dance performances as well to keep attendees entertained. Bring on a local business to sponsor and give all participants a t-shirt.

Team-Building Events
Another interesting idea for teams with older participants is a “team-building” fundraising event, such as a fundraising treasure hunt or relay race. Teams must delegate about the most efficient route to take, assign team members roles, and work together to accomplish their goals. This could be a great fundraising idea for a debate team or chess team. Funds are raised through team registration fees, plus individual pledge donation requirements.

Christmas events to be planned

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Plan your next Christmas event as early as you can to avoid disappointment. If you want to create your own winter experience, either for a party, corporate event or business attraction, here are a few hints from Red Masque directory to make your Christmas event something special!

If you want a show as part of your Christmas party, you’ll need an inside space or warm, dry and well-appointed marquee to hold it in. Acts that look great in marquees include:

• Circus acts, especially aerialists, or silk acrobats!

• Dance groups who can fill the performance area with music, movement and style!

• Party bands that can play in all those cheesy pop hits we love at Xmas!

Make your event great by having sheer variety of entertainment on offer. So, offer lots of different acts to see, rather than one big attraction and people will enjoy the event more.

• Walkabout acts really are great and so are costumed characters, ice characters and stilt walkers.

• Generate a warm feeling with fire acts to light up the winter darkness

• Conjure up the magic of Christmas with street magicians performing close-up tricks and illusions

Food and Drink

• Hire a hog roast or BBQ for outside cooked goodies

• Offer traditional treats such as roasted chestnuts and mulled wine that fill the air with deliciously Christmas smells!

• Have a Christmas cocktail bar, decorated with ice sculptures serving frosted cocktails or frozen daiquiris (and non-alcoholic drinks for the drivers)

Visitors love interactive experiences. They don’t have to be very fancy, just lots of fun for any age.

• Turn traditional side stalls into Christmas fun, such as a snowball coconut shy.

• Book a winter or “Frozen” themed bouncy castle with integrated rain cover, so the weather doesn’t stop the fun

• Get your skates on and book an artificial ice rink – all the fun, none of the wet! Most ice rink suppliers offer a complete package with chalet, boot hire, and experienced staff trained in the required health and safety procedures.

Applying for a Temporary Event Notice

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Are you planning a small, one-off event at a venue that does not hold a full licence such as a school, village hall or outdoor space? Also planning to sell alcohol or have late night entertainment?

Then you’ll need to obtain permission from the local authority by applying for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). It’s essential to obtain a TEN for all ‘licensable activity’ that is not on your venue’s licence – if you don’t get one, then you can be fined, sent to prison for up to six months, or both!

What is licensable activity?

Licensable activity includes the sale or supply of alcohol, the provision of late night hot food and drink (between 11pm-5am), opening a venue outside of its licensed hours, and the provision of ‘regulated entertainment’.

Regulated entertainment is defined as any of the following activities that take place in the presence of an audience:

Recorded music i.e. Disco or DJ (between 11pm and 8am)
Karaoke (between 11pm and 8am)
Unamplified live music (between 11pm and 8am)
Amplified live music (between 11pm and 8am)
Play or dance performance (between 11pm and 8am)
Indoor sporting event (between 11pm and 8am)
Film screening
Boxing, wrestling or martial arts
Adult entertainment

Important note: A Temporary Event Notice covers you for gatherings of up to 499 people, for a duration of no longer than seven days. If your event does not meet these criteria you will need to apply for either a premises licence or a club premises certificate.

Who can apply for a Temporary Event Notice?

Any individual aged over 18 can apply for a TEN and you can obtain up to five TENs per year. If you already have a personal licence to sell alcohol, you can be given up to 50 TENs a year.

How to apply for a Temporary Event Notice

You must make the application to the local authority governing the borough or district into which your proposed venue falls. You may be able to complete the application online or otherwise download and print the necessary forms to be posted. You will have to pay a fee of £21.

Don’t forget you may be responsible for ensuring the police and Environmental Health also receive copies of the TEN within the notice period.

In your application it is important to be very accurate about exactly what will be taking place and the dates and times that your event is to cover. You could be fined if you make any false statements in your application, or face prosecution if you breach the terms of the notice.

If you are successful in your application and your event goes ahead, you must keep your TEN on the premises on the day and display a copy of the notice somewhere it can be easily seen.

In summary

Temporary Events Notices can be trickier than they look – give yourself plenty of time to make your application and if you’re in any doubt whether you need one or not talk to your local council.

The Generation Game

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The Generation Game was part of British Saturday night television for many years, the Generation Game is a fun filled interactive event. This ultimate day of games, quizzes, and challenges will have your group in fits of riotous laughter and mayhem!

Imagine your colleagues competing to decorate their very own cake in the style of ‘The Great British Bake Off’ while others try to outdo each other in table cloth whipping! And for trivia boffins the events proceedings kick off with a quiz and rounds off with a memory challenge.

The Generation Game could be run during the day or for evenings (between courses of a meal or after-dinner entertainment.) Each round could be presented by a professional compere, all of whom come from a comedic background to make sure your event is filled with laughter. Groups of between 8 and 10 compete head-to-head, with each round designed to include every member of the team. After each round you will present the famous ‘scores on the doors’ so teams can see where they sit on the leader board.

Party Game ideas.

How well can you guestimate?
21 second challenges
Great British Bake Off – Cake decorating
Whippit- whip the table cloth away from a set dining table
Conveyer belt
What are the benefits of this team building exercise?

Laughter Guaranteed
Professional comedic host
Rounds to appeal to everyone
Real back to school childish fun
Can run during the day or evening
Something completely crazy and different
Prizes for the winning team

This event will please the most serious of people and get them to show their true fun side!

Dragons Den team building

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Dragons’ Den is a team-building event that gives your people the chance to do some real blue-sky thinking out of the office. Participants are split into teams and encouraged to conceptualise, research, and create a brand new product, idea, or service to take the market by storm. The theme can either be based on your business, for example, creating a marketing advert for an internal campaign, or simply left to the team’s innovation.

If you are looking to bring the best out of your staff, this Dragons Den idea is just great for:
Great for sharing new ideas and creative thinking
Brings the best out in people
Gives everyone the chance to be heard
Exposes new talents you may not see in the office
Ideal for getting involvement and buy in to new ideas or products
Fun, entertaining, competitive & inspiring
Links energy and results directly back to the workplace

Teams arrive in the ‘Den’ complete with themed music & graphics to emulate the real thing. The resident Evan Davies introduces the dragons who are normally a mixture of your senior members of your team. Groups head off to breakout rooms ready to plan their ideas and pitch.

Stages the teams could go through;

PLANNING: sharing ideas to come up with the winning formula concept
RESEARCH: target audience, competitors & unique selling points
MARKETING: graphics, presentation material and mock up designs
FINANCES: start-up costs, profits and forecast business value
THE PITCH: each member of the team must be involved in inspiring the Dragons

The event is light-hearted and FUN; however, a more serious twist can be applied. You may see an idea go on the market!!

Don’t forget Decorations at your event

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Why not feel like a guest at your own event by organising some creative decorations at your special event or party. You may not be that artistic or you may just not have time to think of inspiration. Then why not get somebody else to be artistic for you? Whether it’s a wedding marque to impress your guests which will have a jaw dropping effect when they arrive, a corporate event where tables have to be elegant or maybe a birthday party where garden decorations provide a stunning look for your guests.

Whatever you had in mind we are sure you will choose the perfect decorations for your event, your decorations will live up to your expectations if not more than you’d ever imagined. Setting the scene is very important, so the right decorations are key to getting every last detail just right. They can create just the right ambience and make the dullest of places look spectacular.

Choose from pretty fairy lights, table wear, chair covers, wall coverings and much more… Let your imagination run wild and you can achieve more than you could believe.

We are confident that you will find just that you are looking for within Red Masque entertainment directory. Just scroll down the list of the best event decorations that are on offer to you. You can be in contact with your decorator direct so you can be sure you can discuss everything with them to get your event looking just right. An online booking form is situated within our website which is very easy to fill in. If you have any queries, or if we can offer advice. Please do not hesitate to contact Red Masque directory so we can be of assistance.

Arrange a Team Building Exercise

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Red Masque has got to mention the city of London and the surrounding region, providing party entertainment ideas and equipment hire. Why London? London is the UK’s capital and its home to thousands of successful businesses. Here are some more fun facts about London:

Most visited city in Europe
More languages are spoken here than any other city in the world
Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world
If you are based down south and want to organise an incredible team building adventure for all your staff and colleagues, fret no more.

Here some fun team building ideas for London

1. Archery hire

Pick up your bow and arrow, take aim and bullseye! Archery is a fantastic team building exercise- it’s a low impact and a safe sport for all abilities.

Archery was a big sport in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Held over an eight-day period, four events took place in front of around 6,500 spectators. It is a truly historic sport, a contest of mind and body control, as well as precision.

It has roots dating back to its use as a weapon of hunting and war in ancient times- so what are you waiting for, hunt for food and wage war with your boss with our help!

2. it’s a Knockout

It’s a Knockout was a classic British comedy game show first broadcast in 1966.

It was adapted from a French show and the series was broadcast for over 15 years on BBC1. It has since returned to our screens on numerous occasions but the games have always remained the same- school sports day for adults.

Recreate the fun for your business with a frantic, energetic, highly motivating game that is thoroughly entertaining.

3. Build a tower

The Tower of London is a famous historical castle, otherwise known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress.

Based on the River Thames in central London, it’s a popular tourist attraction alongside the Tower Bridge and Big Ben.

If you’re fed up of looking out of your office window and seeing the iconic structures day in day out, why not recreate them in the comfort of your own office space with our Build a Tower Team Building.

4. Cash grabber

Why not create your very own game show with a Cash Grabber Cylinder! They’re fantastic fun and perfect for competitions or promotions. For the extra ‘wow’ factor, hire alongside our Game Show Hire

So there you have it- a few team building exercises for London. Just take a look at all the other equipment hire you could have at your event!!