Category Archives: Corporate Event Entertainers

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!

The top event themes for 2017

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For all 2017 corporate events and parties, décor will be key. Your venue needs to wow your guests from the moment they walk in, creating a special and uniquely defined space for your event. Two highly contrasting themes are high tech interactive and natural materials, enabling your company to show off its tech prowess, or boost its eco credentials.

By combining the hottest corporate event trends for 2017 and some very special party entertainment, you can create a corporate event entertainment that’s still talked about long after.

If you choose a high tech theme, your event entertainment must be 100% integrated to the whole tech ambience. Look for entertainers that offer a tech twist in their act, such as iPad illusionists, LED Light entertainers and street magicians that work with the latest phones and mobile gadgets.

Choose musicians that blend performances with tech, such as our interactive VJ’S, or a live DJ. Get your guests interacting with each other playing giant games with your very own theme.

If you are thinking about a winter corporate event into a natural winter wonderland with ice sculptures and decorated living statues, walkabout characters, and seasonal winter menus. Welcome guests with the warming aromas of mulled wine, or entice people out into the crisp winter air with heated seating areas, piles of rugs and sweet chestnuts roasting on a real coal brazier.

You could extend the theme beyond décor and food into acoustic musical acts, for a more ‘natural’ sound. Entertain with a gospel singing Christmas songs, or a trendy a Capella groups, or guitar and sax soloists.

When you want your corporate party to finally hot up, keep the theme with classic tracks that really evoke the sights and sounds with top UK function and party bands who know their Adele’s and their Maroon 5’s.

Take lighting to the next level and illuminate your event to create spectacle and visual interest. Any venue can be transformed with clever and creative use of lighting even on the more limited of budgets. Use lighting to throw unusual shadows, to colour tables rather than using flowers, and use wireless technology to alter lighting states to reflect the various stages of your event.

Your entertainment should be equally well lit! Look for party DJ’S with their own light shows, rock and pop function bands that provide their own lighting, and artists that use light in imaginative ways.

For larger events, book artists that have a strong visual impact enhanced by theatrical style lighting, such as dance troupes, ballet dancers or aerial artists.

Find ways to make your entertainment a pleasure for everyone by choosing acts that blend superb musicianship with accessible humour, such as a comedy string quartet. Or present musical acts with an international flavour, such as 1920s swing band just make people smile!

Does your team fancy a stunt day?

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So, you’ve smashed your boss over the head with a bottle and shot him, only for him to get up, laugh, and shake your hand. You’re not dreaming, you’re in stunt training. You’ve watched bar room brawls, shootings and spectacular stunts in films and been dazzled by their realism. Now you will be trained by the men responsible for those stunts at the legendary Pinewood Studios, where the James Bond films and countless other blockbusters are filmed.

Yes, you could hire Stuntmen instructors and props to really make this a unique a fun day for all. After a full safety briefing and a warm up, the instructors will give a full demonstration of the stunts before training you to recreate them. Just like on a real film set, safety is paramount, and all of the stunts take place in controlled environments with the instructors supervising. You’ll be taught how to shoot blanks from pistols and revolvers, and how to fall realistically after being shot. There’s no need to worry about bruises though as your fall will be broken by safety mats.

You will also be taught how to smash a bottle over someone’s head without leaving so much as a scratch on them. This brilliant training day will live long in the memory and give you a fascinating insight into the film industry.

A brilliant day, and definitely unique, we are sure your staff will be talking about this in months to come.

Don’t forget to take your DVD home of all your stunts that you have done for the day!!

A day at the races?

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There’s no need to take a gamble with your company party, with a race night you’ll be odds-on to have a great evening. Dust off your best top hat or poshest dress and have a flutter on the sport of kings.

Your event could be made complete with betting booths and white picket fences to add a more authentic feel to the event. All of the excitement and glamour of the races will be brought to your event by a charismatic host who’ll keep you updated with the latest odds, and the glamorous Tote girls who’ll circulate around the tables taking your bets. There’s no need to worry about blowing your life savings as you’ll be gambling with fun money, so take a punt, lady luck might smile on you.

A giant screen will show 8 races on the flat and over jumps and you’ll have to study the form and place bets on whichever steeds take your fancy. The race commentator will call the action ensuring maximum drama and edge-of-your-seat tension. The team with the highest winnings (or smallest loss!) at the end of the evening will be presented with champion tipster medals.

What you could hire/buy for your Races day:

· Costumed Host
· Costumed canape girls
· Fun money
· Betting Slips
· Projector and screen
· Bottle of bubbly and medals for the winning team.

Make sure all your guests dress to impress, after all, it is a day at the Races!

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!

Entertainment for your next Christmas party

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Sorry. We really are sorry. We know it’s still only August, which is still more than 3 months away. More than a third of a year away. But personal assistants and office managers are already being asked to book Christmas entertainment for the office party and it’s our job to help them out. Plus, between just the two of us, choosing to hire a Christmas DJ in advance may keep your costs down. For those who are looking to book even more festive entertainment, here are a few ideas to get you thinking.

Wonderland

Who doesn’t love Christmas lights? You might not attend the Oxford Street Christmas lights switch on and yes, the Regent Street Christmas lights has turned into a weirdly commercial venture promoting some Hollywood film for the past few years, but people still love a good light show and Wonderland put on one of the best! As the photo shows, holly leaves appear in LEDs around the performers and you can also expect to see snowflakes, stars and reindeer.

Ballerina in a Snow Globe

In terms of visual acts, they don’t get much better than a full size snow globe with a dancing ballerina inside. A beautiful idea that has been executed perfectly, the ballerina performs amidst a flurry of snowflakes. A male and female dancer can also be hired for a short performance and you can rest assured that none of your guests will have seen anything like it. A wonderful idea for the office Christmas party!

Christmas Carol Choir

A Christmas carol choir is probably more up your street. We advertise choirs from just a few people right up ten or more and if you like, you can sing along with the performance! Christmas carols are a timeless form of entertainment and can you really call your event a Christmas event without one.

Ice Queen

We advertise a whole host of Christmas characters for your party but for the Scrooges amongst you, we thought we’d profile the Ice Queen. One of the best bits about the Ice Queen character is that it can be good on its own or as part of a Christmas party theme (like Narnia for instance). A perfect idea to ensure that your Christmas party will be talked about well into the New Year!

How to best remember your event

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Be it a corporate event, private party or wedding there are a number of ways to look back on your event that don’t include photography. Here, we run through some brilliant ways to remember your event!

Caricaturist

If you’re looking to hire a caricaturist for an event, then you have got to make sure that you are fine with having your eyebrows accentuated and your nose looking a little larger than in real life. But that’s all part of the fun! A good caricaturist knows how to drawn a cartoon-style representation of their subject without causing offence and the best part is that with modern technology being what it is, you can take home a paper or digital version.

Silhouette Artist

The heights of the vaudeville era are in full display in the form of a silhouette Artist, who can snip your profile into a piece of black card in the space of a matter of minutes. The best bit about this incredible form of entertainment is that you can go home and frame your silhouette later, with each individual creation being stuck onto a quality back lining.

DJ

Booking the right DJ for your event is key to good memories and making sure that the DJ plays your perfect playlist. A good DJ knows how to communicate with the crowd and knows how to get your guests up on the dance floor. We have many DJ’s advertised on our site that our just right for you.

Screen Printing

Whether you call it screen printing, letter pressing or something completely different, these fabulous contraptions can have you created your very own work of art in no time! Popular at Somerset House every summer, you too can discover the art of the print. Remember not to limit yourself to paper or card; should you so desire you can create your design on a T-shirt. Wear your creation and remember that party in style!

It could be magic!!

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Using the latest technology and what’s around them to wow people is something that a good Magician will always look to do and with smartphones and tablets being everywhere nowadays, it’s a great way for magicians to further impress their subjects.

Magicians like Dynamo and Derren Brown made the art of magic very cool again. It’s an art that constantly re-invents itself with the best magicians always adding more complex and up-to-the minute methods to keep audiences mesmerised.

IPhones have now become an integral part of any illusionist’s act. Using it to create magic involving coins and other items adds an extra layer to their performance. There’s a whole host of occasions where this type of magic can be used – Weddings and Parties, Corporate Event entertainment or Product Launches where it can be absolutely relevant to a product that might be being promoted. Being able to take an item that people can see digitally on the device and transfer that into a physical item from nothing is a really popular form of magic to guests.

Using an iPhone is probably preferable to an iPad because the illusionist can keep it in his pocket while performing in a mix and mingle style with guests, however tablets are often used too depending on the event.”

Corporate and Trade Shows are proving particularly popular for this type of magic where there are hundreds of stalls all vying for attention and where there’s a real need to add something that will stand out. Digital Magic is clearly proving very popular.

Some magicians perform street magic on a London street, which involves use of the phone to magic items – including making the phone appear from a magazine advert. The reaction from passers-by shows the effectiveness of bringing the traditional styles of magic together with technical innovation is a concept that will remain popular amongst Magicians and the people that love to be in awe of it.

Like all forms of entertainment, each Magician is different. While not all Magicians have this in their performance routine, Red Masque has some of the UK’s most exciting magicians and can help to find the perfect magician for your event.

Nothing beats a good fun day

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Here at Red Masque, we offer a wide selection of fun and exciting equipment to help make your event a huge success. Whether it’s a small corporate fun day for 50 guests or a large scale event for up to 3,000 people, we advertise party and event entertainment for all ages to keep everyone entertained all day long.

There are key aspects you need to take into account when planning such event. From safety and insurance to risk assessments, it’s imperative to have all the necessary legislation in place.

To ensure your Corporate or Family Fun Day is a giant triumph and goes ahead without any hiccups, here some things to think about when planning a fun day.

Whatever equipment you’re hiring be it the side stalls and rodeo bulls or deck chairs and inflatable slides, each piece of equipment will have its own comprehensive risk assessment to ensure it is safe and secure to protect all those on the premises.

It is compulsory to carry out a risk assessment in order to comply with current UK safety regulations and laws. If you have never done this before, rest assured it isn’t as scary as it sounds.

Besides, once all the paperwork is out of the way, you can concentrate on organising a successful event!

Now there is the general risk assessment of the site plan, such as the routes in and out for cars and attendees, and you’ll obviously need a safety plan for any marquees etc. you have, but here’s the complete list of all our products’ risk assessment and method statements.

If you don’t want your fun day to be a wash out, choose the date carefully. Summertime is better for outdoor fun but as we all know with the great British weather; a contingency plan is always needed in case it rains!

Try to do your homework too and find out if any other big community events are taking place around the same time. If the date clashes it will affect how many people turn up.

How will people know about your fun day? Promote the event through local businesses, press, radio, newsletters, emails, digital PR and posters.

Marketing is key, so shout about it through all possible platforms including online blog posts, paid search and social media.

What’s more, shout about it DURING the event. Get a hashtag going on Twitter, encourage spectators to share pictures on Facebook and Instagram and get lots of photos to give the press.

Make your event run as smoothly as possible

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Whether you’re planning a family or a corporate event, you’ll want to achieve an incredible atmosphere. Here’s 10 quick tips to help you run your day as smoothly as possible, and ensure everyone has a great time!

1. Book a suitable space

Decide where your fun day will be held and book a party venue well in advance. A local pub garden, school field or community hall are all good places to hold a fun day. You need to make sure there is adequate room for everything you have planned. Also check if there are toilets and power available. You can add some little touches, such as bunting to bring the place to life, or choose a theme for throughout the fun day.

2. Choosing a date and time

Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to organise the day. You’ll be much more relaxed when the day comes along if you know you’ve spent time planning all the details.
Choose a date that doesn’t clash with anything such as big sporting events like football cup finals, or Wimbledon finals. Create a realistic timeline for the day and take into consideration the time needed to set and clean up.

3. Something for the kids

A good variety of stalls and activities ensures kids will have a great time and never want to leave. Children of all ages enjoy face painting and inflatable slides. Play zones are a great option for little ones, and for those a bit older, circus school workshops and rodeo sheep are great opportunities to show off their skills.

4. Something for the big kids!

We all have an inner child that wants to get out and have some fun! Adults are bound to be competing with the smaller guests on most activities, but items such as cash grabbers, gladiator jousts, sumo costumes, and a rodeo bull are great fun for adults who enjoy a fun challenge.

5. Refreshments

Kids of all ages will be needing some refreshments to give them energy to keep on having fun.
Candyfloss, ice cream and popcorn, are great options to keep the party atmosphere.

6. Something Personal

You may want to add that personal touch to your fun day. Whether it’s a business fun day and you want somewhere for business cards and flyers, or a fun wedding and you’d like somewhere to put the cake, an empty wooden cart is the ideal space to do this.

8. Book us!

At Red Masque, we advertise a wide selection of high quality equipment to suit all ages, we offer advice through our blogs so your event will be hassle free making your event the most exciting day that you have ever hosted.