Category Archives: Entertainment Provider

Plan ahead and get it right

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It’s never too early to plan ahead. Many corporate events and private clients often enjoy theming their larger parties (and smaller ones, as long as you can convince your mates to dress up) around national events happening that particular year. With this in mind, we thought we’d look ahead to see what trends might be coming up, which you may like to capitalise on. Without further ado, here are our popular party themes 2016.

Rio 2016

Yes, like them or loathe them, the summer Olympics return next year with Rio 2016. Incredibly, it will have been four years since London 2012, where we all trekked over to Stratford to watch a game of Handball between a couple of Baltic nations and it’s time to do it all over again next year. Coming live from Brazil in 2016, sporting entertainment is sure to be a big draw next year so get planning now! Brazilian Bateria dancers are probably your ‘go to’ entertainment but hey, maybe a football freestyler will appeal to the Brazilian football fan…?

Space

According to Wikipedia, 2016 is set to be space crazy. You name it, it’s being planned. From a space hotel being launched for wealthy clients to various missions involving Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, there are huge plans afoot for 2016 and space travel. The sequel to Independence Day will surely only add to the fever in June, so get your thinking caps on if it’s space-themed event entertainment you’re after. What better venue than the Gherkin?

Harry Potter

Brace yourself, folks! Muggles who love the young wizard are going to be out in force in 2016 with not one but three new Potter releases thrust upon the world. But they won’t be in book form, oh no. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be an adaptation of a JK Rowling spinoff starring Eddie Redmayne, whilst Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will open in the West End in two parts. Magic, costume, crazy food—All will be great entertainment ideas for your Harry Potter event in 2016. You could even host your private party where the Harry Potter films were made!

Inspirational Red Masque

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What’s the one thing you remember about a great party, above all else? As a guest, you’re there to have a good time. And if it’s a good time you want your own guests to have, then you need to put a little thought into the party entertainment.

Gone are the days when you had to book a one-man DJ to play 70s floor-fillers all night. Now, you can find entertainment that keeps your diverse range of wedding guests happy, making the party start with a bang.

We at Red Masque entertainment have a limitless amount of options and inspiration. But what if you don’t have the time, will power or experience to trawl through the 17,500 female solo singers that Google throws up? Well, then it’s time to call in the professionals. And that’s where an entertainment directory can come in handy.

If you’re in the process of planning something big, using an entertainment directory uses only the best out there that are reputable and highly acclaimed

The best musicians aren’t necessarily the best hype men; the most amazing magician won’t necessarily be the best web designer – one of the changes in corporate entertainment since the internet has been the focus on promo material rather than word of mouth or reputation. That means the bands with the flashiest websites and the slickest videos often get more attention than their less media savvy counterparts. Consequently, there are plenty of hidden gems out there who, instead of improving their Search Engine Optimisation or video editing techniques, have focused on just being great performers.

We, like many entertainment directory’s, make it our business to know as much about our entertainment as possible. by reading up on new performers and much more. We know the best act for your event and 5 equally brilliant alternatives if the first choice isn’t available.

It just goes to show there’s only so far your own web searches will take you. If you want something a bit different, something to appeal to all the ages and tastes of your guests, something to get your party started as it means to go on, Red Masque is definitely a good way to avoid a headache. After all, it’s your party too.

The year of the Pig

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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 entertainment.

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!

The Ultimate Winter Blues Party

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As winter is rolling in, lots of people want to organise the Ultimate Winter Blues Party. At Red Masque we like to give some great ideas to offer in our posts. Instead of using your own home, why not rent out private rooms from restaurants because they offer an economical alternative with certain party essentials (furniture and a great kitchen) already in place.

SIGHT and TOUCH: Smoke and Mirrors

If you want to create something wonderful for the ultimate winter blues party, think ‘smoke and mirrors’.

You see mirrors create the illusion of even more energy and action – you can literally see more people throughout the room but at the same time, the combination of clear and reflective materials instantly make the room feel more open. Even more importantly, they capture the striking beauty of the first chill of winter in clean, contemporary lines. Along with the ice-like surfaces and funky blue fabrics that would bring out the swing in this modernist vision of winter, spicy, flavourful tapas, and a hot sexy Latin soundtrack would raise the pulse and temperature of the space.

Capturing the smooth, glassy surfaces of icicles, and the shimmering icy blue hues of freshly fallen snow can be a difficult illusion to pull off; you don’t want to go overboard and end up with a truly cold hard and severe look. Instead you want to create a magical “FROZEN” castle of shimmering shapes and reflective surfaces that will make your guests feel as though they are surrounded by gorgeous crystal sculptures. .

SIGHT: Top Party Decorations

Table decorations for the ultimate winter party can be very classy with diamonds spread over the table sparkling with cut glass champagne glasses, if you wanted to go really overboard you could hire some ice sculptures to really capture the spirit of the winter month.

Be as imaginative as you like, blue tablecloths, and a sprinkling of fake snow and don’t forget vodka on ice!!!

SMELL: Engage the Senses

For winter, go nuts, literally, roasted pistachios, coconut and sizzle chorizo in the kitchen to create a wonderful tangy and nutty aroma for the room. What is more sexy than a few shapely ice cubes jostling in a glass tumbler or the pristine gloss of a newly frozen lake.

TASTE: The best Party Food

You could just put out some cured meats and cheeses but for larger and more elaborate appetites and we love the sociability of tapas. Tapas, also provide a variety of flavours. As a winter party, the emphasis needs to be a little more on food to quiet the hibernating impulse we have and avoid the urge to stay home, watch Netflix and chill.

When creating your own menu, think about what would tantalise the guests, think of exciting colours and combinations of sweet and smoky spices. Serve the food every hour or so and start with simple foods while gradually adding new and more complex flavours

TASTE: The best Party Drinks

Drinks it would be a selection of Martini opportunities, why not try my Winter Blues Martini:

Winter Blues Martini
1 ounce Vodka
1/2 ounce Blue Curacao
1/2 ounce crème de cassis
a splash of fresh lime juice and blueberries for garnish.

Rim the martini glass with white sugar. Shake, strain, and pour liquid ingredients into a martini glass. Garnish with blueberry kebob.

Display bottles of frozen vodka inside decorative ice blocks: cut off the top section of an orange juice container and fill it two thirds full with distilled water and sliced lemons, limes and oranges. Insert a bottle of Citrus Vodka and put it in your freezer overnight. In the morning, remove the orange juice carton and you’ve got yourself a stunning citrus ice sculpture that doubles as a “cooler” for your vodka.

To create a surprise kick, for your Martini who not rub the rim of the glass with a slice of hot jalapeño pepper and then dip the glass in sugar?

SOUND

Think about some chill out tunes, a bit of funk and soul that will cater to most tastes.  Whatever you choose we are sure you will definitely have the Ultimate Winter Blues party!!!

A good firework display

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Attending an organised bonfire event ensures you can enjoy the very best of everything in safety, including a bonfire, the burning of the Guy, live music, tasty eats, and of course an awesome fireworks display. Red Masque have many good firework display artists for you to hire for hundreds of charity events every year, so that you can go along, have a good time and enjoy them to the max.

As a nation, we like to celebrate a hapless hero, and top of the list must be Guy Fawkes, a man famous for having failed miserably to do what he set out to do. Fawkes and his co-conspirators planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament but on 5 November 1605, Fawkes was discovered guarding a large stockpile of gunpowder in the cellars, after an anonymous tip-off to the authorities. Here’s five great ways to celebrate his non-achievement!

Guy Fawkes Night is a great excuse to have a party where the star attraction is a red-hot band or explosive new act rather than a soggy bonfire or a damp squib! Ditch the rockets and whizz-bang in favour of guitar solos and keyboard wizardry, for a night everyone will remember for a very long time. At Red Masque, we have some of the best up and coming bands in the business.

Bonfires are fun but they are also a liability waiting to happen. So, light up your bonfire party with entertainment that makes the most of fire, light and spectacle without the health and safety issues. 

Fire acts create magical patterns in the night sky using fire and sparks, for a show that has deep, primeval appeal. Or opt for the high-tech solution, an LED light show where the ‘fire’ is actually LED lights twirled, swirled and whirled to create incredible coloured patterns and optical illusions. You’ll never look at a sparkler again!

You will have to book will in advance if you want a professional firework display, as they’ve been booked up for months. However, you can book a professional firework display any day of the year through Red Masque so you can enjoy a spectacular display choreographed to your favourite track for your wedding, birthday party, anniversary celebrations, proms party, graduation ball, you name it. Call us for details, and try to book nice and early!

We may have been celebrating Fawkes’ night in July instead of November, had not the opening of Parliament been delayed by the threat of plague – the gunpowder was actually stored and ready from 20th July onwards. So if you’re planning a summer party with a difference, why not celebrate the 410th anniversary of the start of the Gunpowder Plot with a midsummer Bonfire Night party.

And if you do want your own bonfire party in the back garden, always follow the Firework Code keep bonfires small and under control, and warn your neighbours so they can keep pets safely indoors. Have fun!

Business event ideas

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There are many ways to create a unique experience for your employees, customers, and potential customers. Hosting a business event like a happy hour or networking event is a great way to get in front of people and learn more about them at the same time.

Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to have a party? But first ask yourself, “what are the goals of this event?” Is it to gain more customers, is it to show your employees that you appreciate their hard work, or are you thanking your customers for their loyalty? Who is this event for, and what’s the benefit for you and your attendees? Once you have your goal(s) in mind, like every event, you have to plan ahead. Use these tips and ideas to make business event planning a breeze:

Planning Your Event Entertainment

Set your budget – How much can you afford to spend for the event? What will you need? Some of the usual costs associated with events include the venue, food, drinks, decor, marketing (printing/postage), giveaways and labour.

Create a guest list – How many people (and who) will you invite? How many people do you expect to show up? These answers will help you with the rest of the items on this list. Start by looking at your customer base and work from there. Use other networking events that you attend to pass out info about your event, if appropriate.

Select a date – When is the best time for your event? Select a few dates that work for you your potential invitees. Most people won’t be able to take time out from work just for your event. Keep in mind that your date needs to coincide with your venue availability. The more flexible you are, the better your chance of getting a great location, and a good price.

Scout locations – Should your event be held at your business, or do you need to check out other locations that might work? How much room do they have? What does the venue include (i.e., food, drinks, staff, audio equipment)? Can you use their venue in exchange for getting more people in their door or in trade for something from your business?

Pick a theme – Having a theme can help brand your entire event from invitations to decorations, food, and drink ideas. Remember, the holidays are right around the corner and people LOVE holidays. Use Pinterest to your advantage for finding inexpensive and fun ideas for your theme.

Promoting Your Event

Questions to ask yourself: How are you going to promote your event? What’s the right way to reach your target attendee, email, social media, print invitation? What will you offer people to get them to attend?

Send invitations – Try using different methods (paper, email, social media) to send out your invitations. You know your audience, what will work best for them? You may want to use multiple methods.

Additional Tips

Find a similar or complementary business to co-host an event with you. You can use their customer list to gain more attendees for your event and possibly more prospects for your business.

Get donations from other business that might benefit from your event. They can sponsor different aspects of your event or help with giveaways.

Have invitations available at your place of business (if you have one), and on you all times to pass out. You never know when you’ll need them.

Social media is free! Make sure to use it to your advantage. You can offer invitees a deal for sharing your event with their friends.

Last but not least, play the host/hostess. Make sure during the event that you work the room and keep the event, conversation, food and drinks flowing!

Have a business event of your own coming up? Share your planning tips with our readers in the comments!


Bonfire Night Event ideas

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The 5th November! Bonfire Night is the perfect time for wrapping up warm and getting together with friends. You may be going to one of the many firework displays across the country or planning a party at home. Here are a few ideas for hosting your Bonfire Night party outside

Wrap up warm with lots of layers and have plenty of extra gloves and scarves handy. If you are hosting the party at home, provide blankets for guests to spread across their knees if they are gathered outside around a bonfire.  Hand warmers in Knitted covers for coat pockets will be very welcome too – they’d work well too as a party favour for each of your guests.

As well as the focal point of the bonfire – complete with the Guy on top – delineate the party area with strings of outdoor lights, garden torches and lantern bags, so that people can easily see where they are going. If little ones will be in attendance, then LED candles or tealights are safe alternatives to normal candles. Torches and head torches will come in handy if you’re letting off fireworks. If you have a few tables and chairs in the heart of the action, light them using tealights; you can have lots of fun making homemade tealight holders with everyday household objects.

Keep guests insulated from the inside out, with flasks of hot drinks and tasty, comforting food. Bonfire Night is high time for a hot spiced cider punch, or simply a full-bodied red wine from bottles warmed by the fire.  Serve drinks in plastic glasses to avoid breakages.

When catering for a crowd, go for something easy to make ahead and in one pot. A bowl of rich, spicy chilli con carne with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips is easy to hold and eat with just a spoon or fork. Set up a buffet serving table inside, not far from the kitchen, so that people can help themselves. Another idea could be fish and chips in boxes or chips in cones with little forks. For something sweet you could make some homemade popcorn, serving from this adorable stall

As well as the all-important fireworks display and bonfire, have a few activities ready to keep everyone warm. Packets of sparklers are essential, and glow sticks and glow necklaces are also fun to distribute.  There’s little doubt that childhood favourites are still popular, so why not set up a sweetie bar for your guests to help themselves to. Be sure to include marshmallows for everyone to toast on sticks over the fire – perfect with a little hot chocolate laced with rum, cinnamon or chilli!

How to become an Events Organiser

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Big events don’t just happen. Behind every successful promotional or corporate event, stands an exhausted but happy event organiser. If you’re looking for a career change and you’ve got good organisational skills and multi-tasking abilities, you might want to take a closer look at this job.

Job Role

An event entertainment organiser is responsible for putting together all the behind-the-scenes details connected with a large event, corporate meeting or exhibition. Work responsibilities will include initial meetings with the client to gather ideas and to determine budget and timings. Following that, as an event organiser you will usually investigate different venues and locate suppliers. 

The event organiser is also responsible for negotiating with various contractors, such as those who supply catering or security services. It will also be your job to coordinate the marketing of the event. Finally, when the big day arrives, you will do whatever is required to make sure that everything runs smoothly and within relevant regulations.

Qualifications and Skills

The good news for those seeking a career change to this type of job is that the role requires no particular qualifications. It would be extremely beneficial and a good opportunity to highlight your relevant experience and transferable skills. Several organisers already at work in the industry have pointed out that a degree is less important than personality. But bear in mind that you will have an edge over other candidates if you have college-level training in events management, marketing or public relations.

Prospective employers may look for practical experience in areas like hotel conferencing, travel or public relations. If you haven’t had the opportunity to do this sort of work for pay, you could build contacts through volunteering or organising events in your personal or social life. Also, learning a second European language would be a definite plus point. Apprenticeships are available in some areas.

To be a successful party and event entertainment organiser, you will need excellent communication and people skills, and have a knack for solving problems creatively. If working under pressure and meeting tight deadlines are a problem for you, you may want to reconsider. You will probably be working a lot on your own, but at times you may be part of a larger team. You should possess good attention to detail and be able to work within a budget.

Employment Routes

Possible employers include event management companies, conference and exhibition venues, hotels, leisure facilities or charities. Large companies, universities and local governments also need event organisers. Once you gain some experience and a good track record, you could also work as a Freelance Organiser. Although most of your work will be done in an office, you’ll undertake some travelling as you may often need to visit different venues, suppliers and clients. Most of the time you’ll be working normal hours, but as the deadlines for your events approach, you may be working round-the-clock. And remember, it’s possible you’ll be planning multiple events at one time, each with their own deadlines and schedules.

 

Networking

If you’re interested in a career change to the world of events organising, spend some time talking to people already in the profession. Perhaps you can arrange to shadow them as they work for a few days, which would allow for a much better feel for what the job is really like. This in turn would prove beneficial and noteworthy, as you’ll also be a much more knowledgeable job candidate if you choose to move ahead into this area. 

Being an event organiser is certainly not easy nor is it stress-free. But when an event comes together successfully, knowing that you’re the one who made it happen gives you an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.

Charity

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You are about to organise one of the most rewarding events possible, a charity event! A charity event takes time, organisation and a lot of patience. But when carried out correctly, your event could be the highlight of your guest’s lives. Charity events can range from the ever so pretty cake sale, or even a coffee morning, right up to a lavish black tie event. Whichever type of event you decide for your charity night the main aim is to create awareness for this charity and to hopefully raise some funds. Underneath are your top ten tips when organising a charity event. 

Top 10 Tips for a Charity Event 

Tip 1- The purpose – You should decide what the purpose of your charity event is and confirm this early to start initial planning. Is this a full on fundraising event? Or does it have other goals in mind such as gaining awareness, publicity and to reach out to a new network of people. Many charitable events have more than one goal and these need to be decided before any further action takes place. Confirming and planning the details for your charity event will depend on knowing what goals you are trying to achieve.

Tip 2- Date, Time & Venue – Give yourself plenty of time to organise any type of event. At least 3 months in advance. You don’t want this to be a rushed job so ensure that all aspects are planned to perfection. Your venue is also entirely up to you, yet should reflect your theme, your purpose and your charity. If you believe that your house can hold the demand then feel free to do so but for a large event then a venue such as a hotel may be better suited. Ask the venue for some freebies, if you don’t ask then you will never know.

Tip 3 – Budget Plan – Every fundraising event plan should contain a detailed budget plan of all of the expenses that will be required to hold the event. 

Your budget plan should include staff, invitations, venue, catering, entertainment, utilities, and anything else that will be required to make the event successful. Your budget should take into account your fundraising goal, ensuring that you raise that amount above and beyond all expenses. Top tip for your budget is to always have a spare amount, you just never know when an emergency will appear and that extra bit of cash could really help you out.

Tip 4 – Round up your troops – 

For your charity event to be a true success you will need a strong workforce behind you. This could be family and friends, volunteers of the charity or even try and recruit some new volunteers to help. Your team could help you in so many different ways such as helping you with the planning, collecting money outside supermarkets, selling tickets for the charity event and also on the day of your event it is always great to have a spare pair of hands. 

Tip 5 – Read All About It – 

You have to let the public know about your charity event, or nobody will know anything about it. Ask the charity to help by putting up the information on their Facebook page, create some simple flyers and leave them in shops in your area, create an “event” on Facebook and invite people, go and speak to your newspapers and get them to interview you about the charity event and if possible ring your local radio station and get a small interview slot. The more people know about the charity event, the more of a success it will be.

 

Tip 6 – Entertainment is key –

Your entertainment has to be fresh, exciting and fun. Why not hire a fun casino which is great fun and also brilliant for fundraising. Or a magician who can walk about the room and make your guests “wow” in amazement. You could even hire out a crazy golf course; you may even have the next Rory McIlroy in your mists. The entertainment needs to be organised quite early on in the planning process if you don’t want to be disappointed. 

Tip 7 – Stick by the law – 

We would advise anybody to always go and research the laws and regulation when organising any event, especially a charity event. There are certain guidelines which need to be put in place to surrounding fundraising in public areas; you would need to speak to the local council about these. They are only small regulations so should not be anything to serious to worry about, but always check and get support from your local council

Tip 8 – Collecting the money – 

On the night of your event, you have to collect the money if it is a fund raiser. You could collect the money by walking around the room with a branded bucket, have a raffle and collect the money when selling tickets or you could place an envelope for each guest at their table where they place their desired amount into and you collect at a designated time of the night. There are so many options on how to do this, but these three seem to be the most effective. 

Tip 9 – Mind your manners!- 

Always remember to say Thank You both straight after the event and in the days that follow. Your guests, volunteers and sponsors need to be appreciated. They have taken time out of their lives to help with your charity event. Make a small speech simply thanking everybody for coming along, send a personal email again thanking them or even send them a momento of the night. Take a group photograph of everybody who attended and print these out for each volunteer and sponsor. A simple thank you on the back is all that is need and it gives your event that personal touch.

Tip 10 – HAVE FUN – 

You have done your planning, you have done your research and you have everything in place. Now it’s time to have fun. Mingle with your guests and have a laugh, if they see you relaxed then they will also feel relaxed. And remember it’s for charity, so no matter what you do you are making a difference.

Give a little more thought on the venue…

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Planning a special event is exciting- and more than a little rough on the nerves. For the love of God, you never want your event to be remembered for the ‘AWFUL venue, entertainment, food, atmosphere etc.’

You’ve already found great entertainment. But finding the right entertainment venue is one of the more traditionally tricky aspects of party planning. In the interests of making that process a little less fraught, here are a few tips to help you make the best decision.

Consider the season. You may have the absolute perfect venue in mind, but if it’s most charming features can only be enjoyed in warmer weather, and you’ve got a February event, keep looking.

Can the venue accommodate the kind of entertainment you have in mind? Do they have in-house tech people to set up the stage, or will the performers need to bring all their own equipment and tech people?

Is the venue relatively convenient for the majority of the guests? Of course, for special occasions most people don’t mind going a bit out of their way, but you don’t want your guests to become mired in complex travel arrangements- unless you’re prepared to organise and pay for it all, of course!

Is the venue actually available at the time you have in mind? Many first time party planners mistakenly believe that a couple of months-notice is more than enough. Very popular venues, however, can be booked out in peak months well over a year in advance. Before you get too carried away with the planning, ensure your venue of choice is actually available.