Transformations and Dramatic Statements 
The Great Pumpkin Carve… and lighting
October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween!!!
Sometimes Candlelight is the best lighting, especially when it comes to lighting your Halloween Jack O’ Lantern.
Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend the Chadds Ford Great Pumpkin Carve. This event, which is over 50 years old, is a spectacular display of pumpkins carved by local artists in the Brandywine Valley.
The Great Pumpkin Carve Event was started by the early Wyeth family artists and is cosponsored by the Historical Society & Concordville- Chadds Ford Rotary and has featured local and national artists including many members of the Wyeth family. Many famous and local celebrities join in the action, including celebrity mom April Margera.
The Pumpkins are native pumpkins, grown by SIW vegetables of Chadds Ford. They weigh between 150 and 400 pounds. Most of them are of the variety “Prize-Winner,” a drought resistant pumpkin that tends to be bright orange. There are also a few “Atlantic Giants” which tend to be paler and sometimes a less regular shape. Each artist is assigned a pumpkin when they arrive and then has to quickly design his work based on the shape and look of the pumpkin he or she is assigned.
Much care is taken to design the carved pumpkin to work with the candlelight. Many artists remove the outside orange skin and varying layers of the white interior to allow different intensities of light to shine thru the pumpkin.
Mark your calendars for the weekend before Halloween next year if you want to attend. You can witness the artists carving the pumpkins on Thursday night and then they are on display for the next two nights. The event also features local music, food, hayrides and vendors. More information can be found here: http://chadds-ford-historical-society.org/events/great-pumpkin-carve/
CATEGORY: Community, Design Ideas, For Fun, What We Love
Jennifer : (10.31.11 - 9:19 am) Some great pumpkins this year. My design was the Headless Horseman:)
Lighting & Color is ART is Color & Lighting
July 25, 2011
“Art After Dark“ is the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s annual gala organized by a dynamic group of young patrons dedicated to exceptional art and cultural education. This year’s gala was named “Vivid” in tribute to the Roberto Capucci special exhibit that was on display this Spring at the museum. The exhibit celebrated the forward-thinking Italian fashion designer and artist noted for his inventive construction, liberal use of color and creative layering of textures. Worn by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Gloria Swanson, Capucci’s creations have also influenced younger designers including Ralph Rucci.
Eventions, along with other local artists, professionals and performers, was called upon to create a dynamic event that reflected Capucci’s passionate love of architecture, color and fabric as seen through his incredible haute couture fashion design. An artist after our own hearts, one gown he designed was made up of 25 different shades of red to resemble the flames in a fire.
Live models provided by Saks Fifth Avenue greeted guests as they entered the Museum and were invited to a cocktail reception in Lenfest Hall which we had bathed in color washes. Guests strolled through the exhibit halls enjoying champagne poured by living statues and past spandex-covered models created by Sandy O of Creative Juice. As guests continued to mingle they were treated to a wide selection of stylish passed hors d’oeuvres served on colorful platters from Stephen Starr Events.
As guests continued upstairs into the Great Stair Hall they were mesmerized by the dramatic transformation we had created. We suspended 2,500 square feet of fabric over the entire area to form a “soft ceiling” that allowed us to project layers of vibrantly-colored light that changed and morphed as the night progressed. In fact, we used a total of 16 moving lights and LED color changing fixtures to constantly change the look of the room according to carefully choreographed timeline.
On the stairs below the soft ceiling the Museum placed multiple mannequins dressed in Roberto Capucci gowns. The stairs, the mannequins, the walls and the ceiling of the space were lit with ambient, directional and atmospheric lighting to provide contrast and spotlighting effects.
An Italian-inspired dinner by Stephen STARR Events included short ribs, seared salmon, roasted eggplant and mushroom penne. A romantically-lit modern lounge area served to create comfortable residential-style seating areas, meandering live models dressed in Capucci gowns, and a spirited live auction offered additional entertainment.
After the live auction an aerial performance in the Great Hall surprised the guests but didn’t keep them from staying to enjoy dancing under the soft ceiling and mini desserts served on the “skirts” of the live models.
CATEGORY: Community, Our Stage This Weekend
Eventions Lights up the NACE Gala
January 26, 2011
Back in the summer of 2010, NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) decided to bring back the long standing tradition of having industry gala after a 4 year hiatus. The committee brought together a dream team of the best industry professionals to produce an awe inspiring event. The theme decided upon was ” Bring Back The Glamour” a nod to the improving economic situation of the past few years.
Ed Knight and the team at Eventquip stepped up and offered to host the event at their facility in Lansdale, PA. A multi-level tent unlike most have ever seen was planned. Stephen Starr Events provided an amazing selection of delectable delights and Brian Kappra and the team at Evantine Design let his magic loose on the empty warehouse and tent.
The view as guests entered the tent
Eventquip’s tent washing machine. Yes, a whole tent fits inside along with a a few hundred gallons of water and a lot of soap!
Stephen Starr’s cocktail hour spread
Greeters by Creative Juice Group
The view as you ascended into the dinner tent
Eventquip’s new crystal chandeliers brighten up the cleverly hidden executive restroom trailer from Bobby’s Portable restrooms
View of the incredible floating stage - Brain child of Josh and Ed from Eventquip. The stage was a feat of engineering. It was cantilevered over a infinity edge pool of water. What you can’t see is the 30,000 pounds of weight, 24’ steel beams and the entire catering kitchen tent holding up the stage. A glass mirror front and glass back extending into the infinity edge pool enhanced the effect. We lit the pool with color changing LED fixtures. Eventions also employed its thunderous line-array sound system to hide all of the sound system equipment, allowing the stage to be clean and uncluttered.
Another view of the sleek and sexy stage
The Ice Lounge This lounge was completely made of carved ice… did you know it was actually contained in a 24’ delivery truck placed outside the tent and installed within 60 minutes of the beginning of the event?
Glass floor entrance to the dining tent with a living Marie Antoinette below
Evantine’s beautiful tablescapes lit from below with our exclusive Battery operated LED fixtures.
The View from the perspective of BVT’s Big Rick Rising, who ROCKED the gala
Our lighting designers specified a design that included a noted absence of pinspots and uplights. The combination of LED under table lights, 30 leikos and 26 moving lights lit the dining space in a dramatic way.
Lounge Furniture from AFR and light up bars from Party Rental LTD made for a sophisticated lounge area.
While this blog post highlighted some of the behind the scenes action, over 30 NACE industry partners contributed to this event. Thanks to everyone for an amazing event.
Photo Credits: John Armich
CATEGORY: Behind the Scenes, Business Partners, Community, Design Ideas, Industry News
engaged: (08.24.11 - 10:58 pm) love the blog! bookmarked for sure!
Eventions Productions Releases New LED Lighting Solution
October 07, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eventions Releases New LED Event Lighting Solution
Philadelphia, PA - October 7, 2010
Eventions Productions, a top Philadelphia event production company, announces the release of their newest lighting fixture – The LED12. It was shown for the first time at an event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The LED12 is revolutionary in that it is the first LED fixture that has a perfectly neutral white light. In the past, LED fixtures attempted to create white light by using a combination of red, blue and green bulbs. It was impossible to create truly white light by using this method.
The LED12 features 12 three watt white LEDs in a custom designed enclosure that holds the light fixture and a battery, enabling the fixture to operate for over 10 hrs on a single charge. The LED12 also has a snap in gel frame to allow lighting designers to color it any color as well as multiple frosted and clear lenses to alter the shape of the beam.
“The LED12 has a tremendous number of advantages for the special event market,” exclaims Eventions’ President, Brian Toner. The fact that we can light an entire event using no electricity from the venue nor any cables that would need to be hidden or taped down allows us to light spaces and events that were either impossible or prohibitvely expensive before. For example, at the event we did a few nights ago at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, we uplit 28 columns, the stairs and food stations in less than 20 minutes of setup. The client loved the quick turnaround, decreased labor needed and the complete absence of cabling.”
Photographers and Videographers will also greatly apprecriate the fact that the lights are perfectly uniform in color and do not appear to strobe as most LED lights do when filmed by video cameras.
Decorators, florists and event planners in the Philadelphia region who have seen the LED12’s in action are immediately impressed with their capabilities and have been reserving them for many upcoming events. “With decreased budgets and clients being cautious of where they spend money, as well as the fact that the labor to install these fixtures is about 1/10 of a traditional uplight, we see a huge market for the LED 12’s,” says Toner.
The fixture was created by the team at Eventions over a six month period. The LED12’s utilize cutting edge battery technology and charging systems. The fixtures feature LED Bulbs utilizing state of the art optical collimators, which allow the light to be focused into a tight beam much like a light house lens does.
Eventions has completed the first run of 48 fixtures and expects to eventually replace all of its uplighting with the new technology within a few months. Shown below are the fixtures in their custom designed travel cases with built-in charging systems.
About the event: On Wednesday, September 29th, The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Office of Special Events and Stephen STARR Events, hosted an open house for the area’s top event professionals. Event decor was provided by Table Art and photography was provided by Marie Labbancz.
About Eventions Productions: Eventions Productions is special event production company serving the greater Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington D.C. markets. Eventions provides special event and corporate lighting design, sound and audio support, video and media projection, scenic design, power generation and staging. Eventions provides these services for the wedding, bar and bat mitzvah, special event, college, social and society events as well as the general public.
Contact:
Brian Toner
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.eventionsproductions.com
610.485.5900
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CATEGORY: Behind the Scenes, Business Partners, Community, Corporate, Design Ideas, Industry News, Innovations, What We Love
Phasion Phest
October 01, 2010
Just wanted to share a quick snap shot of Phasion Phest this week. Eventions provided lighting design and video screens for Philadelphia’s premier fall fashion event. The event took place on 12th street under the Convention Center
CATEGORY: Behind the Scenes, Community, Our Stage This Weekend, What We're Up To
Muscle Cars and a Hot Rod Sound System!
September 16, 2010
On Saturday, September 11th, Eventions helped local DJ and entertainment company Silver Sound With a monsterous sound system for the American Muscle Car Show at the Phoenixville Fire House and grounds. The event was to raise money for the troops serving in our armed forces. Over 400 American muscle cars were in attendance, mostly Mustangs of all ages and types. There were also many manufacturers, distributors and after market parts companies in attendance.
Silver Sound Director of Special Events, Paul Evans, who actually DJ’d and Emcee’d the event, wanted to ensure he could be heard clearly over the entire show which covered the area of approximately 8 football fields. Our audio designers, using satellite imagery of the space, specified a JBL line array sound system utilizing over 24 speaker cabinets and over 25,000 watts of power.
Satellite imagery and computer modeling of the sound system are used by our engineers to guarantee flawless audio!
Here is the feedback from our satisfied Client:
“Everything went very well! Your techs are always a pleasure, they know what they are doing, they are supportive and they take care of the clients even when they throw curve balls. The President of the company really appreciated Andrew taking care of his needing a microphone to plug into a remote system they had over by the dyna. No one told us about that.
I Thank you for providing me with a great end to end solution, for helping me to design the system for the proper coverage, the result of our work impressed the people attending. As Director of Special Events, I really enjoy learning how to configure, deliver and set these things up. The Genie’s were very cool the line arrays and subs sounded great the near field speakers were very strong and smooth”.
The Line array’s being set up on the ground.
DJ Paul Evan’s State of the art Laptop base DJ rig.
Photo Credits: www.silversound.com
CATEGORY: Business Partners, Community, Our Stage This Weekend
Craig Sumsky: (09.16.10 - 2:36 pm) Wow, that sure is one state of the art system. Who is Paul Evans?
melissa paul: (10.31.11 - 8:25 am) Awesome pumpkin carving ART! Wow, and local too!