| Hope in the Park for Hope NG9 | |
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Hope in the Park, an annual, two day, free event for the community, is run by 12 churches within the NG9 postcode of Beeston and Chilwell, Nottingham. During the Saturday a free BBQ, free Café, free bouncy castle, free face painting / children’s crafts and free ‘It’s a Knockout’ style games are open to the public, and on the Sunday a morning open air service is followed by a picnic and games. Wild Duck Productions first got involved in 2008 when we provided technical event management and a small PA system. In 2009 Wild Duck Productions were invited back to take on the same role, but as this time the budget was larger, the show could be too! In 2008 we hired in a large marquee with a small stage and the local churches filled the marquee with chairs. We installed a small PA system, with eight wired microphones and two radio micophones, and supplied four two way radios for use by event staff during the day and the security team at night. We also hired in two portable toilets. In 2009, with the new budget, we were able to provide a large outdoor covered stage. This made a great performance space for the wide variety of acts who used it throughout the event, including The Lost Cause, a bluegrass band, The Hope Community Gospel Choir, critically acclaimed soprano Deborah Norman, Two Men and a Piano with their comedy songs of whimsy and Unity in Mime with their powerful mime performace, entertaining the 2000+ visitors throughout the day. In the evening Hope NG9 staged a concert in the park which saw a return of the African mime group Unity in Mime along with performances from two African gospel choirs, CIC and Springs of Life. The open air service on the Sunday, which was attended by over 700 people, was then followed by a large scale picnic and games. Tom Pearson, the techncial event manager from Wild Duck Productions, brought in Central Presentations to provide a complete technical production package to his specifications including staging, PA, lighting, on-site communication systems and technical crew. For Hope in the Park 2009 we installed a lighting rig of twenty ETC Source 4 Par 575Ws and two fresnels, two pairs of d&b E9 speakers with two pairs of d&b Q1 speakers and six d&b Q-Subs, two Shure hand held radio microphones, five AKG 414s and a range of other vocal and instrument microphones. We also supplied a small PA kit with a Countryman head worn radio microphone for a children's entertainer to use in a seperate tent, and a Da-Lite Fast-Fold back projection screen with drape kit for use in a video tent. With the larger overall budge we were also able to upgrade to toilets from single units to a luxury Super4 with internal lighting and hot running water! With on-site communications at events like this so vital, we supplied eight Motorola CP040 two-way radios for use by the technical crew, site crew and security, four Motorola XTN 446 two-way radios for event staff, and a Clear-Com talkback system for communication between the stage and the front of house engineer. We also supplied the event with branded ID passes for event staff and crew, and Tyvek wristbands for the artists and performers. Following the event, organiser Nigel Adams said “Hope in the Park was a tremendous success, not least due to the fantastic support from Wild Duck Productions. From the very beginning Tom provided excellent guidance and support in planning the event. Throughout, there has been a sense that Wild Duck understand what we are trying to achieve, and worked with us to make it all happen just as we hoped and prayed for. We are immensely grateful.” Tom said, "I had the pleasure of working again with Nigel Adams and with a great production and site team at Hope in the Park; Wayne Pearce, the Site Infrastructure Manager, did an incredible job and his amazing crew including John Huskinson, Sam Haigh, Michael Gamble and Stephen Rose were always ready to meet any challenge head on. My thanks also go to Central Presentations for the fantastic work they did for this event. Their technical team were, as always, friendly, professional and went above and beyond what was expected of them to help make Hope in The Park such a great success." |
