Michael Aldridge of Tussard's - parent company of winner Lake View at Throrpe Park - receives the Venue of the Year 2007 Award from Stephen Casey
|
Lake View raised the stakes for events at theme parks, offering a state of the art venue complete with production, AV, suppliers and staff, leaving event organisers to concentrate purely on creativity.
The concept of creating a state of the art event structure at one of the UK’s premier theme parks was born late in 2005. Thorpe Park has received substantial financial investment in recent years creating an all round park containing some of the best thrill seeking rides – such as Nemesis, Colossus and Stealth - for both children and adults.
Tussauds has now ensured that this is reflected in the corporate market, bringing the entire attraction up to a highly respectable standard.
The previous venue was simply a marquee with limited offerings and not viable to use for other events over and above local family fun days. This excluded a large number of businesses, blue chip and otherwise, from holding any proper event at Thorpe.
Lake View is a whopping 940 square metre structure, designed and constructed by De Boer to accommodate a highly specific brief set out by the Head of Events Michael Aldridge. Construction was completed on 17th March and Lake View was launched on 21st March last year.
Aldridge’s idea is to offer the ultimate venue, which can be used for any event with a complete package. This includes security, hostesses and tried and tested suppliers, either in conjunction with the park or solely on its own merits.
This is an important aspect as the park is closed for 4-5 months of the year and the venue still needs to be an attractive solution to organisers in the dark months.
For 2007 the events team is offering the ultimate conference energiser ‘Escape from Thorpe Park’ from January until March when the park opens. Crack SAS teams will be on hand to train delegates how to act in a siege around the theme park. Businesses can also hire the park after it shuts in the afternoons in the summer months using all the facilities at Lake View for hospitality.
The Lake View event zone is a completely self-contained area overlooking the lake. The venue has a contemporary smoked glass front overlooking decking with tables and chairs and a smoothly clipped lawn perfect for summer barbeques, family fun days and team building.
Cool blue LED lights highlight the area in low light enhancing the contemporary look.
Inside Lake View is a large reception area which can be used for conference and event registration, as a lounge or exhibition area. There is a secure cloakroom complete with attendants and washroom facilities for guests to use.
For caterers there is a vast fully equipped kitchen which leads out to a smaller structure on the decking for outside entertaining in the warmer months. Being a Tussauds attraction, it would not be complete without wax figures and Bob Marley, Billy Idol and Jay Kay are present to add a touch of light-hearted fun.
The venue has a full list of state of the art AV equipment, comprising a sound system and LCD projector, plus a qualified technician on hand to operate all the equipment. Blackout facilities are also provided for daytime presentations, along with stud walls for organisers to create exact spaces.
Aldridge has also included furniture and staging in the hire and there is a sophisticated lighting rig to create different atmospheres for different events, as well as the ability to pin spot each table for a dinner or awards ceremony.
The venue can hold events for 50 to up to 10,000 on a rolling basis (300 for a sit down dinner or conference or 600 for a reception at one time) and in its 9 months of business has completed 70 events including parties, conferences, presentations, family fun days, award ceremonies and team building activities. |
