Open Air Business February 2017
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glamping businesses and outdoor event organisers
The UK's outdoor hospitality business magazine for function venues, glamping businesses and outdoor event organisers
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HIDDEN ART<br />
HIDDEN ART<br />
be back with a Christmas Fair, and<br />
the design fair will be back next<br />
year.<br />
How have you planned the<br />
layout of the event?<br />
We have four marquees in the<br />
grounds and a curated design<br />
exhibition inside the house,<br />
which is a unique opportunity<br />
for designers to showcase their<br />
work against the backdrop of the<br />
interior.<br />
Food and drink is served<br />
from the on-site cafe and we<br />
have a variety of other catering<br />
concessions too. We have porta<br />
loos we hire in but find people<br />
prefer to queue up for the public<br />
toilets we have on-site by the cafe.<br />
How did you source your<br />
marquees?<br />
Truro Marquees supplies the<br />
marquees for the event. We went<br />
to a few firms to get quotes initially<br />
but liked what Truro Marquees<br />
had to offer. They are expensive<br />
HIDDEN ART<br />
“I THINK IT IS<br />
IMPORTANT<br />
TO CATER FOR<br />
CHILDREN<br />
AT AN EVENT<br />
LIKE THIS<br />
SO WE HAVE<br />
A BOUNCY<br />
CASTLE,<br />
STORY<br />
TELLERS AND<br />
A ROUND-<br />
ABOUT THAT<br />
HAS BEEN<br />
ATTENDING<br />
FOR SOME<br />
YEARS”<br />
HIDDEN ART<br />
structures to hire and we have<br />
considered buying them but there<br />
is the storage to think about.<br />
What entertainment do<br />
you offer?<br />
I think it is important to cater for<br />
children at an event like this so<br />
we have a bouncy castle, story<br />
tellers and a roundabout that has<br />
been attending for some years<br />
now and is very popular. We also<br />
have a band set up outside of the<br />
entrance area.<br />
As far as the exhibits themselves<br />
go, we are careful to make sure<br />
there is a good mix. We have an<br />
application process so we can<br />
make sure of the quality of exhibits<br />
and prevent having too much of<br />
one type of product.<br />
What provisions do you make for<br />
power, lights and sound?<br />
We are set up for power and water<br />
in an area where there had been<br />
two tennis courts, and distribute<br />
from here. We charge stall holders<br />
extra to have access to this. There<br />
is also Wi-Fi on site, pulled through<br />
from the Wi-Fi at the cafe.<br />
How do you manage admissions?<br />
We have a very simple system,<br />
just a small tent at the top of the<br />
drive that people pass through to<br />
get to the fair. We are cash only for<br />
admissions.<br />
What ground protection do you<br />
use for cars and footfall?<br />
We try and keep the look and<br />
feel of the event as natural as<br />
possible, so people can enjoy the<br />
grounds in which it is situated<br />
and the backdrop of the house.<br />
Consequently we don’t put down<br />
paths. To date we have had little<br />
damage to the grass; the most<br />
damage comes from children<br />
pulling up flowers.<br />
We have an area where two old<br />
tennis courts were that has a good,<br />
solid base and this is perfect for<br />
exhibitors. In the marquees we use<br />
matting but try to avoid leaving it<br />
down too long to protect the grass<br />
underneath.<br />
HIDDEN ART<br />
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