Indoor Business Festival in Hangaar2
At goMICE, alongside many incentive travel, concepts and Meetings also increasingly more and larger Events. For example, we recently organised a large indoor Business Festival for 400 people.
Last September, we received a request from one of our regular clients to organise the annual Top Service Event once again. We organised this event back in 2017 at the Fabrique in Utrecht, but this year they wanted something completely different, namely a Foodtruck Event with the theme: “the Parade”!
Venue for this event
As soon as we receive such a request, the ideas start bubbling up and we cannot wait to put together a complete programme in every detail!
One of the first and most important steps we take is to search for the perfect location. After all, the location must fit well with the atmosphere and look of the event and, in addition, meet a number of other requirements, for example:
- Is the location easily accessible?
- Is the venue big enough?
- Are there sufficient facilities available? (parking spaces, toilets, etc.)
- Are the basic requirements for a good plenary programme in place? (think, for example, about technology)
- May we transform and decorate the venue to your absolute heart's desire?
- Are there no restrictions that would limit the event? For example, is the location protected or does it fall under cultural heritage? Are there any restrictions regarding noise levels?
- Last but not least: does the location fall within the set budget?
An indoor festival
When you think of a festival like “de Parade”, you generally think of a lovely outdoor venue full of greenery, trees, fairy lights, music, food trucks and entertainment! Because this festival was to take place in the month of March (and so there would be a high chance of cold and rain), we chose to bring this festival indoors and look for a spacious venue with enough room for the food trucks and decorations!
After visiting several locations together with the client, the choice fell on Hangaar2 in Katwijk. This location met all our requirements and, at 2,450m2, was certainly big enough. Our promise to the client in this regard: “we are going to bring the outdoor feeling indoors!”
Coordinating the programme
Now that the location was fixed, we could really get to work! After a number of brainstorming sessions with our team and meetings with various suppliers, the programme began to take shape. For events, we often work with a number of regular suppliers in the fields of technical production, catering and decoration, among other things. This makes working a lot easier: you know where you stand with each other and you know that the quality they deliver meets our expectations.
The big day!
After months of preparation, the time finally came on Friday 16 March and the grand Top Service Parade 2018 took place. It was a hugely successful event consisting of a reception with drinks and finger food, a plenary programme including an award ceremony, and of course the festival full of food trucks and entertainment.
Early start
On the day of the event, Anita and I were already present at Hangaar2 at 08:00 in the morning to receive our first supplier: Circus Bongo! To give the plenary programme a Festival / Parade touch as well, we did not place a standard stage with corresponding chairs, but hired the original Bongo circus grandstand and circus ring. A magnificent sight!
An hour later the next supplier arrived and we started on the project “bringing the outdoors indoors”. A large lorry full of olive trees, plants, tree trunks, deal wood, cartwheels, potato crates, picket fences, picnic tables and 75 square metres of real grass drove into Hangaar2, and a little under four hours later the venue was unrecognisable. We were already well and truly getting that festival vibe! In the afternoon we put the finishing touches to everything and were ready in time to welcome the guests: let the evening begin!
And the winner is…..
To open the event, we had enlisted the real ringmistress of the annual Christmas circus in Ahoy: Sylvia Schuyer. In her finest outfit (which weighs well over 25 kilograms!), she warmly welcomed the honoured audience!
Following this were various presentations and the highlight: the presentation of the annual Top Service Awards. A total of no fewer than 19 awards were presented to various winners. The atmosphere was great, the confetti popped and the champagne flowed!
At the end of the awards ceremony, it was time for the destinations of the two incentive travel to be revealed this year. In May, for the seventh consecutive year, we are going on a four-day trip with this client. Two groups of 55 people will be able to go along again as a reward for their performance in 2017. While last year's trip went to Seville, this year the trip is to sunny Mallorca and vibrant Croatia.
Festival
Following that, it was time for the festival. The venue looked stunning and the participants tucked straight in. One started with a nice organic portion of chips while another enjoyed a tortilla with tequila-marinated chicken. Thanks to the wide range of food trucks, there were hardly any queues, if at all. The dessert trucks also went down a treat: the fresh crêpes and the molecular ice cream (frozen using nitrogen to nearly – 200˚C!) were almost entirely gone by the end of the evening, with only 6 portions left! A nice addition to the catering concept was the Get Your Own Coolkast. A large fridge from which people could help themselves to a drink. After all, the party is always best in the kitchen!
There was also more than enough entertainment on offer: there was a silent disco, a large carousel (who said carousels are only for children?), people could sing karaoke ‘in the shower’ inside a truck converted into a bathroom (clothes could stay on!), artistic participants could let loose on the digital graffiti wall, and photogenic participants could amuse themselves in the Volkswagen Photobus.
All of this, of course, to the beats of great music. For instance, the band The Tributes played, alternated with a DJ and with Radio Barkas, which played old vinyl records from a car!
The evening flew by and at 23:00 the guests left for home, tired and satisfied! Until next year! Be sure to check out the video below with an impression of the whole event!
Have one too have an event organised in Hangaar2 or another fantastic venue at home or abroad? Then please feel free to contact us! Call us on 010-2412045 or email us at Hello@goMICE.nl
Client quote: It was a fantastic party again! The various food trucks, the carousel, lively music and of course the photobooth created the real ‘Parade’ feel. We were able to provide a wonderful evening full of entertainment for our guests with something for everyone.