St Catherine’s Hospice Burstow Fundraising Committee Summer Ball ~ 27th June 2009

Brief

·  Tables to seat 150 people

·  Dance floor and area for live band

·  Fully lined

Issues

·  Budget – as it was a charity event there was a need to strike a balance between a strict budget and putting on an event worthy of the ticket price.

·  Power supply – power from the house could not supply everything needed for the marquee.

·  Loos – too many guests to use the toilets in the house.

·  Installation area – large trees in the garden meant that no rectangular open space was big enough to hold the marquee required for 150 people, and most of the trees were too large to be incorporated inside the marquee.

Solutions

·  Charity – costs were kept down by using a black matting floor instead of a solid wood option, plastic chairs instead of more formal ones, the customers decorating the lining themselves and a ‘picnic style’ theme rather than requiring caterers and an additional catering marquee.

·  Power supply – we installed a generator suitable to deal with the power requirements for the marquee, loos and band.

·  Loos – a luxury loo trailer was provided a short distance from the marquee.

·  Installation area – we constructed a separate marquee extension for the dance floor and band area off the main marquee body.  We also managed to incorporate one of the smaller trees into the marquee (see below).

What the customer had to say

“…A big thank you to you and your team for all your hard work in making the Ball marquee such a wonderful venue…” Lyn & Paul Pitts (Outwood)