UK - Eat To The Beat has won the contract to provide dressing room and the production team catering at this year's V Festival in Chelmsford.

Mary Shelley-Smith, Eat To The Beat operations director said, "We are delighted to be adding this prestigious festival to our extensive roster of high profile summer events. The backstage catering has become a key ingredient in the success of the festivals we have become regulars at, thanks to great staff, equipment and expertise. We have previously worked with V Festival in the USA through our American office so to also be working with this one on our home turf is an honour."

Eat To The Beat has over 25 years of tour, location and festival catering experience spanning across the music, film, television and production sectors. During that time they have secured many long term festivals contracts including Glastonbury, Reading an

Germany - The Procon group has been appointed as technical supplier for the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. Procon has already worked for the production in Athens 2006 and Belgrade 2008.

Procon will send 34 trailer trucks with technical equipment and a team of more than 70 people to this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Contract value is in the seven-figure area, says the company.

Amongst others, Procon has recently provided services for the Echo (German Music Award) in Berlin and is at present working for the TV show Deutschland sucht den Superstar (German Pop Idol).

(Jim Evans)

UK - David 'Steedsy' Stevenson of Ward Steedsy Associates is organising a fund rasing event for FACE - Fight Against Cancer in Edinburgh - a charity based at the city's Western General Hospital.

The event takes place on Saturday 20 June at Linlithgow Rugby Club which is just 10 minutes from Edinburgh airport. Entertainment will include live music from the band Aye Right - formerly known as Last Tram Tae Auchenshuggle, plus 80s disco, food and drink aplenty. "I'd love as many of you as possible to come along," says Steedsy. "Not only to raise money for a great cause, but to have a great night too."

(Jim Evans)

USA - The Long Reach Long Riders and The ESTA Foundation announced the results of their joint raffle to benefit the Behind the Scenes programme at the USITT conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A total of $5,236 was raised from raffle ticket sales during the three-day conference, more than doubling the $2500 Challenge Grant issued by Sapsis Rigging. In addition, Jonathan Deull made a $1500 donation to Behind the Scenes in support of the Long Reach Long Riders 2009 charity ride this summer, bringing the total raised at USITT to $9,236.

The winners and their prizes are: Fred Allen - Altman Rentals Ghostlight; Shan Ayers - USITT 2010 Conference Registration; Dennis Booth - Nolan Engineering Services' Structural Master Class; Ed Condit - Martin Light Jockey; Kacey Fisher - Live Design's Broadway Master Class; Ben Gasper - Utah Shakespearean Festival Ticket Package; David Griffith - Sap

UK - The Michael Northen Bursary 2009 will be awarded by the ALD in conjunction with ETC and The Mousetrap Foundation. This prestigious award which is open to all students, and not just ALD members.

The Michael Northen Bursary was set up by lighting designer Michael Northen shortly before he passed away in 2001. It takes the form of a £500 prize awarded to a student who shows exemplary talent in lighting design. The award is to be judged on a project that the student has produced within the past academic year (July 2008 - July 2009). This award was originally made in conjunction with the White Light Bursary and since 2004 the ALD has administered the scheme and organises the presentation of awards as a fitting tribute to Michael who was a founding member of the ALD and a previous President. The fund itself is held by The Mousetrap Foundation, an organisation committed to e

Double Take - A new version of West Side Story, in which the cast use two different languages, has opened on Broadway. The tale of lovers from rival gangs has been part translated into Spanish to reflect the fact that half the story is set in a Puerto Rican community. Dialogue between members of the Shark gang is now in Spanish and several of the songs have also been translated. Director Arthur Laurents said, "I wanted it to be more like life and that's what they speak in life."

Club News - The head of Britain's biggest nightclub operator predicted that half the UK's estimated 2,700 nightclubs could fail over the next 18 months. Stephen Thomas, the chief executive of Luminar, told The Times that there would be "a lot of closures", forced by the effects of the recession, but he expected many to re-open under so-called pre-pack administrati

UK - Blink TV, a leading supplier of video screens and visual content to the live music industry, has recruited two key new staff to drive its growth strategy.

Carmela Iandoli joins as programming editor, a newly-created role designed to expand Blink's pre-show entertainment offering to appeal to artists from all music genres. Blink is known for its work with pop acts, but recent projects with indie bands such as Keane and Snow Patrol signals its intention to broaden its client base.

For Snow Patrol's current tour Blink created bespoke pre-show entertainment tailored specifically to the tastes of the band and its fans, including music selected by the band set to time-lapse photography of the stage being set up. The resulting imagery builds anticipation within the crowd prior to the band's arrival on stage. The package includes targeted advertising which helps offset the signif

UK - During the months of June and July, the Forestry Commission hosts a highly successful live music tour at rural woodland venues across the UK. AP Security has provided crowd safety services on the majority of the sites for the last six years. This year, its remit has expanded to encompass the entire schedule.

"We're delighted to be working with the Forestry Commission again this year," says AP's national sales manager, John Phillips. "We're even more pleased to have the opportunity to work on every site this year."

Rachael Miller, events manager for the Forestry Commission, comments, "We take the safety and security of our concert-goers very seriously. AP has provided a top quality service for us in the past and we look forward to working with them again this year."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Shure Incorporated will officially support Earth Hour 2009, a global climate event led by the World Wildlife Fund, by switching off all non-essential lighting in all of the company's facilities around the world for one hour on 28 March, and encouraging all of its associates, customers, and suppliers to do the same.

Shure will join corporations, organizations, governments, and individuals in more than 240 cities around the world in supporting Earth Hour, which begins at 8:30pm local time. Tens of millions of people from all corners of the world are expected to participate in this call for global action on climate change.

"One of our company's core values is to be a good corporate citizen and neighbour," said Sandy LaMantia, Shure president and CEO. "We have an internal team, our Green Team, which strives to constantly implement and improve environmentally-f

UK - In response to the Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008, which came into force in January 2009, ForeFront Training has been launched to offer a range of cost effective, dynamic, practical and motivational health & safety training courses. Specialists in manual lifting and handling training, ForeFront says it offers a complete service, tailored to individual business requirements and if necessary around existing work patterns, to enable organisations to comply with current legislation regarding health and safety.

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 places an absolute duty on employers to provide suitable and sufficient training to all staff, for their health, safety and welfare.

Dave McDonald, principal consultant and head trainer at ForeFront says, "Health and Safety is evolving and moving away from traditional concepts

UK - Launching at MusicTank's think tank debate on sustainability, environmental coalition Julie's Bicycle will unveil a unique initiative providing grants to help music companies with carbon audits, training and tools for sustainable energy management.

Julie's Bicycle have partnered with the Knowledge Connect programme on the initiative, which will provide support worth £3,000 or £10,000 to London-wide music businesses with between 4 and 50 employees. The aim is to enable them to access the knowledge, skills and expertise required to develop greener businesses and develop innovative ideas for a low carbon creative economy.

The grants will be of particular interest to businesses operating in the live sector, which is believed to account for the vast majority of music industry CO2 emissions.

The initiative will be launched during the MusicTank debate: Can The M

UK - Following the recent sudden death of Dennis Harburn, managing director of Shure Distribution UK, Shure has paid tribute to Harburn, who was closely involved with the company for more than three and a half decades.

Dennis Harburn had been with Shure for over 36 years, having joined in 1972, when it was Shure Electronics Limited (SEL), as a sales rep for London and the South East. As SEL shifted to independent ownership, he quickly rose through the ranks as assistant sales manager, sales manager, and then sales director before being named Managing Director in 2000.

While spending almost his entire career supporting Shure, Dennis also was a classic car enthusiast, a lover of horse riding, a die-hard fan of Gillingham F.C and was the proud owner of a vast and diverse music collection. According to one of his associates: "His enthusiasm for music was infectious and there

World - This Saturday (28 March) at 8.30pm local time, the world is being encouraged to act with their light switches to combat climate change. Organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the worldwide blackout is described as an election between Earth and global warming. "For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote - Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming," says the Earth Hour website.

WWF are attempting to reach a target of 1 billion "votes for Earth", which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

In London, the famous Coca Cola sign in Piccadilly Circus will be switched off for only the third time since the Second World War. Other famous London

USA - In addition to its home on the web at www.tomcatglobal.com, Tomcat USA has a new page on Facebook. Those who visit the page will find photos of products, workshops and projects. In addition, anyone with an account can stop by and become a fan of the staging and lighting equipment company.

"We encourage everyone to stop by and check it out," said Lisa Jebsen, marketing assistant for Tomcat USA. "We see this as another great opportunity to interact with industry professionals and show off our work. In the near future, we plan to offer special giveaways to our 'fans.'"

(Jim Evans)

UK - The latest phase in Litestructures' studio's development will be to create a dedicated, permanent exhibition space within the building. This will be accessible to performers, technicians, riggers and all production crew and visitors. As such, it will provide a sales and display opportunity for companies and organisations offering products and services to this important industry sector, says the company.

Those interested in supporting this venture and in exploiting the potential it represents should contact Laurie Giraudeau or Ben Brooks to discuss their detailed requirements or to explore the options and alternatives.

Litestructures exhibition will be based around well lit spaces for exhibitors created from Litestructures trussing and staging products, giving an attractive display for all participants. The maximum booth size will be 4m2 per exhibitor.

(Jim Evans)

Show Time - The lighting, sound and production industries head to Frankfurt this week for ProLight+Sound 2009 and judging by the flood of pre-show product information - and launch party invitations - received by LSI, there will be much new to see and hear. Not surprisingly, then, the organisers are anticipating healthy attendance figures.

Woodstock Reprise - Michael Lang, the co-founder of the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival, is reportedly seeking sponsors for a 40th anniversary reprise in New York City. "The chances that something will happen are probable," he told the Times. "But I don't really have the answer yet as to what that will be." Central Park has been suggested as a possible location for the event. The Who were among the acts who played at the original concert, which took place in Bethel, New York State. A 30th anniversary concert

UK - Mark de Gruyter has joined London-based automation specialists Kinesys to head up sales and business development. de Gruyter has previously worked with Element Labs and High End Systems and also for rental major PRG.

With Kinesys, de Gruyter's role will be global, and will include maintaining and strengthening existing relationships, plus exploring new markets and territories for Kinesys.

de Gruyter joins the Kinesys team at the Prolight + Sound exhibition in Frankfurt and will take this opportunity to introduce himself to Kinesys' distributors and existing customers. "I'm really excited about working with Dave, Andy and the rest of the team at Kinesys," he comments, "With their highly respected reputation and innovative and growing portfolio of products and services, I'm eager to meet existing partners and distributors and capitalise on opportunities for t

UK - Tower Productions has recently added a number of machines to its highly-spec'd generator stock based in Edinburgh. The new machines are all FG Wilson XD series with super-hushed canopies and long-running fuel tanks, ideal for event work.

New control panels are being fitted to allow on-board; AMF, sequencing and synchronised load-sharing, on all machines from 60kva - 275kva. This negates the need for any separate remote AMF/Synch panels and makes for very quick and very simple deployment on site, says the company.

The new machines complement the existing stock of similarly specified machines all of which have on-board synch panels and have proved popular in the event power market, particularly where 100% redundancy is required for power-critical applications.

(Jim Evans)

UK - EasyDaq has launched a new low-cost, 8-channel wireless relay card and USB-connected transceiver set for use in cable-free lighting control. Its XBee transceivers provide an RF connection with a secure and rugged transmission protocol over a minimum 100m range.

The card will switch 120/240VAC at 10 amps. All (uncommitted) relay contacts are taken to two-part (male/female) screw terminal connectors allowing rapid connect/disconnect of the card. Its USB-connected and powered XBee transceiver module is housed in a small fully-potted ABS enclosure, while the relay card is available with a perspex cover and DIN rail mount option.

The USB relay card uses simple ASCII/text commands to initialise and control. It is Windows, Mac OSX and Linux compatible and existing EasyDAq serial/USB relay card users can easily port their code to it.

The product joins EasyDaq's existing range

USA - In a continuing effort to reuse, reduce and recycle, Rose Brand will be earning money to be donated to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes charity by collecting empty printer cartridges and used cell phones and recycling them for cash credit at Funding Factory. The fundraiser continues Rose Brand's support of Behind the Scenes and the company's commitment to the environment.

Rose Brand's sales director Josh Jacobstein states: "We have a long term relationship with the entertainment industry and the hard-working people who make it all happen. With our recycling efforts we will create a benefit to Behind the Scenes and that's a perfect way of continuing our ongoing support of the industry and people we work with."

Deborah Sperry continued: "Rose Brand is on a journey to find the types of eco-friendly behaviors and activities that are genuine and sustaina

UK - Hawthorn has announced the appointment of Karen Riley, Mark Russell, Max Nembhard and May Lee to its London sales team, joining Suzanne Allis, who has been working in the business development team for the past eight months. The new team bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to the business.

Prior to joining Hawthorn, Russell worked in senior sales and marketing roles with British Airways for 12 years followed by seven years working for high end corporate event agency, Attention To Detail.

Riley joins Hawthorn with over eight years experience working for live event technical production companies. Most recently she was sales & marketing manager for PSL Events.

Formerly sales manager for lighting console manufacturer Avolites, Lee's experience working with lighting buyers will be invaluable in selling the full Hawthorn portfolio, says the company.

Russel

UK - British trussing and staging manufacturer Litestructures is offering an impressive prize, revealed at the ProLight&Sound Show in Frankfurt, Germany last week. Beating the crunch, the company is offering an exceptional prize for any overseas distributors - an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster.

"With Litestructures, winning an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster is simplicity itself. Just place a minimum of €1 million in orders between 01/04/09 and 31/08/10, with the award being presented at the PLASA show in Earls Court, London next year," says the company.

The company's presence at ProLight&Sound was very successful with visitors excited by the unusual incentive displayed in the centre of the stand. The main prize of an Aston Martin will be accompanied by other incentives during the period of the challenge including the opportunity to win two tickets to the Le Mans

USA - Las Vegas-based stage automation specialist Fisher Technical Services Inc has announced the appointment of Jeanette Farmer Director of Projects.

An 18-year veteran of Cirque du Soleil, Jeanette played an instrumental part in the design and production of every major Cirque show in Las Vegas since the advent of Mystère in 1993, including her most recent role as lighting designer for Believe at the Luxor.

"Jeanette brings an incredible wealth of experience, innovation, and energy to Fisher Technical Services, especially in our key market of complex, large-scale productions. She was at the centre of many of the shows that showed the world how to produce the impossible, and having her at the helm of our project management will allow us to provide our clients with an unparalleled level of organization, efficiency, and support," said Scott Fisher, presi

UK - Presentation Services London Ltd (PSLL), the company which emerged from Presentation Services Ltd (PSL) following a pre-pack administration in December 2008, was itself entered into administration on 10 March by administrator MCR. PSLL had reportedly intended for a percentage of its turnover to be set aside to pay PSL creditors under the agreement made by administrators Tenon Recovery.

(Lee Baldock)

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