Christmas in Newcastle is of course the most magical time of year - but as well as delighting children and adults alike, it's also commercially important to the city.
Having the right attractions to draw residents and visitors in is key, which is why both business improvement district, NE1 and Newcastle City Council partners with to help deliver their ambitions.
Enter EVNT Inspirations, the Tyneside-based company which has a long pedigree in adding originality, variety and sheer joy to an event.
The company is behind the annual Moosenwirt – the pop-up Alpine bar at Gray Street – the North Pole at Gray’s Monument where visitors could wine and dine in pop-up igloo pods and Newcastle Christmas Village at Old Eldon Square, which offered everything from Santa Stories to the Rockin’ Reindeer stage with daily performances.
EVNT Inspirations is currently putting the finishing touches on its plans for this festive season, which promises to be bigger and better than ever before, but that’s not to say the company is just for Christmas.
Because it had carved itself a huge niche in the events industry, thanks to its ability to think outside of the box and deliver both its homegrown attractions and bespoke events for clients.
The most recent addition to its fast growing portfolio is the UK’s largest pop-up pub, made of shipping containers and which got its first outing at Plate Day and Ladies Day at Newcastle Racecourse.
Named The Jockey’s Rest, this two level bar is also heading to Doncaster Racecourse for the St Leger and will also appear at The Come Together Festival – starring Robbie Williams and The Kings of Leon – at Newcastle’s Town Moor.
According to Nigel Holliday, one of the directors of EVNT Inspirations, the travelling tavern is a great addition to any occasion.
“While it was branded as The Jockey’s Rest for the racing events, the beauty of it is that we can create any name for it and adapt it to suit any particular need,” said Nigel.
“It might be for a corporate event or a private party, it can be renamed and tweaked to reflect the company or the individual.”
Its versatility was highlighted at a recent corporate booking for Northumbria Water, where it was used in their innovation festival.
EVNT Inspirations now has one of the largest collections of shipping container bar in the UK, which it can use to create popups at spaces across the country.
It’s their experience at delivering unique experiences that has put the company in such high demand – from North East street food market and drinks venue HWKRLAND to the current Summer on the South Side, which is operating at the By The River Brew site on the Gateshead side of the river.
Along with delivering a huge range of events for other people, EVNT Inspirations has been behind some of the region’s most exciting experiences.
Paddyfest, the celebration of all-things Irish, the staging for Northern Pride, the highly successful Flight Night darts extravaganza,- which is about to be repeated this November at Times Square and Newcastle’s two biggest fanzones created to watch the city sweep to victory in the Carabao Cup, were all organised by EVNT Inspirations.
And the football connection doesn’t end there, with EVNT Inspirations helping NUFC to co-ordinate and run the street food traders at the trophy lifting on the Town Moor – which attracted around 150,000 fans.
Also looming on the horizon is the return of Oktoberfest which will take place on three consecutive Saturdays in October, when Times Square will be transformed into a 2000 capacity Bavarian beer hall, where guests can enjoy overflowing steins filled with German beer, tuck into bratwurst, currywurst, frankfurters, pretzels and all the traditional favourites, while enjoying some of the best live Oompah bands from across Europe.
For Mike Hesketh, one of the co-directors of EVNT Inspirations, the experience of the team is vital in creating experiences people want to attend.
“Between us we have years of experience in the events industry and delivering both large scale public events and offering everything from pop-up bars to tipis to add an extra dimension to any occasion,” he said.
“We’re can offer a one stop shop which makes a huge difference and we have such a great creative team that we can make everything bespoke to add that wow factor for our clients.”
For further information visit www.evntinspirations.co.uk