USA - Like many houses of worship, Shri Krishna Vrundavana serves its members in a wide variety of ways. The faithful gather at its spacious 3.5-acre campus, which is located 33 miles from New York City, for the Puja prayer ritual, services, holy festivals and meditation as well as more secular events.

Given the multi-faceted role the temple plays in its community, its leaders wanted a versatile lighting system that could adapt to their diverse needs. That's exactly what LD Jason Ayala of Jason Blends (New York) provided them with, drawing on the flexibility of the COLORado Batten 72

The Netherlands - Bwefar, a busy lighting rental company based in Zwolle, The Netherlands, is headed by the charismatic Akim Bwefar and specialises in the design and supply of lighting for automotive shows all over the world - although they also engage in lighting other types of events as well.

Akim is known for his expansive character and his enthusiastic approach to life and business! He has followed the development of the Robe brand right from the beginning - when Robe was originally a quality OEM manufacturer - and before 'Robe' was officially launched in 2002 and started blazing

USA - San Antonio's new Tobin Centre for the Performing Arts will open in September with a complement of Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 fixtures dedicated to both the H-E-B Performance Hall and the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theatre.

Rising behind the façade of the former San Antonio Municipal Auditorium along downtown's famed River Walk, the 1,750-seat multi-purpose venue will be the home of the San Antonio Symphony and other resident companies. It also plans to offer a diverse array of entertainment from comedy legend Bill Cosby and radio icon Garrison Keillor and The Prairie Home Comp

UK - Blitz Communications recently made the decision to purchase a substantial number of the new Clay Paky Glow-Ups. Andy Mahaffey, head of lighting at Blitz's Elstree headquarters, says: "It's true that Blitz have owned Wireless LED uplighters for a good few years; our existing stock from another manufacturer was starting to come to the end of its life. Although still a good product, I felt that the LED market had progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few years so the decision was made to shop around rather than just replace.

"Knowing both Glyn O'Donoghue (MD) and Le

Germany - Adel Salah Mahmoud Eid El-Tawil, or Adel Tawil for short, is a successful musician, songwriter and producer. He became famous thanks to his work with bands such as The Boyz and Ich + Ich.

For his current tour, Bertil Mark (art director), JoJo Tilmann (image director) and Justus Molthan (lighting director), who together form LesUrbanProgressives, relied on 25 Clay Paky Sharpy Beams and 16 Sharpy Washes, two full-size grandMA2 consoles, one grandMA2 light, two grandMA2 fader wings and four Network Processing Units (NPUs), all made by MA Lighting.

Justus Molthan, who took par

Trinidad - Michael Pereira of Trinidad & Tobago based creative design and engineering practice Streamline Systems enthusiastically specified Robe and Anolis lighting fixtures for a new installation at the landmark night destination Club India Nex 5.0HD in Chaguanas, Trinidad.

This was an integral element of a major refurbishment and technical upgrade to the 800 capacity club which has enjoyed great success and a high profile over the last five years. The owner wanted a fresh new look to ensure they keep at the forefront of trend-setting on the island.

Pereira chose 10 Robin LEDBeam

UK - Colchester-based Illuminate Design are delighted to welcome Ken Berreen to the company in the role of technical sales manager. As Illuminate continues to grow its business, Ken brings a wealth of experience to the company to allow it to further develop into new sectors and markets.

Building on its core strengths, Illuminate Design has recently made significant developments within the hire market in East Anglia, as well as the maintenance and installation work that has been part of the brand for a number years.

Ben Payne, director of Illuminate Design commented: "We are del

South Africa - The Rivers Church in Sandton recently purchased 26 Robe Robin 100 LEDBeams wanting a discreet fixture that could be used for effect and mood lighting. Rivers is part of the Hillsong Family and the church is active with worship services, various projects and seminars and community outreaches.

"There are many reasons why we chose these fixtures," explained Edward Helliwell, head of lighting, "but the main reason is that they are incredibly punchy, small in size but big in effect. They respond well to commands and the pre-programmed effects in them make it e

USA - The demands that a large musical variety show can place on a lighting rig are great so when Smoky Mountain Opry in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, sought to replace their aging lighting rig they turned to the versatility and reliability of Elation Platinum Spot 15R Pro and Platinum Wash ZFX Pro luminaires to provide the dynamic color and effect needed to support the high-energy two-hour spectacle.

Featuring a variety of music that spans from rock n' roll to gospel, as well as dancing, aerialists, comedy, magic and more, Smoky Mountain Opry includes something for everybody and the light

Denmark - In the spirit of the current Ice Bucket Challenge craze that has swept the world, SGM has handed down a challenge to its closest competitors to submit their automated lighting fixtures to the ultimate 'soak test' - all in aid of charity.

They have invited Martin Professional, Clay Paky and Vari-Lite to participate alongside their own G-Spot, the world's first waterproof moving head.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is an activity that generally involves dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encou

UK - London-based lighting and visuals rental company Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting to Festival Republic for several stages at the 2014 Reading and Leeds festivals - Lock Up, Dance, BBC Introducing, Silent Disco 1 & 2, Piccadilly Party, the Action Aid and Oxfam tents plus all of EBCs Bars - plus LED screen for the Dance arena.

Furthermore, 2.5 Km of LED festoon lighting was used to enhance the ambience around the main arena. A team of 10 Colour Sound techs were crew chiefed by the unfazable Andy Melleney at Reading and two artics worth of kit was dispatched from the compan

USA - Clay Paky Shotlight Wash fixtures really rock. In fact, they took to the stage for two back-to-back concerts in May: the MMR*B*Q, the annual show from Philadelphia rock radio station 93.3 WMMR where Rob Zombie headlined, and the WRFF-FM Seventh Birthday Show where Foster the People headed the bill.

John Duncan of Pinpoint Lighting, the festival lighting designer for both shows, says the same rig stayed in place for MMR*B*Q and WRFF's Seventh Birthday Show at the outdoor Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. Ten Shotlight Washes obtained from Main Light Industries in Wil

UK - Elation Professional is exhibiting at the inaugural PRO Show 13-15 September at the NEC Birmingham where the company will launch launch "a truly innovative game changing product that is unlike anything on the market today".

Visitors to Elation Stand G25 will be the first to experience the Sniper, a new type of hybrid multi-effect lighting fixture that gives the creative LD an all-new tool to create stunning light shows, says the company

Visitors to PRO will also be some of the first to see two new LED-based professional moving heads from Elation, the Satura Spot CMY P

UK - The latest addition to the Vari-Lite range, the VL4000 Spot, is set to take this year's PLASA London by storm where it will be showcased on the Philips Entertainment stand L80 at ExCeL exhibition centre.

PLASA London visitors will be able to see the VL4000 Spot in action during the twice daily light shows at the Philips stand, getting to grips with all its exciting features, including its high-resolution optics, which ensure remarkable centre-to-edge focusing and an unprecedented contrast ratio, and a 5:1 zoom covering an amazing 9 to 47 degrees without sacrificing output or clar

UK - West London-based lighting and visual rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied over 550 moving lights plus hundreds of other lighting fixtures, rigging and trussing - including for the video elements - to the North and South open air stages at the 2014 Creamfields EDM extravaganza, staged at Daresbury Estate, Near Warrington.

Colour Sound's team was again led by crew chief Jon Rickets, and they all worked closely with creative and technical production specialists LarMac LIVE to achieve spectacular results as the clubbing event, which sold out to its 70,000 capacity, pus

Poland - Warsaw-based Aram Multimedia delivered multimedia solutions for the opening ceremony of the Volleyball Men's World Championship Poland 2014.

The event took place on 30 August at the National Stadium in Warsaw, and was the biggest sports event organized this year at this venue.

Within the set design by Giorgios Stylianou, 300sq.m of different LED curtains were installed, including 24 multimedia cylinders symbolizing each participating country in the tournament, as well as stage located on the stadium's stand.

Some of the regular LED cabinets has been modified to fit the se

USA - Dimming lighting loads can be quite tricky, especially when it comes to LEDs; many lack smooth dimming transitions and step-through from one level to the next. Testing fixtures and the driver together is an essential - and often overlooked - step to avoid unnecessary headaches associated with dimming lighting loads, particularly when it comes to architectural installations.

Longtime ETC customer and owner of Coventry Lighting John Coventry knew this all too well, which is why he called upon ETC's testing services in the middle of a big lighting installation for the newly redesig

UK - TSL has announced that Martin Locket has been appointed a Director and Shareholder of the company. Martin has extensive experience in the production and rental industries, having previously been MD of Essential Lighting and CEO of PRG-UK. Sam Tamplin and Martin will now be running and developing the company together as business partners.

Tamplin, TSL's founder, commented: "Martin increasing his involvement with TSL coincides with our relocation into 12,000sq.ft of new warehouse and production space at London Gatwick this month. These developments are the foundation of our pl

Czech Republic - In an online broadcast this morning, Robe has revealed the first details of its brand new product, the BMFL - which stands for 'Bright Multi-Functional Luminaire'.

Broadcasting from the company's showroom in the Czech Republic, Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe, described the BMFL as "The best fixture we have ever made".

"We have listened to the wishes and needs of lighting designers, rental companies and technicians from every corner of the industry, all around the world. We really believe we have created a product that will deliver both good short- and lon

Tax Relief - The government's forthcoming theatre tax relief scheme will help to revive regional theatre and ensure the industry's success is felt across the country and not just in London's West End, Chancellor George Osborne has said. Speaking at Theatre Royal Brighton ahead of the tax scheme which came into effect yesterday (1September), Osborne said he hoped the initiative would put a stop to the decline of regional theatre and touring productions by making it easier to put on these shows.

Osborne said: "Regional productions have dropped off over many years - even though the

UK - Long time Avolites user and master lighting designer Yenz Nyholm ran the Main Stage lighting at Coventry's Godiva Festival this year from an Avolites Sapphire Touch, with a host of visiting LDs using the console as their acts performed.

More than 75,000 people attended Godiva 2014 to watch headline acts including Happy Mondays, Lightning Seeds, and Buzzcocks.

"The Sapphire Touch works well on a festival due to the many faders and easy to read touch screens," says Nyholm. "It's very intuitive, so any LD can use it within a few minutes of turning up. The many fader

Russia - German fibre network specialists, Optocore, has appointed Audio Solutions to distribute their products in Russia.

According to manager of the Pro Audio Department, Igor Kovalev, the 12-year-old Moscow-based company will be providing Optocore solutions to their two core markets: sound reinforcement (theatres, concert halls, live events) and broadcast.

In addition to their formal distribution arrangement with Optocore, Audio Solutions say they are also working on a major project, using sister company BroaMan solutions for delivering scalable customised solutions for clients r

UK - PLASA Media, sponsor of the PLASA Awards, has announced the shortlist of nominees for this year's prestigious Gottelier Award. The winner will be announced at the PLASA Show in London (5-8 October, ExCeL London).

Named in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award is for our industry's product developers who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related fiel

The Netherlands - A production of The Passion was attended by thousands in the northern city of Groningen earlier this year to see Dutch actors taking on the roles of Jesus, his disciples and others in the Easter story. Staged at the Viskmart in the heart of the town, the production began with a 6m long white neon cross carried from the Groningen FC soccer stadium all the way to the square.

Handling the lighting for the project was PRG EML Productions in Utrecht. Under direction of production manager Martijn Roosen, W-DMX was used to create a wireless link between the Viskmart

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