A Groovy Grove Nation Party
60s Style Decor and Lighting for the Grooviest Awards Gala
Event Design Dialogue by Jack Kelly | Photography by Jack Kelly
January 8, 2009 | South Park Marriot | Charlotte NC

Lighting Equipment:
8 American DJ Fantasy 250
8 Chauvet Colorado 1
4 ETC Source 4 Par-Nel
4 Pin Spot
12 Color Kinetics Colorcast 14
4 ETC Source 4 Leko
14 Sauce Lighttro
10 Elation Opti-30
Martin Light Jockey
Elation Wireless System

“Refined by Fire” has become an American cliché. Chanted from the pulpit to the stage, the message is one of purpose from adversity. Taking many forms, adversity suggest the perception that there are inadequate means for something to survive. From a lack of time to a lack of money, the threat of failure births invention and creativity. Many of my most successful clients thrive under adversity, and gloriously pass that pressure onto me.

Campus Crest is the fastest growing campus housing firm in the country. Their team is wild, aggressive, and unwilling to accept defeat. Their awards dinner is unique in that it isn’t the conclusion of a successful year. The event feels a lot like the half time show with the coach pumping up the players to send them back on the field. Brimming with a healthy dose of a teamwork, sarcasm, and pier respect; the team is a unique blend of marketing, construction, and management. Traveling the country year round, the brotherhood wears the confidence of their accomplishments. Last year they called me the day before the event. Winning their respect for our ability to make an 18 hour turnaround, this year I was honored with a week’s notice. No excuses, the design had to be innovative and dynamic facilitating their leadership’s launch into the New Year.

Trying to wrap my head around themes, all I could envision was a hippy love child goes into politics. Somewhere between the ultimate carefree life and fighting the system stands this event portraying wildly aggressive 20 hour work days as a party boat leaving the dock. And, everybody wants to go. It’s not a job it’s a life style, and they love it. When approaching a theme, I have stopped trying to remind the guest of the past but convince them that the past is the present. Designing with the products of the present in the mindset of the past, I ask myself “If the 60s were the present what would a party look like?” I needed a hint of politics and rational in the middle of a rambunctious celebration of colors and styles of the ghost of the 60s present.

South Park Marriot is a great space with low ceilings and no rigging points. Everything has to be on the ground. The ceiling height isn’t given to overhead trussing so hanging is impractical. For the lobby, I needed a thematic introduction. Custom gobo lighting, giant flowers, and color changing Chinese lanterns would introduce my present-day 60s style. Wandering through hardware stores and hobby shops, I searched for floor mounting options to hang color changing Chinese lanterns through the lobby. From sketching out construction pieces to fabricating custom base plates with Sheppard’s hooks, nothing fit. Suddenly my Georgia roots cried “fish.” Cane poles could provide a unique solution to hanging lanterns. Unfortunately, even at the base pro shop, most of the staff had never heard of a cane pole. Luckily Wal-Mart came to my aid and I wiped out the stock at 3 stores. Attached to the cane pole, the colorful orb seemed to effortlessly suspend itself into the space sensitive to every breath of air without over reacting. The pole subtly bounced and swayed bringing life to the color changing Chinese lantern. Pole in hand, I thought of different floor mounts I could use. Taking a break to think, I set the pole into a piece of truss in the shop. It fit! Not my first choice but truss was a practical and successful solution. Wrapping the truss with ivy and oversized flowers, the truss disappeared into the greenery. The ivy extending up the pole provided a very natural look to a very groovy entrance.

“Grove Nation” was the theme symbolizing the growing community of converts of the Campus Crest Revolution. Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty greeted the guest thanking them for their support. Riotous combination of anticipation, décor, and actors the stage was set for a 60s celebration.

The backdrop of the stage was a painting of a VW bus in true 60s style. Colorful and fun, the bus was parked behind a fantasy garden of a garden of giant flowers. The mural was uplit with color changing cove lighting (Color Kinetics Colorcast 14) providing sparkles and sweeps of color. . . some would say from the exhilaration of the years conquest. The stage was washed in white light to bring out the myriad of colors presented by the “Grove Nation” artwork and floral. Vibrant and alive, the presenters comfortably announced this year’s team leaders.

The awards table is small but each award represents the most prestigious accomplishments of the year. To bring the proper attention to the glass prisms, the narrow degree of the pin spots were focused in brilliant white. The glass refracted the light in sparkling rays drawing the eye further feeding the anticipation.

The 60s was initially the beginning of youth politics. The youthful design styles of large posters and unconventional branding encouraged me to use environmental emersion. It wasn’t enough to have a great stage aka concert. The guest needed to feel as if they were on the stage and the environment wasn’t something to watch but experience. Surrounding the guest, Psychedelic kaleidoscope-like effects were used to wash the entire ceiling. The effect is unique because unlike a true kaleidoscope the images bleed into each other providing an abstract multi-form design. The American DJ Fantasy 250 doesn’t allow single colors but combines 3 or more on a multicolor wheel. Taking the three juxtaposed colors, I reflected them on the room lighting.

Instead of minimizing the rigging elements, I highlighted them. An expression of conservation and efficiency, the truss became a statement of design not just function. Each truss was highlighted with a color changing fixture at the base and a room lighting fixture at its apex. The refracted light of the color changing truss around the perimeter walls mirrored the color schemes of the kaleidoscope-like fixtures. Transitioning color themes from the ceiling to the stage to the walls, the room had a seamless experience equal throughout.

Without customization the event doesn’t matter. At this point the world has seen every possible good design idea second hand through magazines and TV and even first hand. What separates events is effective branding and customization. The grove nation images were translated into gobos, metal prints of graphic images. Intentional over sizing and twisting the images gave the room a true collegiate artistic ambiance. Essentially introducing Light Graffiti into the space completed the modern 60s experience.

Finishing the look with dimly lit over head room lighting and organic candle light, the spirit of the 60s visited us that night. The chants of the crowd, the enthusiasm of the guest, the food, the liquid spirits, all consumed their souls and refilled their spirits. The revolution is now! They had survived economic downturn through perseverance and innovation. Honored, Eye Dialogue was able to turn the dream into design, and Campus Crest turned the design back into a dream.