The world famous MMA style of fighting had been long forgotten in India and its trained fighters in the country were left in the lurch without any hope of the arts revival. However, with the birth of Combat Cage Fighting by Sinead McManus, not only has MMA bounced back in the spotlight but also the country has witnessed a significant new addition to its sporting event properties. Following an electrifying debut season that left crowds in Goa hankering for more, Combat Cage Fight Night came back bigger and better with multiple sponsors this time around. Gionee presents Combat Cage Fight Night powered by Kingfisher, returned for its second season with a back-to-back bout session on December 18 and 19 in Goa at Destination One, on the shores of Calangute beach. The event was supported by Percept Live and was organized in association with Goa Tourism. In an exclusive conversation with EE, Sinead McManus, Director, Combat Cage Fight elucidates on the challenges of organizing season 2, the response received and the prospects of the property ahead. This time, 24 fighters took to the ring in 12 high energy bouts across both nights alongside some of the best music and entertainment of the season, with renowned DJs spinning unforgettable sets between bouts in the high-voltage ambience shares Sinead. When asked to comment on the highlights of the event, Sinead says, “Where to start, first of all our new venue, in the Gardens of GTDC Calangute Residency, Destination One, beach front was the best location we could have asked for. Also having our event over 2 nights was also a great decision we made as people appreciated it. However, the main highlights of the second season were the fights itself, we hosted 3 Women’s bouts over the 2 days, where the fighters fought to the bitter end and went to the judge’s decision. Also 2 full action packed main card bouts where Nelson Paes won by TKO in the 4th round on the first night and Pushka Bhosle winning by judges decision stole the show.” Contrary to the last edition, this season of Combat Cage Fight had Goinee as their prime sponsor. Insiders suggest that this was not a barter association and an undisclosed amount and some shares in the event property were exchanged between the two parties as a part of this deal. Speaking on the association of Percept in the property Sinead says, "Percept has been a supporter for long. With their experience and knowledge in marketing, sponsorship, public relations and event execution they added tremendous value to the overall property." Sharing the challenges of creating this season she elaborates, “It took us nothing short of blood, sweat & tears to make it happen but thankfully with the wonderful network around me and the support that I received we managed to pull it off. The end result is overwhelming and the actual event is just the most awarding thing ever. To be able to give this platform to the fighters of India for now and long term for the future is phenomenal and this is just the start of a very long journey for us.” When questioned about the response received from the audiences Sinead comments, The response received is overwhelming as with the Goa Tourism Support and with the Minister of Tourism Support, we had over 1000 people as well as other special guests and VIP's coming in large numbers to support and promote the event. This marks a new era of entertainment in Goa everybody wanted to see what Cage Fighting is all about. Witnessing the audience’s engagement while the fights are proving their mettle in the ring is a testament of the fact that CCF defines sport entertainment at its peak. The response however is expected to increase further in the future as subsequent editions of the CCF are organized. So when will we see another CCF happening? Sinead responds to the question by saying, “We have penciled February as the next one as the fighters need a little time for recovery. Also I need to get matching making started and the chosen fighters need to build their camps and start on the 6 weeks of mandatory training.”
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Kingfisher, the King of Good Times, is giving its fans the most epic party experience starting in their own cities all the way to Goa! As the year comes to a close, all paths converge at the epic destination where the smell of the ocean, warmth of the sun and the music vibe is just right – Sunburn, Goa. Kingfisher fans will get the opportunity to live it up in the Good Times Bus and journey to Goa in style. At Sunburn, an exciting king sized experience awaits them at India’s biggest EDM campout – The Kingfisher Sunburn Campsite. Kingfisher’s grand plans for Sunburn will roll out shortly with the Good Times bus that will make its way through the streets of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai before making its epic journey to Goa. Beer heads and music lovers will get a chance to be a part of Kingfisher’s Sunburn journey, once they successfully traverse their way through some exciting digital and radio contests! Also for the first time ever, Kingfisher fans will get a chance to experience the ultimate party camp life on the beach at the Kingfisher Sunburn campsite setup at Little Vagator, Goa. For Kingfisher fans the party does not end at the concert as they can enjoy delectable barbeques, a 24/7 open market, leisure activities and unlimited Kingfisher brew at their party tents! Fans can take back their happy memories home with specially designed Kingfisher Sunburn beer glasses which will be available across the event. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President, Marketing, United Breweries Limited said, “Kingfisher’s association with Sunburn this year has been amped up several notches and is a “money cannot buy” experience for the Good Times fans. We are engaging with music and beer lovers in newer, more innovative ways, and offering them a taste of the Kingfisher life at Sunburn. We look forward to creating memories of a lifetime for our consumers by getting them to live the Kingfisher experience.”
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Percept/H, the flagship advertising agency of Percept Limited, has recently bagged the renowned account of Tresmode, a brand synonymous with chic footwear. The account, won by Percept/H on sheer merit has been signed on a retainer contract.The account will be handled nationally with supervision of client operations centralized from the Percept/H Mumbai Office. The brief given to Percept/H by the Tresmode team prior to the presentation was challenging with the single minded proposition directed towards expanding the pool of ‘brand fans’. Today, Tresmode, a brand synonymous with high quality craftsmanship and fabulous designs is at a very interesting point in its growth curve wherein shoppers of Tresmode products are true fans of its products but at the same time are limited in numbers. The focal area of Percept/H’s creative and planning mandate will be to expand Tresmode’s customer base and make it an even more popular and preferred footwear brand. Percept/H will be responsible for the complete 360° creative and media approach for Tresmode across mediums. The scale of work will include Above the Line and Below the Line activities, Digital Activations and App Development. The account was mandated to Percept/H in November 2015, and the creative communication started rolling out across mediums pan India in December. “Over the past six months we have been working towards sharpening our brand position to be recognised as one of the most fashionable footwear brands. Percept/H brings a deep understanding of our story, passion and vision as we look to reach greater heights in the footwear category. Given their integrated approach, bundled by a team of young individuals who bring creative & impactful ideas to the table, we are confident that they will successfully help enhance our brand image as a urban chic, young, fashion forward brand,” says Kapil Mahtani, CEO, Tresmode India. Speaking on the account win, Jiten Bhagat, Chief Executive Officer, Percept/H said, “It is a matter of great pride to be associated with a dynamic and stylish brand like Tresmode. We as a team are thrilled to add Tresmode to the agency's growing and diverse roster of clients.Our success in winning this account has largely been due to our forward thinking approach and a comprehensive understanding of the brand.” Said Anurag Chhabra, Sr. Vice President, Percept/ H, “Tresmode, from the get-go has been very clear in wanting to reinforce itself as the ‘go-to’ place for customers seeking the latest trends and designs. To achieve this, the team at Percept/H will be creating and rolling out a range of niche campaigns which break through the clutter and showcase our brand of creativity in this domain. It's indeed a privilege to work on a brand with such great versatility and taste.”
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From brand activations to award shows to social events to the most elaborate weddings, all are mostly being organized at this time of the year. And being an experiential marketing journalist my work enables me to visit all such events with a ray of hope of finding something new and interesting to write on and feature every single time. But lately all the events that I have been to can be observed to be following a peculiar monotonous pattern; a pattern that blurs the divide between different genres of events so that even a first time attendee forgets that did they just visit a wedding, an activation or a charity dinner. Yes I am talking about the excessive integration of social into events. Event managers today are obsessed with technology and social media today. Yes, tech and social are definitely ‘the trends’ of the decade that facilitate the amplification of an event content but it is high time that event curators understand the fact that technology integration has to be a part of your overall event rather than being all of your event. As you step into an event today be it a brand meet or even a wedding, what you as an attendee are told out right is that so and so is the hashtag of the event and please use it to tweet ahead. And then it becomes a battle, whatever an attendee finds at an event be it a magnificent art installation or even a dying tree one has to have a selfie taken with it and float it on social media. Why you ask? Just to get social showoff brownie points. Yes, that is what all attendees are doing at events. Trying decoding the reason for this? Well, probably because the event manager failed to deliver any real engagement to the attendee that they could truly relish and experience. I remember going to circus carnivals in my childhood when technological elements did not exist in the first place. And even though we had no tech driven charismatic elements to blow our minds then, the sheer experience of enjoying the carnival was greater and the engagement level was higher. What brands and event planners do not understand today is that if your attendee is too busy using your event to gain social media hype rather than enjoying what you have created for them, then sadly your event has created no experience for them. There is no engagement, the same attendee will go to the next event and then tweet or share the same updates for that event. Where is the experience? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of experiential marketing in the first place? Why can’t we go back to the old times with future events and have authorized personnel or a dedicated photography staff take pictures on request and then make it a shared content to be accessed by everyone as soon as they move out of the event. Because with the current predicament we are soon heading towards a time when all you will see at an event will be a couple of heads staring at their mobiles, tablets and laptops while there is so connection, involvement and engagement between them. When was the last time an event planner saw their attendee completely lost in the beauty of what they presented? Well the answer to that lies in the fact that while digital is supposed to be a helpful hand for event managers and planners it has recently taken over from the event itself. Hence, it is of utmost importance that event managers should restrict the use of social media at their upcoming events it is only then when an attendee will leave his consciousness behind and try to not fill awkward silences with phone usage but actually become an indispensable part of your overall event.
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Since its launch in 2008, India Art Fair has established and consolidated its position as one of South Asia's leading platform for modern and contemporary art. Engaging with the arts in the region at every level of the market, the fair has become the bedrock of a booming cultural community. India Art Fair is building on these foundations through a number of new initiatives and developments including the addition of BMW as Presenting Partner, and the appointment of Zain Masud as International Director. Zain has been instrumental in applying a refreshed curatorial approach to the gallery programming, Speakers' Forum, regional engagement and the overall programming of the fair. The fair will present new international participants along with some of the best programmes from the Indian subcontinent, emphasising diversity and quality across chronologies and media. Acknowledging the fair’s strategic importance in the development of the South Asian arts, this year there will be a significant presence from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, notably through a new programme called Platform, which will represent young emerging artists, key artspaces and collectives who might never otherwise find their place at an art fair and among its audiences. Participants include Blueprint12 (India), Nepal Art Council (Nepal), Theertha Artists Collective (Sri Lanka), Taseer Art Gallery (Pakistan), Swaraj Art Archive (India) and Bengal Art Lounge (Bangladesh). With a shared purpose to promote cultural discourse in South Asia, and provide a platform for such discussion, Godrej India Culture Lab, Asia Art Archive and Art India are collaborating with the fair as academic partners of the acclaimed Speakers’ Forum, supported by Forum Partner The Goethe Institute. This broad and exciting programme of lectures and conversations will engage the entire range of stakeholders in the visual arts – artists, curators, critics, administrators, academics, gallerists and collectors in addition to a wide spectrum of artistic practices. Highlights of this year’s panels will include Stuart Comer (Chief Curator of the Department of Media and Performance Art at MoMA, New York) on the panel Artists’ Moving Image: Distribution and Collection; Thomas Girst (Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group) with Sangita Jindal (Chairperson, JSW Foundation) on the panel Towards a Culture of Corporate Patronage; Osman Waheed (Founder and Chair, Lahore Biennale Foundation) and Dina Bangdel (Nepal Arts Council) on Access and Integration in the Arts Across South Asia and Sunitha Kumar Emmart (Founder, GALLERYSKE) with Sudarshan Shetty (artist and curator of Kochi Muziris Biennale 2016) on the Artist and the Gallerist, presenting for the first time a direct conversation between an artist and their gallerist at the fair. Building on India Art Fair’s ongoing work to stimulate and develop a new generation of collectors across the region, the Speakers’ Forum will also include a panel on Collecting and Public Engagement, with highprofile collectors and patrons such as Tariq al Jaidah (Founder of Katara Art Centre, Doha), Haro Cumbusyan (Patron and Founder, Collectorspace, Istanbul), and Lu Xun (Collector and director of the Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing). There is, in addition, a panel on A New Generation of South Asian Collectors, aimed at cultivating interest across a rapidly developing younger collector base. These sessions complement the fair’s ongoing efforts to further cultivate its Indian and international networks. This is reflected in a comprehensive VIP outreach programme that has this year connected and engaged with more countries, cultural institutions and collectors than ever before. Collectorbased events and initiatives are planned with large groups and delegates from international institutions including The Guggenheim, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Palais de Tokyo,Paris, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco and Boston Athenæum, Boston amongst others. Beyond institutional delegates, a range of highend travel tours have been coordinated to bring new collectors to the capital through organisations such as The Cultivist, and Adventures in Artwith Karen Stone Talwar. As part of India Art Fair’s expanded programming this year, a number of leading international and Indian museums and foundations will also participate directly in the fair in a new programme Institutional. Presenting elements of their programmes or collaborations specially commissioned for the fair, participating institutions include the Delfina Foundation, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Jindal Art Center, Devi Art Foundation and the Korean Cultural Centre India. Further initiatives at India Art Fair in 2016 include a designated space called IAF Atrium for the Spotlight Series which will host performances, book launches and talks. This new space will also showcase an inaugural Film Programme focusing on film as art curated by Shai Heredia (filmmaker and Director of Experimenta, India’s international festival for moving image art) . This practice draws attention to the materiality and experiential qualities of the moving image, turning form into the content of the work. For the first time India Art Fair will screen cutting edge film and video art from Asia and elsewhere. With the new spaces at India Art Fair comes a strong design aesthetic, coordinated in collaboration with Architectural Advisors Morphogenesis, instilling a more experiential, interactive and dynamic design element to the 2016 edition of the fair. The reach of design will be further expanded at the 2016 edition through India Art Fair’s Sponsors and Partners. Associate Partner JSW will integrate their JSW Cement and REBAR Steel into the fair’s seating and outdoor areas, whilst Presenting Partner BMW, as a part of their global cultural engagement will present the Cesar Manrique BMW 730i Art Car, reflecting the cultural and historical development of art, design and technology. To further their engagement at the fair, BMW will host India Art Fair’s first ever Collectors’ Lounge, creating an exclusive space for collectors to connect, share highlights and continue discussions. They will also host the IAF & BMW Annual Collectors’ Dinner in support and celebration of corporate collaboration and patronage of the arts. Visitors will have the opportunity to engage more directly in design when Preview Partner Officine Panerai presents a renowned watchdesigner on the VIP preview day for an exclusive insight into the art of watchmaking and design, celebrating their eight year association with the fair.
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Mixed martial arts event, Combat Cage Fight, is returning for its second season with a back-to-back bout session on December 18 and 19 in Goa at its new venue – Destination One right on the shores of Calangute beach. The event is supported by Percept Live and is being organised in association with Goa Tourism. Following an electrifying debut season that saw crowds in Goa hankering for more, Combat Cage Fight Night finds is back to continue its streak of providing novel entertainment sport in India. This time, an audience of 1,500 a night is expected on December 18 and 19 at its new venue – the Destination One. Set against the beautiful setting sun on a clear winter evening, this seafront venue offers the best seating to fans of this national mixed martial arts event coming in from across the country. The Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Mr Dilip Parulekar said, “Combat Cage Fight is fast becoming the biggest and best fight show in the country. By virtue of its high value entertainment and excellent organisation, it is an invaluable opportunity for Goa in terms of both sport and tourism. Tourists visiting Goa on a two-week holiday should make it a point to attend a fight night to experience the thrills of the CCFs.” Sinead McManus, CEO of Combat Cage Fight said, “With water-tight security and medical arrangements, strict vigilance, paramedics, an on-site doctor and ambulance, Combat Cage Fight Night is the best organized self-defense entertainment event in the country. We are happy to be organizing the second edition again in Goa and thank all our sponsors for helping us make this event a huge success.” Combat cage fighting is a safe, regulated, competitive sport that involves a combination of martial arts techniques within the restrictions of a confined space. The first-of-its-kind event in India intertwines a show of the complexity of technical self-defence skills with the pulsating vibe of a nightclub experience. This time, 24 fighters will take to the ring in 12 high energy bouts across both nights. Beginning at 6.00 p.m., the nights will feature some of the best music and entertainment of the season, with renowned DJs spinning unforgettable sets between bouts in the high-voltage ambience. The fabulous Barney Bowe returns as the MC and presenter for the evening, keeping spirits high and the atmosphere engaging. Goa’s main card entry for the Combat Cage Fight Night on December 18 is Nelson Paes, who stole the show last year with his quick moves and finishing with a superb knock out. Also participating are popular fighters Himanshu Kushik and Goa’s Pushka Bhosle. Returning from last season are Danny Manpola, Suraj Bahadur, Rohit Pundar, Vivek Sharma who will vie for the ultimate title in India’s mixed martial arts scene. As always, CCF places great importance on the inclusion of women in the show, with each fight night showcasing one ladies’ bout. Last year’s winner Bharti Pundar will enter the ring again, eager to retain her title after last year’s showdown with Goan boxer Sonia Parab. This season’s Fight Nights are also sponsored by Venue Sponsor Destination One, Calangute, Wild Water, Cleartrip, Manipal Hospitals, and Radio Indigo with Viva Goa as the magazine partner. Tickets for both shows can be booked on the Cleartrip app.
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The stage is set and it is finally that time of the year when music fans from across the country are heading Goa to attend their favorite EDM festivals. Vh1 Supersonic, the annual music festival property from Live Viacom 18 is undoubtedly one of the biggest players in the category and is all set to rapture audience from 27 December to 30 December, at the sultry sands of Candolim, Goa. With massive expectations riding on the festival, we at EE reached out to Jaideep Singh, Sr. VP & Business Head - Integrated Network Solutions at Viacom 18 on expectations from VH1 Supersonic ‘15, brand participation at the festival and so much more. What can we expect from VH1 Supersonic this year? Building an Intellectual Property is a sustaining activity and it is only after a due course of time when you can really reap the fruits of what you sowed in. With that being said, considering this is the third edition of Vh1 Supersonic things are bigger and better than ever. Much like previous editions of the festival the focus for us this time around too has been on the overall content of the festival and to ensure that it has the same tone and a friendly vibe embedded in its ethos. To deliver the best content for our audiences we have brought in artists like Skrillex, Rudimental and others. These are new guys who have not performed in India in the last 5-6 years but the audience wants to see them live. We have had a magnificent amount of extension events as well ranging from Vh1 Supersonic 101 Campus Nights, Vh1 Supersonic Club Nights to Vh1 Supersonic Arcade in multiple cities. The upcoming main festival in Goa will have more content, more engagement and more artists who will be bringing different genres of music to the festival. The lineup is stellar as we have performers like Axwell, Disclosure, W&W, Bart Skils and so many others who already have a massive fan following in the country. Also we at Supersonic believe that festivals are what you put up as artists and the overall production of the event. As a result there has been a push from our side to elevate the technological elements of the event to give the audiences a superior experience at the festival this year. Stage is a very important part of the festival and thus we have scaled up in that area as well. The audience this year is in for a massive surprise as those who attend Supersonic will take back with them some incredible memories. Early bird ticket sales for the event started at the end of May this year. How has been the response in terms of ticket sales so far? With an increased number of events in the country the audience now has gotten into the habit of purchasing tickets closer to the event. In my sense and experience most people today zero down on their plans on going to festivals somewhere around 2 weeks before the event or even closer than that. In our previous editions too we saw a good amount of tickets being sold on the final day. So overall the audience for the festival has increased enormously to around 50% but the advance ticketing figures been down. What is number of audience you are expecting to have at the festival this year? We are expecting 20000-30000 people on a daily basis at the festival this year. VH1 Supersonic as a property is not profitable yet. Do you expect to churn out profits this year? Any media property takes a minimum of 4-5 years to become profitable so till then the importance is on how has your property grown and we at VH1 Supersonic have registered a 100% growth year on year basis. The overall scale of the property has increased by 50%-70%. This will only be the third edition of VH1 Supersonic and we are hoping to break even in this year itself. You are competing for the same audience as Sunburn is. What are you doing differently? I believe that there is a larger audience for the EDM festivals today than it existed in the past and Supersonic and Sunburn have grown the category together. As a result we have seen huge growth in the number of audiences at our festivals as even all the extensions are houseful and similarly even Sunburn has not seen a dip in their numbers. And this is the reason why I don’t think these two festivals will eat into each other’s business. We at Supersonic have kept music at the core of the festival and have brought in right partners and the right kind of performers who audiences in India want to see live. Our emphasis is on the overall experience at the festival that an attendee takes with them and hence we have an array of engagements from the box-office to the security section, food areas, flea market areas and all other touch points. This time around the audience at the festival will also have the access to better washrooms and bath experiences. We also understand that being hydrated is important for people and thus we have also created free water points. We want to create a happy place for people with Vh1 Supersonic where they can come with their friends and have a good time. This has always been the crux of what we have tried to do with the festival. Which brands are participating at Supersonic this year and what kind of activations will they be doing? We have a good number of 10 odd brands whom we have participated with. These include Mobikwik, Smirnoff, Hungama, E-Zone, Jim Beam, Tic Tac and others. These brands will be doing numerous installations and activations at the festival. Additionally, a handset brand and a 4 wheeler brand is also about to come on board. What are the special arrangements made at VH1 this year in terms of medical safety and security for attendees? Medical safety and security is without a doubt a very important part of any event for us. For Supersonic this year we have partnered with multiple hospitals and at the festival itself we will be having 3 ICU equipped medical rooms which will be able to accommodate 30 patients at a time. We will also be having ambulances and an ICU ambulance at the festival area. In terms of security we have added 40% buffer on the security figures mentioned in the SOP guidelines and also at the festival we will be having 10 security experts who have been flown in from South Africa to take care of on-ground security.
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Festival design agency Seventy Event Media Group (70 EMG), alongside India’s travel and lifestyle channel FOX life, have today announced the highlights of India Bike Week (IBW) 2016. Scheduled to be held on the 19th and 20th of February, 2016 at Vagator in Goa, over 12,000 hardcore club-members and independent riders will ride to what has become one of India’s biggest and most anticipated Biking Festival. Spread across two days, tens of thousands of thunderous automotive beasts will be heading to the Festival Party for the biggest brotherhood of bikers in Asia and the best of World Biking, Parties, Mayhem and Two Wheeler madness. In a bid to cement its place in India’s cultural landscape, India Bike Week has gone to new lengths to ensure that the festival appeals to the hardcore festival-goer and the dedicated gearhead alike. This year, the festival will be taken to a whole new level through an exciting event lineup that remains loyal to its roots, while also introducing new attractions that are guaranteed to bring both the casual and hardcore fan together, in celebration of good times and good company. What's New! Headlining this year’s India Bike Week is a Moto Trials Show. This year India Bike Week 2016 is also set to host India’s first ever official HARD ENDURO event. Unveiling the premiere official Enduro challenge at IBW 2016, the event is open for general participation by amateur Moto Cross teams. Bringing alive this high octane motor biking challenge in India, the event will test man and machine to their limits, and participants will stand a chance to win a trophy to go with a cash prize of Rs 75,000. As an addition to the list of premier special attractions, India Bike Week 2016 is launching the colourful IBW MAIN STREET. Main Street is India’s ‘Rio Carnival’ for bikers, and runs right through the center of the Festival: a runway for biker clubs, solo riders, and all the wild and wonderful people of India Bike Week to parade their attitude and their remarkable speed machines. Lined with bars and tents, this is the street that never sleeps, with bikes revving, cameras flashing, festival-goers carousing, and DJs adding to the din on bridges suspended overhead. Adding an artistic element to the main event, India Bike Week 2016 will be featuring the Moto Art Collective and it’s first ever Film Festival. A theatrical event like no other, it will feature travel films from all over the world, bringing together elements central to the rider, the bike and their journey. Movies showcased will be featured across three categories, namely Heels on Wheels (films highlighting unique take on women riders), Milestories (travel & adventure films beyond biking experiences) and Two-wheeler Talkies (films based around the passion of motorcycles and a love for the roads). The event will be judged by an esteemed panel of individuals, drawing idols from both the film industry and biking community, and awarding winners cash prizes. Appealing to the everyday adventure movie maker, a separate segment will encourage participants to enter short ride videos. Entries here will be featured on the India Bike Week website, where the winners will be awarded GoPro cameras. Participating categories are Ride with my Pride (films focusing on biking clubs and their rides) and My Ride Video (short videos highlighting great solo rides). A treat to the eye, The Moto Art Collective is a curated collection of Motorcycle & Moto Culture inspired Art exhibited at a gallery style space at IBW. Biking lifestyle elements such as customized clothing & safety gear accessories by designer and biker Arjun Khanna, air-brushed helmets, live pinstriping, 2015 projects from India’s most creative bike builders, and moto-photography by Vikram Bawa and Ronnie Sequeira. This year, event organizers are taking great leaps forward towards encouraging riders, plan their journey’s towards Goa. Designed by IBW organizers as an incentive for bikers hesitant to take the plunge and ride to the festival, special initiatives have been undertaken to ensure that the ‘Great Migration to Goa’ won’t be a lonely one. Event organizers have networked with over 100 biker clubs in India that will help contact and manage riders interested in taking the exciting journey up to Goa, allowing for great new friendships and associations to be forged. Solo and club riders scattered across cities in India will be able to journey down through highlighted feeder roads and link up on highways as they ride to their ultimate destination. Safety being of paramount importance, this year organizers have taken additional measure to ensure both rider welfare and a heightened sense of biking experience for participants. IBW Marshals have been introduced who will feature as pack leaders patrolling and guiding the stream of riders till Goa. Medical support will also be provided as the IBW team set up a tailing Ambulance service for the ride. What's Back! With its 4th edition set to be its biggest yet, all the old favourites will be back with a bang, bigger and better: the Bikini Bike Wash, every riders’ ultimate treat to his machine; the National Custom Bike Build-Offs, dedicated to finding India’s best bike builder for 2016, and is the only competition in India that sees professionals create and assemble customized bike designs from scratch; India’s National Stunt Championship, featuring India’s finest talents in the circuit battling it out in elimination rounds; the Biking Legends and Honour Roll session, an up-close and personal experiential opportunity where legendary racers and innovators from across the world are lauded for their achievements and share their unique stories through narrative storytelling;International Bike Expos sporting some of the most advanced and breathtaking pieces of automotive engineering; and The Vintage & Classic Bike Concourse, a celebrated showcase that will form a part of over 100 bikes on display at the festival and will feature unique and rarely displayed heritage rides sourced from collectors across the country, amongst other star attractions. The festival will also stage over 18 domestic and international music artists dropping beats from genres ranging from Electronic Dance Music (EDM), House, and Contemporary Indian Folk Music to the natural fan favorite, Rock. Commenting on the announcement, Martin Da Costa, CEO & Founder, Seventy EMG said, ‘‘India Bike Week 2016 will be our biggest edition yet. We’ve got never before seen experiences like the Hard Enduro Challenge alongside all our classics like the national stunt championships, Bike Expo’s, and the Bikini Bike Wash. I’m probably most excited about creating IBW’s Main Street for the first time this year. We’re working hard to develop it as a ‘Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’ meets the ‘Rio Carnival’ experience for the Biker Brotherhood and we know it’s going to be high, wild and rock and roll amazing. We really felt that IBW had arrived in a big way in Feb 2015 and it was such a pleasure when EEMA voted it India’s best Public Event. Now we’re looking forward to really making it the biggest and best Bike Festival in Asia.” Adding on, Swati Mohan, Business Head, Fox International Channels India said, ‘‘What was a closed circuit of automotive owners has today expanded into a vast thriving social circle of passionate explorers fueled by the growing trend of adventure travel. Look back over the past decade and you’ll clearly notice the rise in bikers in the country that signifies the steady growth of the biking culture in India. From the hardcore to the everyday biker, India Bike Week has matured into the ultimate destination that helps bring together the biking community in all its grandeur in the country’’. She added, “Fox life's association with India Bike Week reflects our positioning as not just a channel but a lifestyle brand. As a great addition to our network, the festival is a clear representation of a larger than life event and something that our viewers would definitely want to experience” As a prelude to the main event, the Chai & Pakoda Breakfast Runs are one of India Bike Week’s (IBW) signature on-ground events taking place across India. These highly popular local breakfast rides, organized across India by the IBW team and local bike clubs, witness hundreds of bikers attending the breakfast runs. Pulling together riders with the passion for biking, the event is a free to all session that attracts interest from members of society irrespective of their bike’s make. Schedule of the upcoming Chai & Pakoda rides in the country – o 20 Dec – Nagpur-Wardha-Amravati o 27 Dec – Kochi o 10 Jan – Pune-Ahmednagar-Aurangabad o 17 Jan – Surat-Baroda-Ahmedabad o 17 Jan - Hyderabad o 24 Jan – Bengaluru
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In January 2015 a bunch of artists, producers and art lovers got together to form a community and named it Kommune. The idea was simple- to nurture creative performance ideas. Emerging from this objective ‘The Storytellers’ was shaped as an event taking inspiration from the age-old tradition of sharing stories around a campfire and was reimagined to fit the lifestyle of the average urban youth. While Tinder, Facebook, Instagram are supposedly platforms to help one become more ‘social’, when you think about it social media connections are, more often than not, fleeting and lifeless. In a world where people largely communicate across screens, The Storytellers is an endeavor to connect face to face, over real life experiences and stories that come straight from the heart. The event has two types of sessions- Workshop and Pro. The Workshop features few selected storytellers while many more are discovered through a moderated session, whereas a Pro session features selected and crafted stories told to a sizeable audience with the objective to inspire. Touring multiple cities such as Mumbai and Lucknow, The Storytellers came to The Epicentre in Gurgaon on 16 December for a pro session curated by Roshan Abbas featuring close to two dozen storytellers sharing real life experiences in less than 5 minutes each. Lets just say there are events that you attend, and then there are events that you take home. The Storytellers is truly an experience that is bound to stick. Relatable stories that make you stop and think, authentic emotions that come easy and a mixed bag of an audience including children and elders alike, completely set the tone for a ‘real’ and memorable experience. The Storytellers are scheduled to present at the Epicenter in Gurgaon on 28 January 2016. So unplug and go hear a story! But before that, here’s a whiff of what they do.
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Weddings are awesome, exciting, romantic, fun and expensive. Yes. Just as the saying goes, the best things in life are either free or really expensive Venues and Functions- From roka till wedding, people go searching for venues to start the functions. Thus could be cut down by doing all the functions in one day. Any which ways, wedding a hectic affair, why not just do it all in a single day. Like once the roka is done, families can book the wedding venue and do ring and haldi in the morning and wedding in the evening. This would bring down your budget in immensely. Booking a venue is no less than 7-10 lakhs, so multiply this with each function. If allowed by the family, one can get married at the religious place and share the cost for the reception later on. Know where to put your money – as rightly said earlier guests remember a wedding if the food is good. Save costing on Décor. Expensive floral décor could be replaced with eco friendly products like using broken bangles in décor and inexpensive cloth material could be used. Invest on food. But make sure the pax is at minimal as lot of planners would make a fool out of you while booking. For instance if you are expecting 500 guests then keep your pax for food only 250-300. As most of the times people prefer wedding snacks and desert more than the typical meal. Negotiate as much as you can – Wedding fraternity is also searching for clients to survive so make the best out of it. Take your time do not rush and never go blind trusting them. Do your homework, meet people discuss, compare and then take the call. Never forget to check their work done before infact you may ask for client’s testimonials too for authenticity. Recall and call your old friends- We tend to forget the nearby options while arranging things for the wedding. Recall your old friends who could of help may be in catering / photography / designing etc. So recall them and invite them that could also give your great discounts Limit the alcohol- Yes this is one of the most important factors we tend to ignore. Do not over feed the guests out of excitement. Stick to your budget. Cocktails are a great idea, enabling you to offer something fun within a set price bracket. As a rule, long is good, strong is not! Be a smart buyer – wedding attire is to be worn just once! And the lehenga and sherwaani are not less than 50 k. So opt for renting one. Never over buy stuff out of happiness. Your measurement keeps varying so just shop for things which are actually needed. You know what you would really require. Wait for sales!! Invitation- World is technologically upgraded. So instead of wasting money over paper invites, make best use of emails and sms. Follow ups can give a personal touch! Remind them but avoid making those one time readable expensive wedding cards. Go for off season – Oct to dec and May to june are heavy wedding dates available. So opt for one which falls in off season. This gives a huge cost cutting as the bookings are easily available in lesser amount. DIY – many expenses involving small and handy décor could be done by you and your relatives. Like decorating the thali for ring ceremony. Or decorating the entrance area for the groom. Rangoli could be made of the flowers that are used in the wedding. Lots of things you can find in your wedding that could have multiple use. Like colorful dupattas at wall could be draped around the ceiling making it fall on the floor at mehendi function. Flowers used at Sagan could be used to design floral jewelry for other day. Food food food – Stick to one menu. This shall cut the cost intelligently. One does not need to raise the quantity of the cuisines. Instead focus on the quality. Starters are a great options to explore in weddings. Guests usually end up filling their tummy by starters so focus on the starts and keep the dinner menu not so lavish. About the author- Mr. Ashu Garg is the founder of Good Times Concepts Events. Good Times Concepts Events is a wedding architect and an event solution company.
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