8 miles of fireworks and steam trains

8 Miles of Fireworks…

Electrify are proud to announce that as part of the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railways’ 3 day annual Gala, for the first time ever, Saturday evening will see 8 miles of fireworks fired from the stations along the length of the track as the steam engine-lead train powers through the beautiful Powys countryside followed by a huge pyro-musical display at the Llanfair yard.

The Welshpool and Llanfair 2ft 6 inch gauge light steam railway was built in 1903 to link farming communities with the market town of Welshpool and provide them with an outlet for their produce. It closed in 1956 however was progressively rebuilt and re-opened by a group of enthusiasts from 1963 onward.  In conjunction with Electrify Pyrotechnics, the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway will celebrate its’ annual gala with a unique firework show running along its’ 8 miles of track culminating in an amazing firework display to music at its terminus.

The railway event is open to the general public and visitors can ride in one of the charming balconied carriages pulled by one of the railways steam engines from Welshpool Raven Square station along the 45 minute journey crossing a viaducts, river bridges, steep inclines and rolling countryside to the Llanfair station, passing along its way through the Powys Estate. In addition to the fireworks, the light railway will celebrate their biggest event of the year, now over 3 days, with every operating engine in use.  Traction engines, steam cars and lorries, a model railway exhibition, demonstrations and trade stands, and a shuttle bus to the associated Llanfair Garden railway show up the hill at Llanfair High School.  The Llanfair yard will also host a real ale bar, carved pork-roll trailer, steam traction engines, fairground organ and much, much more and so there really is something for all the family to see and do.

8 miles of fireworks and steam trains

WLLR General Manager, Charles Spencer said “Our annual Steam Gala has always been special, and this year all our volunteers are extremely excited at the prospect of partnering with Electrify Pyrotechnics to deliver a truly unique spectacle of steam and fireworks along the length of our line to celebrate the year in which we have been running longer as a heritage railway than the original railway operated as a commercial service.”

Electrify Director, Scott Pounder “In all the years delivering firework displays this has to be one of the most unique we’ve ever done. Logistically it’s incredibly difficult and requires a large number of firework firing staff and multiple firing systems, including the type that are used to fire the Mayor’s New Years’ Eve display in London.  Despite the challenges, the end result will be an incredible spectacle of two amazing things – steam trains and fireworks!”Steam train shunting

The railway company’s website www.wllr.org.uk contains more information about the event and more details on the pyro-musical display can be found on Electrify Pyrotechnics website.

So why not let off some steam, and come and join us for a wonderful day out?

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Local Community

Here at Electrify we have our own chosen charities that we support.  We have local community events that we support in order to generate revenue for our friends in the local community such as Bonsall Carnival.  By providing fireworks it brings in a larger footfall which in turn generates larger revenues for the community and their chosen charity.  The funds raised through the Bonsall Carnival go to the local children providing facilities and activities for the coming year. In addition, funds are also raised for the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline charity and each year children affected by the Chernobyl disaster come over to the UK and visit Bonsall in the Peak District.  This gives them the opportunity to take part in the carnival, the lantern parade after dark and to watch the fireworks.

The Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline charity was established in 1992 by Victor Mizzi O.B.E. to support the children (and their families) from Belarus and Ukraine forever affected by the world’s worst nuclear disaster.  Belarus, where most of their work is focused, received over 70% of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in April 1986 and as a result, thousands are born every year with, or go on to develop thyroid cancer, bone cancer and leukaemia.

 We also do work for Help the Heroes which is an organisation very close to our heart, with ex-servicemen working as firers for our company.

Last Friday saw another of our charity events – Comic Relief.  Each year we provide lighting, speakers, sound equipment and our own time absolutely free of charge for this wonderful cause. The lighting and sound adds to the atmosphere, and by donating our own time volunteering to work in the official Comic Relief Call Centre to take donations from the public.  Charity and the local community is incredibly important to us at Electrify, we love giving back to the community and it made our #feelgoodfriday feel even better!

 #RedNoseDay2017 #rednoseday charity event #RedNoseDay2017 Lighting #RedNoseDay Team Photo

What are your charities of choice? Let us know below.

piggy bank with money

Fundraising for Cash-Strapped Schools

I read an interesting article this week on the state of our schools and the funding situation that many schools currently face.  The article said that almost half (49%) of parents of children at state schools had been asked for an extra financial donation to their school in the last year. 31% of those stated that  they feared there would be negative consequences for their child if they did not pay up.  This was coupled with a comment by Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, who said “Requests for voluntary contributions have increased because schools are so cash-strapped. This is a sign of the severity of the funding crisis caused by the government’s under-investment in schools”.

If you’re reading this then hopefully you are a parent, teacher, headteacher, or PTA member interested in how you can assure further funds for your school. In this article, I’m looking at why fundraising is so challenging, and how we might be able to help.

Fundraising is a headache…

As we all know it can be a real headache for the Fundraising Committee and the Treasurer. How do you generate enough funding to do the activities you want to do for the rest of the year? Examples are; keeping the building in good repair, sending the children to worthwhile events and activities, providing the equipment the children need in order to obtain the best education?

As it becomes increasingly difficult to generate funds, a large number of those groups are turning to larger fundraising events in order to generate money for their organisations. Over the last 5 years we have seen a huge surge in the number of groups that are running Bonfire Night events in order to generate funding.

Bonfire Night, Summer Fete’s and New Years’ Eve parties have always been a popular way of bringing in funding. However, over the last few years we have been increasingly invited to fire professional displays for organisations and groups who had previously put on displays or had just not considered a Firework event before at all.   What’s more, many new clients have already come back to us and upgraded to even bigger displays next year in order to generate even more funds.

It costs less than you think…and can generate a lot more than you think!

With an Electrify Bonfire Night Fireworks display not only are you giving your audience a larger, choreographed display with professional category fireworks that will really amaze your guests, you no longer have the worry of safety and insurance. At Electrify we take care of everything from coming out to do a site visit and risk assessment to the £10 Million liability insurance we carry as standard. That leaves the organising committees free to look at other revenue streams from the night such as hot food, sales, glow toys, competition stands and small fair ride pitches.

Don’t take our word for it, this is what our clients had to say about our displays this year:

“I organise a fireworks night as a fundraiser at my children’s school and everyone always says it is truly the best display they have seen, our crowds have trebled over the last 3 years as has our profit.  Value for money with the most fantastic service… everything is taken care of so all you need to do is sell tickets! Could not recommend enough” Jane Lee – Forestdale Primary School PTA

Tops Tips

  1. Our existing school clients started off small, made a good profit in year 1 however have grown year on year
  2. We advise on the best place to have your display, where to keep your audience and ensuring the display is safe for all involved
  3. We carry £10 million public liability insurance, and do risk assessments and organise the display set up, firing and clear up
  4. Attendance tends to be high as people are looking for firework displays to go to at that time of year, and are more likely to attend their own schools display if it doesn’t clash with a large public event. A small entrance fee will make a big difference to your fundraising efforts
  5. You can blow them away with our amazing professional displays. Recently we held a display at a school who had previously done fireworks themselves – they were blown away by the difference between a professional display and their hand-fired retail bought fireworks.   Their crowds have grown year on year ever since – 2018 will be year 5 for them (and us!)
  6. Your customers come with money and spend at stalls until the fireworks are done. This allows you to put on additional stalls to raise further funds:
    1. Competition stalls (hook a duck, basketball throwing)
    2. Hot food stalls
    3. small fair ride pitches
  7. Ever see glow sticks and flashing toys at firework displays? That’s because kids buy them by the bucket-load, and we can provide them for you at a low cost giving you an extra revenue stream on the night
  8. Prices for our firework display include VAT, so many organisations can claim that back, making it even cheaper to hold the event
We also have some amazing deals for those days before and after Bonfire weekend. It really is that simple – if you would like further details or just to chat about what it might involve, how we help you and what you could achieve give Electrify Pyrotechnics a call on 01332 650770.