Rolling into Q3, we worked with the team at
Opencast to deliver their 3rd staff engagement event of 2023! We had 250 of the team join us at the
Civic Centre, in their Banqueting Hall for a jam packed night of company news & updates, networking, and activities.
From venue set up, to stage management, to giving a warm welcome at registration, the BeaconHouse Events team had everything organised. ‘Willy Wonka’ was the conference hosting theme and many delegates were delighted to find golden tickets hidden under their seats, and it didn’t stop there… there were many more interactive opportunities to win custom designed chocolate goodies throughout the conference!
The venue was filled with activities to get involved in, from competing against each other in a racing game, unleashing your creativity with Lego, creating your own tasty macarons, and screen printing your own tea towels. Another huge success of a conference and brilliant activities from local suppliers.
BeaconHouse Events managed everything from greeting, registration, venue, speakers, suppliers, AV, and onsite delivery.
“Thank you for all the effort, time, thought and (perhaps mainly) care that goes into pulling this event together regularly to such an impressive standard.”
Opencast Team Member
BeaconHouse joined forces with Beyond Curious to plan and deliver the first in a series of employee engagement events for CF Fertilisers, to celebrate 100 years of operation at their Billingham site. The kick-off event in August 2023 was a Summer Social in partnership with Billingham Synthonia Cricket Club, which saw 200 CF staff members, family and friends join the local community to enjoy a glorious day of sunshine, live music, family activities, food and socialising.
BeaconHouse took care of everything from site planning to onsite management of the CF zone which featured a marquee, 100 Year branded deckchairs, beanbags, parasols, lawn games and giveaway merchandise. Food and drinks were provided by local vendors, who we worked with on a token system, and those who stopped by were welcomed in to enjoy the hospitality and learn about the history of the plant by way of our internal displays and AV presentation.
“BeaconHouse created and curated a fun, friendly space and atmosphere at our Summer Social, and never stopped making sure that everyone had everything they needed throughout the whole day! The feedback from my team was fantastic.”
Martin Liddle, Maintenance Manager, CF Fertilisers
June 2023 saw the launch of TechNExt, a five day festival celebrating the North East’s thriving technology sector. Organised by BeaconHouse in partnership with Dynamo North East and Sunderland Software City, the festival welcomed over 3,000 attendees at its 57 events across the region, throwing a spotlight on the best tech businesses and talent the North East has to offer.
Curated showcase events included an Industry Dinner at Radisson Blu in Durham, No Code Arcade at Northumbria University, Tech Talent Live Careers Fair at Baltic Gateshead and Festival Wrap Party at Revolucion de Cuba. The Main Stage Conference at Sunderland City Hall formed the centrepiece of the festival, and featured six keynote speakers from the UK, Europe and US on topics such as AI, Tech for Good and technology for human enablement as well as panel discussions from the region’s most exciting start-ups and global businesses.
The festival also offered a comprehensive programme of over 50 community-designed and led fringe events, providing a unique opportunity for the local business community to actively participate, share knowledge and learn from one another.
From the outset, TechNExt was planned as a Good Festival, with ‘for good’ being a core value that ran throughout in its approach to quality, inclusivity, diversity, accessibility and sustainability.
With something for everyone, the festival successfully brought together tech enthusiasts from all walks of life and showcased the North East’s dynamic and vibrant technology sector to the region and beyond.
“High quality events like these, where we can learn more about advancements in technology from the best in the business, is massively valuable to us”
Roland Glancy, attendee and panellist at Main Stage, founder of Peek Home.
“Thanks so much for helping make TechNExt the week it was. I’ve received nothing but positive feedback and I’m still in awe of how you all make this work seamlessly!”
David Dunn, Sunderland Software City and CEO, Dynamo North East
Since 2019 BeaconHouse have worked with
Opencast to deliver their internal staff engagement events, and as the team grows, these are getting bigger and better! In June 2023, we had almost 300 of the
Opencast team attend the Q2 Conference, followed by the hugely anticipated ‘Castonbury’ summer festival celebration.
This edition of the quarterly conference was focused on people, with business updates, people-focused future plans and shared recent internal, client and social impact projects.
From sourcing dressing, entertainment and festival merch, to running the main stage, and managing registration, the Beaconhouse Events team had the transition from business update to festival fun in hand.
Another huge success of a conference and memorable Castonbury, with amazing performers from the in-house team band ‘The Castanets’, some local performers, along with Afrobeats band direct from London. We are always keen to roll out the learnings onto the next event in Q3.
‘It was absolutely incredible, loved it so much. Well done to everyone involved, it must have taken so much hard work from lots of people’
Opencast Team
As part of their Carers Week activities, Newcastle Carers asked us to support on delivery of their Afternoon Tea event, to highlight caring and celebrate the contribution made by unpaid carers in our local community.
We sourced a venue, fit for a celebration – an indulgent trip to Fenwick and Arthurs Restaurant and Music Club. Alongside speeches we booked a musical performer, photographer and sourced goodie bags for all the deserving carers before managing the event on the day to ensure the event ran smoothly. It was a pleasure to work onsite with the Newcastle Carers team and see the Newcastle carers recognised for their contribution.
Over the past 4 years BeaconHouse have worked with
Opencast to deliver their internal staff engagement events, and as the team grows, these are getting bigger and better! In March 2023, we had over 250 of the
Opencast team walk through the doors at
Wylam Brewery to attend their Q1 Conference.
The quarterly conferences are packed with company news, great conversations and connections with new team members. From venue set up, to audio checks, to managing registration, the Beaconhouse Events team had everything organised, everyone was seated ready for the hosts to walk out on time to ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ by Ant & Dec! Following the conference, the Opencast team were treated to delicious street food, accompanied by wine and a brilliant selection of locally brewed beers. And not just that, the lobby was filled with activities to get involved in, from competing against each other on the BATAK wall to printing your own coaster or tote bag, a lot of fun was had by all.
Overall, the Opencast Q1 conference was a huge success, as many of the team said, ‘the best one yet’. We can’t wait to continue working with the team with their internal staff engagement events over the year.
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for your help. Everything was super organised to a degree that it felt like it couldn’t possibly fail…you were a massive part of our success.
Opencast Team
Now in its 10th year, the Dynamo Dinner has gotten bigger and better. With over 120 guests in attendance, this year’s event was a true celebration of the North East’s thriving tech sector.
The dinner took place at Wylam Brewery, a stunning venue that perfectly complemented the evenings festivities. Guests were treated to a three-course meal accompanied by a selection of wines and locally brewed beers. One of the highlights of the evening was the keynote speech by Simon Harwood, UK Capability and Innovation Director for Leonardo. Simon shared his insights and experiences on the latest trends and challenges facing the tech industry.
Throughout the night, there were plenty of opportunities for guests to network and connect with other professionals in the industry; for people to share ideas, collaborate, and build new relationships.
Overall, the Dynamo Dinner was a huge success and a testament to the strength and vibrancy of the tech community in the North East. We look forward to many more years of bringing together the brightest minds and most innovative thinkers in the industry.
Such a buzzing atmosphere as the North East tech community came together to collaborate and celebrate the amazing work being done.
Dynamo Dinner Attendee
#Dynamites22 was an extraordinary celebration of the North East’s IT and technology industry, drawing an awe-inspiring crowd of over 520 guests. The Great Hall at Newcastle Civic Centre was the perfect setting for this grand occasion, with BeaconHouse Events at the helm, proudly presenting this annual event on behalf of Dynamo North East since 2014. From sponsorship generation to the judging process and the actual awards ceremony itself, every aspect was expertly managed and executed, making #Dynamites22 a night to remember!
I know I said it last night, but just to reiterate, I thought yesterday was brilliant and it was amazing just to watch you and the wider Beacon House work and not have to worry about a thing!
David Dunn | Sunderland Software City and CEO, Dynamo North East
It was a pleasure to participate and to see how big the event is becoming. This clearly shows how much impact Dynamo has on the digital ecosystem – made possible by the great work of the BeaconHouse team. Well done for pulling off another great evening!
Ruth Harrison | thoughtworks
Since 1882 Fenwick has proudly empowered generations of women through the circus of life. BeaconHouse Events were asked to be part of team to embrace themes of the circus and draw inspiration from the Fenwick founder – a dressmaker with a bold, entrepreneurial spirit – to create a VIP Preview celebrating 140 years of Fenwick at their Newcastle store.
With only ten days to pull together everything to make the evening a celebration to be remembered, we made excellent use of local suppliers, seasonal produce and experts to bring the circus to toon!
“I just want to say a huge thank you to the amazing Beacon House team for all the hard work you have put into our event, and on such short notice! We have been receiving such great feedback all around – everyone had a great time.”
Aurora Fenwick, Fenwick Limited
“Thank you very much for your support. I felt that all went very well – not sure how it could have been better. Looking forward to the next one with you.”
Helen Averley, Managing Partner, Let’s Circus LLP
BeaconHouse Events work with Opencast Software to deliver their internal staff engagement events throughout the year, March 2022 brought with it an exciting milestone for Opencast – their tenth anniversary! To mark the occasion we created an event in their HQ hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne and transformed Brinkburn Brewery in Byker to be a transitional event space that would perform well for formal presentations followed by less formal celebrations to be enjoyed by staff. The celebration boasted all the perks worthy of such a celebration; street food, yurts, delicious cakes, balloons, impressive tech, branded merch, company brand beer, lights, cameras, action and plenty of drinks!
It’s always fantastic working with the team at Opencast from the moment they give us a brief we let our imaginations run wild to meet and exceed expectations. Seeing the company grow at such a rapid rate encourages us to deliver bigger and better events for them with every new addition to their calendar, becoming an integral part of their team in knowing and sharing their aims to develop an award winning culture and create experiences that their team relish.
A few words from attendees:
“The event was incredible! The venue was fitting the food and service at the bar was great, but I particularly enjoyed seeing from all the different breakout groups, hearing about what the departments are doing to support and grow the business.”
“Well done to the team that organised the conference, a great event.”
“Fantastic event in a great location. Great to meet more of the team. Huge thank you to the organisers!”
“Smashed it – such a great evening! :)”
