Scottish Conference Entertainment

Annual conference. Hosted 2018 by EICC, Edinburgh

BADFEST is the social event held for the annual conference of the British Association of Dermatologists. This year’s 2018 conference was hosted at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). The brief from the client was they wanted a fun and interactive festival-like atmosphere to encourage delegate networking in an informal way. We hosted two spaces in the EICC for the conference which accommodated 750 delegates overall. With people coming from all around the world, the client wanted to ensure that as well as being a networking event, delegates were able to enjoy a real Scottish experience.

Pipe Major Roderick Deans greeted the delegates with a traditional Scottish bagpipe reception.  This was a great way to introduce the guests to the Scottish theme of the evening. In the Strathblane Hall we had our 10-piece Tartanium band open the night with a 20-minute Scottish show. The Tartanium band mixes traditional and contemporary styles of Scottish music combining bagpipes with funked up basslines and incredible guitar solos. Adding to this spectacle, we had three Tartanium dancers perform a choreographed routine which combined traditional and contemporary steps to compliment the bands funky and cutting-edge sound.

Guests were then invited onto the dancefloor where they were taught some easy ceilidh dancing moves. With a 10-piece ceilidh band our guests got a taste of what a full Scottish Ceilidh is like and, also danced to traditional dances including the Dashing White Sergeant, Strip the Willow and Canadian Barn Dance.

Reel Time transformed the main foyer from a delegate registration area into various interactive Scottish experiences. Guests were given the opportunity to try indoor curling and a haggis shy . Indoor curling was a chance for the delegates to try something new and brought a competitive thrill to the evening. Guests were asked to slide their curling stones closest to the target on the mat for competing points. The haggis shy was a fun event involving throwing haggis like balls at targets to build up points. Guests got to meet the Heavy athletes that perform at Scotland’s Highland Games and speak to them about their sport. The athletes then let the guests try their hand at the indoor caber tossing experience.

To wash down the fantastic food served at the EICC we put on a whisky vs gin tasting. This meant the guests could try some fine Scottish spirits whilst also learning about the distillation and production of Scotland’s drinks. One of our bars served two Scottish artisan gins representing one of the largest booms in the Scottish drinks industry. We chose to take Rock Rose and The Botanist to let guests taste a sweeter herbaceous and citrus gin against a more peppery, floral and earthier gin. These were served to guests neat and then as a perfect serve with tonic and our recommended garnish. The second bar for the whisky tasting was our cask bar we had taken and built in the venue. The bar featured two Scottish Single Malt Whiskies showcasing the regional differences that exist in the whisky world. We had Auchentoshan American Oak as one of the drams on offer which is from Auchentoshan distillery located just to the west of Glasgow. It is the only distillery in Scotland to triple distil every drop of whisky it produces, which gives rise to a light, sweet, grassy character. When this spirit is matured in American ex-bourbon casks the resulting whisky is creamy, with vanilla and lemon notes and a striking oaky spice. We chose to contrast this with a peaty whisky from Islay, Laphroaig. Laphroaig is one of just seven distilleries in Scotland which still malts its own barley and it is this age-old production method which is said to give the whisky the unique medicinal, iodine-like aroma and flavour, alongside the unmistakable smokiness.

The event was a great success and the clients were thrilled with the whole experience. In a matter of hours the guests were able to experience traditional Scottish sport, music, culture and drinks all under one roof. The format of the evening, and activities provided, allowed the guests to interact and take part as they wished whilst giving them the freedom to network and engage with each other.

For more information on the Scottish activities that we provide for conferences, please see our conference page on the website or get in touch with the Reel Time Team for more inspiration.

Reel Time Events were chosen to supply the 2017 Biophysics conference with a range of quality Scottish entertainment.  The conference ran over three days at Edinburgh’s premier conference venue: The EICC. 1500 delegates were in attendance.

Reel Time worked closely with the conference organisers to build a range of Scottish events that would be fun, encourage networking and leave them with a great memory of their Scottish conference.

Day 1

On their first evening, the guests were entertained with the spirit of Scotland, with a whisky tasting.  Reel Time is well versed in providing large conference whisky tasting experiences, and our tasters poured and entertained guests.  1 blended whisky was compared to two different styles of malt whisky.  The guests were impressed and intrigued, leaving them with some great whisky knowledge, as well as their own whisky tasting glass, engraved with the conference logo.

Day 2

For their second evening event, we hosted a ceilidh night.  1100 of the conference delegates turned out to enjoy an evening of ceilidh dancing and fun!  We had 8 Highland dancers on hand to help keep the ceilidh dance floor in good order.  We taught the guests some of the easier ceilidh dances, which were enjoyed by an international audience.  Our Scraggly Cats band mixed up the ceilidh dancing with some rock and pop classics to keep the dance floor at capacity all night long.

To conclude the Scottish conference with some signature entertainment, we brought in a mini pipe band to beat the retreat at the end of the last conference session. The delegates were taken completely by surprise, and it was a great lift and conclusion to a successful conference.

We met some wonderful and enthusiastic people, who really enjoying immersing themselves fully in our great Scottish culture.

For more information and inspiration for your Scottish conference entertainment, then get in touch with the Reel Time Team.

A Guest Blog – by Chris White www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com

Driving up to Kinross House is what I imagine rolling up to a country mansion in Downton Abbey is like. This magnificent building sits on the shores of Loch Leven and was the first neoclassical Palladian mansion to be built in Scotland, in 1685, and was the recent setting for a rather special whisky tasting.

Our guests, from all over the world, had requested the ‘Connoisseurs Tasting’ which really kicks things up a notch when it comes to interesting, old, and rare whisky. Moving away from entry level 10 year old and 12 year old whiskies, the Connoisseurs Tasting allows for a great deal of freedom when it comes to the line up of drams we can showcase. What about whisky from a closed distillery? What about a single cask, cask strength whisky bottled by a private members club? What about a whisky as old as me (FYI I turned thirty earlier this year)? The Connoisseurs Tasting allows for all of these… in the same line up.

To start with, I spoke about the now-demolished distillery of Imperial; a classic Speyside distillery which was a key component of Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal until is closed its doors in 1998 and was finally demolished in 2013. The Imperial we brought along was a 1997 vintage bottled earlier this year by Elgin-based independent bottlers Gordon and MacPhail. A strong start to the night indeed.

We then moved onto the first of two bottles from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which was a 30 year old Glen Moray. This silky, exotic dram really piqued a lot of people’s interest before we moved on to the hard hitting Aberlour a’bunadh. This whisky took quite a few people by surprise with its rich, fruity, spicy notes and strength of 61.1% ABV!

The fourth whisky provided a real medicinal, barbeque-y and smoky finish to the evening’s proceedings. A single cask, cask strength 18 year old Laphroaig, matured entirely in an ex-oloroso sherry cask and bottled by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This no holds barred Islay peat monster ensured our guests went to bed, and probably woke up with, the lingering taste of some wonderful whisky still in their mouths.

If this sounds like the sort of event your group would enjoy, contact us now to arrange your bespoke Connoisseurs Tasting!

New year is a busy time for a Scottish events company. We helped many of our regular venues to entertain their guests and bring in the New Year in style!

When bringing in the new year in Scotland, Ceilidh entertainment gets everyone up and dancing and in the spirit of New year!

Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club had a full Scottish gala dinner which we provided a great range of Scottish entertainment for.  Guests were piped into their wonderful 5 course dinner, and then enjoyed some great ceilidh dancing with the Reel Time Ceilidh Band, including a few Highland dancer show spots.   A special pipe band performance piped in the bells, and a DJ spun tunes into the wee hours.

Crieff Hydro offer an extensive Christmas and New Year package which the Scraggly Cats were delighted to be part of again this year.  They entertained 400 guests with a great mixture of ceilidh entertainment and pop.

Perth Racecourse also opted for ceilidh entertainment as part of their Hogmanay celebrations.  Reel Time arranged for a ceilidh band to run one of the floors where guests enjoyed some traditional ceilidh, with a DJ taking the other floor of entertainment.

The Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh also had a great New Year celebration taking place, for which we supplied a 3 piece ceilidh band.  Murrayfield again hosted a “Big Hogmanay Bash” with one of our trusty pipers there to pipe in the bells.

For those who had not indulged enough, our first event of 2017 was a whisky tasting at Dalhousie Castle.  To find out more about our whisky tasting, why not take a look at our whisky tasting video?

Everyone at Reel Time Events would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy New Year, and we look forward to working with you in 2017!

Roddy was over in Las Vegas for IMEX America, the biggest tourism trade event in the calendar; America’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events.

Roddy was working alongside Visit Scotland to help promote Scotland as a destination to international group buyers.

Roddy started the group presentations with some Scottish music on his small pipes, before reciting Robert Burns Address to the Haggis.  With current international trade restrictions, this meant addressing a furry haggis, but it was still well received and had the usual impact!

For the afternoon cocktail hour, Roddy presented whisky tasting experiences for the guests.  They were talked through the intricacies of Scottish single malt whisky.   The guests enjoyed a great taste of Scotland as they sampled Auchentoshan Three Wood, Scapa and Bowmore 15.

For the on stand party on the Wednesday night, Roddy played some of his dance music bagpipes before amassing a great ceilidh dance on the Visit Scotland stand.   Have a look at the video of the whole event here, including the ceilidh.

Thanks to Rocket Exhibitions and Events, Visit Scotland and Las Vegas for making it all possible.