Some interesting venues for juggling events...
It occurred to me that over the years I've jotted down details of some interesting venues that I thought might be useful for running some kind of event at some point.
Rather than keep them to myself, I thought I'd share. Then maybe someone will run an event that I'd like to go to, even if I don't get round to running such an event :-)
Feel free to add more to the list!
Ones I've found:
- Abbeywood Community School, Bristol
http://www.abbeywoodschool.com/Partnerships/Facilities-for-the-community/
Looks like a good venue for a one-day convention (BoB perhaps?) They have a sports hall, assembly hall (seats 300 in tiered seating), atrium, dance studio, drama studio, plus other facilities. Their price list is linked from that page - at list prices 10 hours of the sports hall, atrium, dance studio, drama studio, plus 2 hours of assembly hall (for a show) with sound/lighting is about £1200. Could be doable for a one-dayer. Few photos on their website, but I have an advert from a local paper that shows some of the facilities and they look good. - Smallwood Manor School, Staffordshire
http://www.smallwoodmanor.com/
I investigated this venue for my 40th birthday party (they were a front runner but got booked up before I had made my decision). The school used to be a boarding school, but is now just a day school, so they have additional facilities that they hire out (only at weekends and school holidays though). They have a gym/assembly hall, classrooms, swimming pool, bunk bed accommodation, plus camping on the school lawns (summer holidays only). I reckoned it could make a nice venue for a small weekend camping convention in the summer time (150-200 people, or possibly more if outdoor space could be used). - Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Machynlleth, Wales
http://www.cat.org.uk/
I hired accommodation here twice for birthday parties. They have an assortment of eco-friendly accommodation, and I believe they also do camping in the summer. They do have a straw-bale building that is a theatre, but I haven't investigated how big it is. Great vibe, lovely place. - Barton Camp, Somerset
http://www.bartoncamp.co.uk/
Hostel-style accommodation with sports hall, meeting rooms, etc, pitched for residential activities for youth groups and conferences/team building. I had a recommendation from a juggler friend who has helped out on such activities, but I haven't used the place myself. - Youth Hostel Association (YHA) Exclusive Hire - various locations nationwide
http://exclusive-hire.yha.org.uk/
These are useful for a different kind of event - very cheap bunk-bed accommodation in a wide variety of venues all round the country. I use venues every year for a large birthday party (50+ people), and the venues vary from 20 people up to 150 or so. With the hire you get exclusive use of the venue. Some have communal space that could be used for activities, most are more suited to 'juggler holiday' type events. (PS. if you are interested in being invited to one of my birthday 'juggler holidays' let me know!) - Christie Miller Sports Centre, Melksham, South West
http://www.placesforpeopleleisure.org/centres/christie-miller-sports-centre/
The manager contacted unicycling groups (back in 2006) asking if we'd be interested in running a unicycling event in their sports hall. Don't know if the same staff still run it, but I filed it away as being potentially unicyclist-friendly.
by Richard Loxley, 2015-12-11 17:05:00