WiSE Creates Light Relief at ABTT Show Summer cocktails hosted by WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment) went down well at the ABTT show. WiSE Industry sponsors were invited to dabble in cocktail design by inventing their own cocktails to raise money for industry charity Light Relief. The stunning cocktail line up included: the Avolites Ruby Rum, The Charcoalblue Cooler, The White Light Wimms, The Rosco Lux Sangria, the Phillips Entertainment Blue Hawaii and the drink with no name from MA Lighting. As the rain poured down outside the Royal Horticultural Halls, summer vibes ensued at the WiSE cocktail encampment, with the attending crowd spilling over to surrounding stands. While sampling the unique concoctions on offer WiSE sponsors, members, guests and the press had the chance to network, make new friends and give generously to charity. Ultimately the event raised a respectable £137 for Light Relief, all in the space of just a couple of hours. Coral Cooper, industry veteran and Philips Vari-Lite trainer, was cocktail coordinator extraordinaire and kept the networking lively and the cocktails flowing. She says, "The whole event was amazing. There were some delightfully lethal cocktails! It was a perfect way to celebrate the ever continuing success of WiSE." And WiSE has much to celebrate. In just two years the organization has attracted over 420 female members from the industry, facilitated mentorship and internship opportunities, started a number of common interest groups, organized training events and seminars and built a hugely successful social networking site. At ABTT, WiSE launched its newly created public facing website, which will ultimately allow all members of the industry to get involved. Co-founder Sarah Rushton-Read explains: "The new public facing site includes feeds from WiSE Facebook and Twitter accounts and a list of all our wonderful sponsors with links to their sites. Soon to come will be a news page, a jobs page, a forum allowing for open discussion with the wider industry and, of course, photos and video of the magnificent WiSE events. MA Lighting managed to grab the WiSE Environmentally Excellent Award for providing delicious cocktails without glasses -- by serving up vodka in hollowed out oranges! Other WiSE cocktail awards included: Most Delightfully Flavoursome, which went to Phillips Entertainment Lighting, Surprisingly Delicious for the White Light Wimms, Most Devastatingly Dastardly to Charcoalblue for having those that consumed it staggering home, Creatively Colorful to Rosco, and finally the Devilishly Deceptive Award, which went to Avolites for producing a fruity masterpiece that was a lot stronger then it tasted. Rushton-Read concludes, "It was impossible not to sample all the delicious cocktails and I am delighted with the turnout, it was a huge success and lots of fun. A big thank you to all the wonderfully generous industry sponsors for getting involved and to our WiSE members and friends for coming along. The next fun WiSE event will be a seminar discussing new models for industry jobs and will be taking place at the PLASA Show in September. 
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