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The State Fair of Texas, Illumination Sensation

November 9, 2021

State-Fair-of-Texas-Illumination-Sensation-Onstage-Systems — Photo Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas

Onstage Systems returned to work at The State Fair of Texas this year after last year’s Fair was canceled due to COVID-19. The State Fair has been running annually since 1886, and 2020 marks one of the few years the Fair has been canceled in its 135-year run.

Hosted in Dallas, TX, Onstage Systems’ hometown at the historic Fair Park, the State Fair of Texas is an annual celebration of the Lone Star State. The State Fair promotes Texas agriculture, education, and community involvement with quality entertainment and family-friendly fun. It is one of the largest in the United States, with more than two million visitors each year welcomed by its iconic mascot, the world’s tallest cowboy, the 55-foot Big Tex.

Onstage Systems has worked with their client, Interlaced Productions and the State Fair of Texas since the ‘90s on the Illumination Sensation show. Originally held inside the Cotton Bowl, the show has since transitioned to the Fair’s water gardens.

The nighttime event is a dazzle of music and live performance complemented with light and video shimmering through the water gardens and illuminating the National Landmark Fair Park complex with washes of vivid color against the night sky. A sight to behold, the Illumination Sensation combines high-energy pop music, fireworks, dancers, acrobats, and lights with synchronized pyrotechnics to create a delightful spectacle.

Onstage Systems provides the audio, lighting, and video projection for the show, with this year’s run being sponsored by Mattress Firm. The show was created by Onstage Systems’ long-time event partner, Interlaced Productions. Onstage Systems and Interlaced Productions have been working together for over 30 years to bring this performance to Dallasites and visitors all over the country.

This year’s Illumination Sensation had a few extra challenges for the team. First were the added safety parameters due to COVID-19. With the live event industry rebounding this summer and Onstage Systems having two certified COVID-19 Compliance Officers on staff, the extra precautions are now second nature for all Onstage Systems events. Also, due to COVID-19 and the canceled 2020 State Fair of Texas, event budgets were a little tighter for the 2021 State Fair of Texas. However, Onstage Systems and Interlaced Productions came together to create a brilliant light experience for the millions of fairgoers.

Shows happen each night of the State Fair of Texas’s 24-day annual run. The Illumination Sensation is a must-see for anyone attending future State Fairs. Just be sure to arrive early to beat the crowd and pick out a great spot to see the show!

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The Capricorn Drive-In at Fair Park

October 14, 2020

The Capricorn Drive-In hosted a four week series of music, film, and performance in Dallas at Fair Park. As part of the #SociallyDistantSummerSeries, the event was held Fridays and Saturdays, from August 28th to September 5th.

Capricorn Drive-In Featured Performers

AhhFugYeahs
Colab
Cure of Paranoia
DJ Don Gentry & Wayward
Fempyre
Infamists & Static Creatures
Lost Arts Legacy
Meach Pango
Skin & Drum Drum Cult

The event had the distinction of being Dallas’s first COVID-19 safe public concert approved by the City of Dallas. It was created to highlight the talent of Texas musicians and performers. The four-week Fair Park event was the culmination of 14 weeks of planning. Great effort was placed on creating a COVID-19 safe, live event experience.

COVID-19 Considerations

To be approved by the City of Dallas, Onstage Systems needed to develop a safety plan with attendee management as priority number one. Onstage Systems created a parking diagram with designated attendee sitting areas following COVID-19 distancing guidelines. Automobiles were spaced 30 feet from the stage with safe, designated sitting areas to the front and left of automobiles. Attendees were encouraged to tailgate from their automobiles or sit in the designated areas on blankets and picnic chairs.

Other considerations included organizing high traffic areas like toilet facilities and coordinating the cleaning crew for high-traffic area sanitization.

Visual Messaging

Part of the safety plan was creating a visual messaging strategy for COVID-19 safety protocols. Informing attendees of the protocols was paramount. The visual messaging solution encouraged attendees to adjust their behaviors to keep live events live and for attendees to be part of the solution. Security at the event also enforced COVID-19 safety protocols.

Backstage Safety

Working crew, bands, and other performers were all temperature checked upon arrival. Additionally, all working crew, bands, and performers were required to wear masks when within 10 feet of others.

Onstage Systems – COVID-Safe Dallas Event Production

Onstage Systems coordinated the event with local bands and the managers of national talent to bring The Capricorn Drive-In at Fair Park all together. In addition to coordination, Onstage Systems provided video , lighting and audio production. The audio solution for the drive-in event included live public address system sound and the inclusion of an FM transmitter for attendees to listen through their automobile stereos. In addition to live performances, Onstage Systems live-streamed select performances from the event online to virtual audiences.

Onstage Systems is proud to have been a part of bringing live events back to Dallas with the City’s first approved, COVID-19 safe public concert. We would also like to thank our event partners that helped to make The Capricorn Drive-In at Fair Park a success.

About Onstage Systems

Onstage Systems is a full-service event production company committed to creating lasting impressions. From virtual and live corporate events, music festivals and more, we have solutions to transform your ambitious vision into reality.

We offer design, production management, audio, lighting, video, backline, rooftops, and staging to ensure your event runs smoothly so you can enjoy your big moment stress-free. Looking for a non-traditional live event production team? Learn more about Onstage System’s drive-in and virtual event capabilities.

Coyote Drive-In Theater Concert

July 1, 2020

The May concert was produced by Onstage Systems at the Coyote Drive-In Theater in Fort Worth. The event was a fun, but challenging event to produce. The Coyote Drive-In Theater concert also had the significance of being one of the first events to bring live music back to Fort Worth in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown.

coyote drive-in theater concert audience — Photo by Andrew Sherman – Lone Sound Magazine

Featured Performers

Drive-In Theater Concert Event Challenges

drive-in concert performers and sign — Photo by Andrew Sherman – Lone Sound Magazine

The biggest challenge was accounting for the health and safety of everyone involved. That was why the Coyote Drive-In Theater made a great venue choice for hosting a live, outdoor concert. The audience area was large and designed for attendees to be separated in parking spots. Attendees were assigned parking to every other parking spot. This helped create natural social distancing space between attendees. Onstage Systems also followed the latest health guidelines for hand sanitation and wore masks in close proximity. Coyote Drive-In Theater helped ensure social distancing with signage and limiting occupancy around the restroom and concession areas.

See more featured work from Onstage Systems

Onstage Systems fully utilized the Coyote Drive-In Theater’s space while providing the addition of the lighting, mobile staging, and full audio support appropriate to a concert of this size, to included FM transmission. This allowed attendees the option to listen to the concert over their car FM radios while enjoying the air conditioning. However, many concert attendees took the opportunity to get a little sun and fresh air, listening to a full L’acoustics concert PA system out in the open air from lawn chairs and pickup beds.

Photo by Andrew Sherman – Lone Sound Magazine

The second big challenge Onstage Systems had to overcome to make the event a success was the Coyote Drive-In Theater’s schedule. The drive-in was in full operation with nightly movie times starting after dark. The Friday show did not end until 11 PM. The Onstage team hustled in the dark to set up the stage, lighting, and all the integration for the Saturday afternoon show. And once the show was over they struck the scene in two hours and had Coyote Drive-In Theater back to normal in time for its 8:45 PM movie.

While the Coyote Drive-In Theater concert was a one-time event, Onstage Systems looks forward to doing more drive-in concert events in the future. In addition to producing live in-person events, Onstage has experience producing live streams and other virtual events.

Learn more about Onstage Systems virtual event services HERE.

Virtual Concert Event Production for Sonic Soul Tribe

July 1, 2020

Onstage Systems helped produce a 12-hour international, virtual concert event for Sonic Soul Tribe. The performance took place in April of 2020 and featured artists and performers from across the United States and abroad performing live on stage and remotely.

Sonic Soul Tribe is a not-for-profit electronic and experimental music and art experience based in Dallas, Texas, born from the Burning Man festival. The collective is a music, art, and production experience that seeks to gift dance, art, and community to those looking for a new way to connect, celebrate, and rejoice in the human experience.

Learn More About Onstage System’s Virtual Event Production Services

The virtual concert was a great challenge to bring together. Logistics demanded coordinating live streaming performers across the world. The event’s 12 hour duration required incredible stamina and discipline from the Onstage team to produce.

To keep the virtual concert entertaining, Onstage Systems mixed video graphics, picture-in-picture, and simultaneous performance feed switching of remote artists’ live streams. In addition to music and spoken word performances, the virtual concert also featured visual performances including body painters, flow artists, fire performers, dancers, and more. This allowed Onstage Systems to marry visually entertaining performances with auditory entertainment by combining performance streams.

Part of the virtual concert included a live, stage performance at the Onstage Systems warehouse in Dallas, Texas. The stage performance was set up and produced with a “safety first” approach. The Onstage team maintained social distancing during setup and live production. The staff followed the latest health safety guidelines and wore masks throughout. Additionally, Onstage coordinated the performers setup in shifts to minimize contact between all staff and performers.

The virtual concert event production was flawlessly executed by a team of camera operators, video technicians, audio technicians, and lighting designers. To bring the Sonic Soul Tribe virtual event all together, the Onstage team relied on premier equipment from Elation Lighting, L-Acoustics, DiGiCo, and Panasonic.

Watch the Sonic Soul Tribe Virtual Concert on Twitch Video on Demand (VOD)

Sports Event Production – A Closer Look Behind the 2019 BMW Dallas Marathon

January 21, 2020

For the last 20 years, Onstage Systems has provided a wide range of sports event production services, including audio, visual, and staging solutions for the BMW Dallas Marathon. Started in 1971, the Dallas Marathon is a massive event that draws international attention from countries like Kenya, Russia, and Mexico. A stellar finish at the Dallas Marathon can qualify runners for the Boston Marathon, which makes this event a critical checkpoint for all professional runners looking to secure a spot at the World Marathon Majors.

Since the Dallas Marathon happens every winter, event production can be a challenge given the unexpected weather conditions. In 2013, the Dallas Marathon was canceled due to an ice storm known as ‘Icepocalypse 2013’ but of course, dedicated runners who prepared for months still came to Dallas to compete.

The weather during the 2019 marathon was perfect for our winter runners and even better for Onstage Systems. After months of planning and careful engineering, we were excited to test out an innovative new design we made exclusively for the BMW Dallas Marathon.

Custom Stage Designs for Special Events

Armed with new custom structures and engineering, the team at Onstage Systems came into the 2019 BMW Dallas Marathon ready to unveil a new design. During a months-long back-and-forth with Marathon coordinators, city officials, race coordinators, and structural engineers, Onstage Systems brought an elegant solution for such a simple yet intricate problem.

Onstage engineered a custom 44-foot wide by an 8-foot tall pedestrian bridge made with a combination of trussing and BilJax decking. Pedestrians could now cross the street without interfering with the runners. To spruce up our custom bridge, we added some hardware so marathon organizers could mount banners and help offset production costs by offering sponsorship space on the most prominent banners.

Creating The Dallas Marathon

Behind the scenes, Onstage Systems providing audio, visual, and staging solutions for the BMW Dallas Marathon — Behind the scenes at 2019 BMW Dallas Marathon: Onstage System’s control room for audio, video, and lighting underneath the viewing platform

From a sports event production standpoint, there are dozens of elements that need to be designed and built if you want to produce a successful marathon.

The focal point of any marathon is the start and finish line. Similar to previous Dallas Marathon events, we created a custom start line truss support structure complete with a giant video wall for the runners and spectators in the plaza. This year, our video wall was equipped with video switching and cameras that interfaced with the WFAA live broadcast.

In 2016, BMW signed on as the official partner of the annual race, changing the name from the Dallas Marathon to the BMW Dallas Marathon. To display their latest fleet of luxury vehicles, we designed a BMW display platform.

Additional structures included a custom VIP viewing platform, custom structures for the Front of House (FOH) MC and Tech World, a full audio system for the start/finish line, and lighting accents for the BMW display.

Celebrating Half a Century of Dallas Marathons

Next year, the Dallas Marathon will celebrate its 50th anniversary, making it the longest-running marathon in Texas. We may not be able to predict the weather for next year’s race, but one thing Onstage Systems can guarantee is a commitment to providing the Dallas Marathon with the highest level of event production with the pinnacle of audio, visual, lighting, and staging solutions.