ADJ Fixtures Light Up Performance Stages At 5th Annual Black Joy Parade Headlined By Ashanti
The Black Joy Parade is a celebration of the black community’s influence on cultures past, present and future. This year it involved a parade that started at 13th Street in downtown Oakland just after noon and made its way down Broadway to a four block ‘Celebration Site’ around 20th and 21st Street that was filled with vendors, attractions and two performance stages. The roads of the site were closed for the day and the party ran throughout the afternoon up until the 7pm finishing time. Across the Main Stage and Diaspora Community stage, a continuous lineup of DJs and performers entertained huge crowds, building up to a headline performance from RnB singer Ashanti.
Technical production for both stages was the responsibility of Islay Events, a full-service event planning and production company based in Buellton, CA. The company, headed by industry veteran Jeremy Cable, also took care of production for the last Black Joy Parade event in 2020, which took place just weeks before the global pandemic brought the events industry to a grinding halt. The parade wasn’t able to run in 2021, but Jeremy and his team were invited back for this year’s event based on the professional service they provided to the organizers back in 2020. Islay Events’ in-house Lighting Designer, Lazer Freidman, was responsible for the design, programming and running of the main stage rig, which had scaled up production for this year’s show due to the caliber of the headline artist.
When lighting designer Henning Schletter received a commission to develop a light art installation in a former study room of the Bauhaus building in Dessau, he didn’t have to think twice. As part of the Bauhaus Festival 2021, an interactive installation was created in which the building’s vertically opening windows, in combination with FUSION Exo Beam spotlights from GLP, sparked a light spectacle with contemporary relevance.
Elation Professional is pleased to welcome Ross Blitz to the company’s growing US sales team in the position of Channel Market Manager – East. Ross, who is based in New York City, started in the new position in late February with a primary focus on the key vertical markets of live entertainment and broadcast & film across the Eastern US.
Elation Professional is pleased to welcome experienced industry professional Jonas Stenvinkel to its European-based sales team. Jonas, a native Swede who works from a base in London, joined the growing Elation sales department on March 1st and is tasked with overseeing some of the company’s most important growth markets including Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa.
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that the industry mourns the loss of Juan ‘JC’ Faxas. A former employee of the ADJ Group of Companies and a beloved friend and colleague to many, JC sadly passed away unexpectedly on February 12, 2022. He leaves behind a devoted wife, two loving daughters, and many friends who were drawn to his outgoing personality, keen sense of humor, but most of all his big heart.
Since its launch, Obsidian Control Systems has experienced sustained growth of its user base, along with a high demand for in-person ONYX console training. Obsidian is pleased to announce the expansion of our team with two experienced and knowledgeable members tasked with providing the support, programming advice and training capabilities Obsidian customers expect from a leading lighting controller brand.
Young German pop singer Nico Laska recently presented his debut album, NI/CO, at a sold-out event at the Frankfurt club Nachtleben. Working alongside him was lighting designer and operator Patrick Rabus, a long-time friend of the musician. In order to give the small basement club an atmosphere worthy of the occasion, Rabus turned to GLP’s JDC Line and FUSION Exo Wash.
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