AV News 196 - May 2014
Our new venue is the
excellent
Hough
End
Conference Centre which is
conveniently
situated
on
Mauldeth Road just off the
M60 Manchester Ring Road
and close to the end of the
M56 motorway .... and by
December should also be
served by the new Metrolink
tram network.
The comfortable seating is
arranged on 3 levels and there is also a private bar facility, open at breaks,
lunch time and in the evening. The venue have arranged an excellent buffet
lunch, different for both days, with all food freshly prepared on the premises.
There are several Hotels and
B&B in the area offering a
range of accomodation.
However we have block
reserved a number of rooms at
a specially negotiated rate for
B&B including full breakfast
with the Britannia Country
House Hotel, a couple of miles
from the venue. This hotel is
situated in its own grounds and
includes a Heated Indoor Pool,
Spa, Sauna, Steam Room and Fully equipped Gymnasium. There is a
complimentary shuttle bus service to/from Manchester airport for anyone
arriving by plane. We have also arranged a private function room for a
Saturday evening meal at this hotel. Full details on how to book will be
available shortly on our website www.gnfestival.org.uk
Starting with zero funds, deciding on pricing for the weekend has been
difficult to try and make the event both affordable and yet viable. As with many
major festivals, The Great Northern is as much a social event as it is a
competition. So to encourage people to come for the whole weekend, we are
offering a discount over the individual day prices that works out slightly
cheaper than last year. To also help keep costs down, we have introduced an
online booking form and payment can be made via electronic funds transfer,
although cheques will still be accepted.
We were keen to keep the mix of entertainment, competition and learning
that has been achieved in the previous Great Northern’s, but with a slightly
different format this year. We hope that this will encourage both newcomers
and existing AV enthusiasts to attend. Also as AV and Video become ever
closer, we hope to attract a new audience of film and video makers with our
Friday evening presentation.
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