Organisers of Illuminight with Lidl, the light and sound spectacular in Kilmarnock’s Dean Castle Country Park which ended on Sunday, hailed the second event to be a great success welcoming over 42,000 visitors during its four-week run, a 10% increase in audiences from the inaugural event.
Presented by East Ayrshire Leisure and Unique Events in collaboration with production specialists Black Light, Illuminight with Lidl took visitors on an enchanted woodland trail, discovering mythical creatures and magical beasts using state of the art technology, water projection, light, fire and sound, designed by Scotland’s leading lighting designers and creatives.
Along with new audiences, the event welcome new partners and sponsors for 2018 and title sponsors Lidl UK provided audiences the opportunity to become stars of the show, with a specially commissioned installation projecting live social media photographs and messages as visitors explored the spectacular new illuminations. Lidl also kept audiences warm at the event with ‘Lidl Warming Stations’ serving over 33,000 marshmallows for toasting and 4,500 luxury hot chocolate drinks.
Local sponsors The Park Hotel welcomed visitors to Kilmarnock throughout the event, providing Afternoon Tea and Accommodation Packages for audiences travelling from out-with East Ayrshire to the event.
Councillor Elena Whitham, Chair of East Ayrshire Leisure, said: “Illuminight with Lidl has been another great success this year. As part of the programme, it was a great pleasure to be able to support an adapted show for the National Autistic Society and to see the excited faces of so many children as they explored the magical world of Dean Castle Country Park. Once again it was a privilege to work alongside Unique Events and Blacklight and we can’t wait to see how the creative ideas flow for 2019.”
Penny Dougherty, Director of Unique Events, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed our second outing to Dean Castle Country Park – it’s a stunning location for Illuminight with Lidl, which is fast becoming one of the country’s leading winter attractions. We are thrilled that the people of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire and beyond came in their tens of thousands to enjoy the spectacular lighting and visual effects and are very much looking forward to returning in 2019 with an even more exciting show.”
Ross Miller, Regional Director at Lidl, said: “We are extremely proud to have partnered with East Ayrshire Leisure and Unique Events to bring this magical family experience to life, and help create so many special moments. From families seeing their photos and messages appear on the social board, to toasting tasty marshmallows and sipping hot chocolates by the fire at the hugely popular ‘Lidl warming stations’, we are delighted to have brought a ‘Lidl’ joy to families during the winter season.”
Illuminight with Lidl received funding support from EventScotland National Events Fund, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “EventScotland was delighted to support Illuminight with Lidl through our National Events Fund. In just a short time, the family-friendly event has quickly established itself as one of the area’s flagship events, attracting people from across the region.
“Events, particularly those outside our major cities, play a key role in driving our visitor economy by welcoming people to the local area and showcasing what the region has to offer.”
Illuminight with Lidl will return to Dean Castle Country Park from Wednesday 20 October to Sunday 17 November 2019. Tickets will be available from www.illuminight.com in August.
Did you know that:
Over 33,000 marshmallows have been roasted over open fires
Over 4,500 hot chocolates have been made by the team
There were 1300 festoon lamps along the 1.5km route
Over 100,000 metres of cabling was used to create the show
Illuminight Staff have walked over 40,000 miles during set up and operation of the event
In 2018 the hashtag #illuminightlidl has been used over 1,200 times
Since the start of Illuminight with Lidl in October there have been over 115,000 engagements with the event on social media.