Ridgeway Events Garden Party Rig for 50 Guests Install Grade

Four freestanding poles, ninety metres of festoon and the distribution to run it off one 13 amp socket. Rigged by two people in about an hour with no ladders and nothing screwed into anything. Heavier cable and permanent fixings, for a rig that goes up once and stays up for a season.

Event lighting is judged in the two hours before guests arrive and in the two hours after they leave, so everything here is chosen for how quickly it goes up and comes down. Cable is pre made to length with moulded connectors rather than cut on site. Poles are two part aluminium so they fit in a car. The distribution is RCD protected and rated for outdoor use, and the whole rig runs off a single 13 amp socket, because the socket is always the thing there is only one of.

Specification

• Dimensions: 4 poles at 3.2m rigged height
• Materials: aluminium poles, stainless catenary, rubber festoon, IP67 distribution
• Finish: black throughout
• Light source: LED festoon lamps at 1 metre centres, individually replaceable
• Light output: about 7920 lumens total
• Colour temperature: 2700K very warm white
• Beam angle: 360 degrees, omnidirectional
• Power: 230V from a single 13 amp socket, RCD protected distribution supplied
• Ingress protection: IP65, jet proof, suitable for open garden use
• Cable: 25m of pre made outdoor extension with moulded IP67 connectors
• Warranty: 2 years
• Suits a lawn party for about 50 people, roughly 12 metres by 10
• Rigging time: about 60 minutes for two people
• Circuits: 1, separately switched and dimmable
• Total load: under 400W, well inside a 13 amp socket
• Packed weight: approximately 42.0 kilograms

In the box

• 4 x two part aluminium poles, 3.2m rigged
• 4 x ground stakes and 4 x hard standing bases
• 4 x guy line sets with tensioners
• Festoon in pre made lengths with moulded connectors
• Stainless catenary wire, turnbuckles and clips
• 1 x IP67 RCD protected distribution box
• 25m of outdoor extension lead
• A rigging plan drawn for this footprint
• A storage crate

Installation

Festoon is heavier than it looks and the mistake everyone makes is hanging it off the cable itself. Run a stainless catenary wire between your fixing points, tension it with a turnbuckle until it is firm rather than tight, then clip the festoon to the wire every 500mm so the weight is carried by the wire and not by the cable cores. Allow a gentle sag of about 5 per cent of the span, both because it looks right and because it gives the wire somewhere to go on a cold night when everything contracts.

When to buy

Event stock moves against the wedding and party calendar, which means May, June and September clear first. If your date is in the season, order at least eight weeks out.