In this post, we’re highlighting one of our regular Autumn events, a project we always look forward to. This large-scale event takes place over a two day build, during a quieter period of the year, Firework night is an ideal event to throw a celebration for everyone in a school to come together for.
We’ve proudly worked with the PTA event organising team at Arnold House Private Prep School for Boys for several years. Each year, we build on previous successes. We’ve been expanding the event specification as attendance grows and budgets increase. This ongoing collaboration has allowed us to deliver increasingly impressive event production solutions year after year.
Event Equipment & Production Services Supplied
For this event, we professionally supplied a wide range of our core event rental products, ensuring a reliable, safe, and visually striking setup throughout the weekend. Key highlights included:
Two ultra-silent event generators, providing reliable power with minimal noise
A giant 4-metre fairy light star, creating a stunning focal point
Over 400 metres of festoon lighting to enhance atmosphere and visibility
A presentation stage, speeches and performances
Three fully manned real fire pits, adding warmth and ambience for guests
Bespoke Build
We proposed a custom event branding installation featuring 1.2-metre-high “ARNOLD HOUSE” lettering. Positioned along the front of the firework display to maximise visibility and feature prominently in event photography.
The letters were manufactured in Spring 2025 at our Sussex warehouse. Finished with a UV-resistant coating, and installed on the day with specialist lighting to ensure they stood out after dark. For future events, we’re planning to update the lettering colour to match the school’s red brand colours.
Firepits
This event takes place on well-maintained sports pitches, so protecting the ground is essential. Our raised event fire pits are installed with heat-protective slabs beneath them to minimise heat transfer and prevent damage to the turf. Fires are kept at a safe, controlled level throughout the event.
A trained team member mans each fire pit at all times, with a security team member positioned nearby. This ensured a safe operation and full compliance with event safety requirements.
Festoon Lighting
In total, we installed nearly 0.5km of festoon lighting across the event site, creating consistent, high-quality illumination throughout. Lighting was positioned along the front of the crowd barrier, at the rear of the site along the building, throughout the car park, inside the bar marquee. Plus Grizzly Bear Events mounted festoon on high lighting poles within the catering area.
Despite the scale of the setup, the full installation was completed over two days, with a two-hour breakdown and removal once the event concluded. Grizzly Bear Events are very efficient, safe, and well-coordinated!
Stage
Following a school competition, one pupil was awarded the opportunity to trigger the firework display, creating a memorable and exciting moment for the evening.
To ensure visibility for all guests, we installed a 2m x 2m presentation stage with steps, positioned in front of a fairy light curtain backdrop. This setup allowed the pupil and launch plunger to be clearly seen during the live countdown to the firework display — 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
4m High Star Backdrop Photo Opportunity
Recently built for Winter 2025, our giant 4m high star backdrop was offered to the client as a feature for their firework event — and it was a hit.
The illuminated star drew guests into the event space and towards the bar area, creating a natural gathering point. Many attendees paused along the way to take family photos in front of the star, adding a memorable visual element to the evening.
Power & Infrastructure
A firework event of this scale requires significantly more power and infrastructure than many people expect. This particular site covered approximately 100 metres of firework frontage by 50 metres in depth. This scale created a large area that needed safe, reliable power distribution. In addition, multiple high-power food and event suppliers were positioned along both sides of the site, many of whom arrived late on the day of the event
Event Power Planning & On-Site Management
On the morning of the event, we installed preliminary power cabling based on the expected electrical load of each supplier. As suppliers arrived, a dedicated team member met them individually to:
Confirm their actual power requirements
Double-check equipment specifications
Install final cabling to the correct locations
- Reduce any potential trip hazards around the cabling install and ramp cabling where possible.
What did we need to power?
- Stage Lighting
- FIrework Control Desk
- Hot Chocolate Stand
- PA Set Up
- Indoor Marquee Lighting
- 5 Food Vans (Burger, Pizza, Pasta etc)
- Candy Floss Stall
- Floodlighting on Emergency Exits
- Medical Tent
- Bar serving Mulled Wine
- Festoon Lighting
- UV Lighting on ARNOLD HOUSE letters
Lighting & Emergency Infrastructure
In addition to supplying power for food vendors, we also provided power and infrastructure for:
Event lighting systems
Emergency services tents
Clearly illuminated emergency exit routes
Emergency routes were lit using floodlights mounted on 3-metre lighting poles, ensuring safe visibility across the site should they be required.
Generator Supply & Backup Power
For this event, we supplied two event ultra-silent generators, with one positioned at each end of the site. This setup allowed for greater flexibility, improved load distribution, and increased resilience.
As this was a one-off, time-critical firework display, we also ensured backup power capacity was available at the event. While backup generators are rarely needed – we always recommend them for events where there is no margin for failure. Having contingency power in place provides peace of mind and uninterrupted operation.
Check out our other blogs too:
Annual Review: A Look Back at Our Event Fridge Trailer Hire in 2025
