Contemporary Artists

Month: September 2016

Wedding Tents for Your Momentous Occasion

Tent rentals reading pa

Once you’re engaged, you want to have enough time to plan your wedding just the way you want it. After all, this is a rite of passage as well as a very special day for you as well as your families and friends.

The average length of engagements, according to the Knot’s 2014 Real Weddings Study, is 14 months, so if your engagement falls into that time frame, you are among those couples that want a bit more than a year to plan this momentous occasion.

June continues to be one of the most popular months for weddings, followed by October. The Knot’s 2014 Real Weddings Study found that 15% of weddings were held in June and 14% in October. This same study found that weddings tend to have an average of 136 wedding guests.

Now that you’ve explored all your options and have decided to have an outdoor wedding–complete with wedding tents–there are a few logistics to consider.

First of all, you may be deciding whether you want to buy or rent your wedding tents. If you and your life-partner-to-be both enjoy entertaining on a regular basis, you’ll probably want to purchase your own. However, if you only think you’ll just use them occasionally, such as three-to-four time per year, you may want to consider renting them instead.

Secondly, you’ll want to make a decision on what type of tent you may want–a frame or a pole tent. There are basically two types of tent tops available for large events: vinyl and polyester. Most spacious event tests are constructed out of vinyl because it’s not only strong and durable, but affordable as well.

The size, or the square footage, of the wedding tents you choose will depend on the number of guests you plan–or anticipate–to be at the wedding. Remember to allow space for maneuvering, especially if some of the chairs are on the bulky side.

If you are planning to have chairs, especially if they’re going to be set up in rows, be sure to allow five-to-six square feet for every chair.

Here are a few simple formulas to determine what size of wedding tents you will need.

    For table seating, use the number of guests times 15 square feet.
    For cocktail and standing areas, use the number of guests times six square feet.

        For the actual ceremony and regular seating, use the number of guests times eight square feet.
        For the dance area, you’ll need an additional two-to-three square feet.
        For the head table that seats the happy couple, you’ll need 25 square feet.

      Once those R.S.V.P.’s begin to arrive, you will have a much better idea of how many square feet you’ll need–and don’t forget the plus-ones!

      Are you planning to serve a meal or did you decide to go with assorted appetizers? When you’re serving Hors d’Oeuvres, you may not require as much space because your guests will likely choose to mingle with their Champagne or sparkling mineral water.

      If you’re having a more formal sit-down affair, then you’ll need to respond these questions;

        What are the tables’ dimensions?
        How many people will be seated at each table?

      In general, when you choose round tables, you’ll want to have a minimum of 12 square feet for each person. If you choose rectangular tables, then you’ll want to have a minimum of ten square feet for each person.

      You’ll also want to consider aisles to ease the flow of guests as well as create a special space for all of the wedding toasts and speeches! This will require approximately eight square feet for each person.

      After you’ve made the decision on the space required for your wedding tents, you’ll want to turn your thoughts to other necessary items. Here is a short list to ensure that you have everything you need for your grand entrance to marriage:

        Wedding carpet rentals
        Wedding chairs
        Wedding tables
        Wedding flooring rentals
        Wedding lighting rentals
        Wedding linen rentals

The Rise of Hip Hop

Current celebrity news

Hip Hop is one of the most popular kinds of music on the planet today. On Facebook “old school” hip hip has garnered over one million likes. There are hundreds of Facebook groups devoted to the music. Hip hop artist Jay Z’s album, “The Blueprint 3” reached number one on the Billboard 200. This was his 11th number one album. This made Jay Z bypass Elvis as having the most number one albums by any solo artist. This was a big deal, not just in the world of black entertainment news but for everyone.

Where did hip hop start?

Hip hop got its start on the streets on the Bronx in the late 1960s and early 1970s as rap. It offered a mix of funk soul, new technology, disco and a big dose of social uneasiness and upheaval. It was popular on the streets, in parks and clubs but it did not get much traction beyond the New York City borough where it was born until The Sugarhill Gang released, “Rapper’s Delight.” This hit radio stations in 1980. Blondie, a band fronted by singer Debbie Harry, took the music a step further with the release of its single “Rapture” that featured rapped lyrics. The next year, The Funky Plus 4 became the first rap group to play on national TV when they were asked to be the musical host for NBC’s hit show “Saturday Night Live.”

The 1980s were great for the new genre. Rap acts Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Fives produced groundbreaking music that added lyrics that talked about social and economic issues facing the African American community. At the same time the Black Entertainment Network (BET) was formed to provide black entertainment news and information. The network was launched in 1980. The new TV network was launched to appeal to an African American audience and features urban news, black celebrity news and other programming. Before there were black news websites, there was BET.

RunDMC hit the scene in 1983. Their style of music and lyrics was stark and blunt. Theirs was viewed as an uncompromising style and they payed homage to the rappers that had gone before them. Later, in 1986, their collaboration with Aerosmith when they did a remake of that band’s hit “Walk This Way” breathed new life into the rock band and brought them back to the music scene. That same year, they also collaborated with the Beastie Boys. Rap was growing and moving into other musical genres.

Meanwhile, Russell Simmons, broker of Joseph Simmons of Run DMC founded the Def Jam record label with Rick Rubin. Their first artist was LL Cool J. Soon after they signed Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, JA Rule and Public Enemy. It was not long before it became the dominant label in the genreandge;

The crossover to pop that many rap artists were looking for happened in 1990. MC Hammer’s single “U Can’t Touch This” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” topped the charts. It could have been the success or the commercial aspects of both songs but they were both shunned by most of the rap community and the black entertainment news outlets.

The 1990s saw the rise of “gangta rap” and an East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry was started. While New York City was the birth place of rap, Los Angeles rappers gained more influence as Death Row Records was started by Dr. Dre and Marion “Suge” Knight. The emerging sub-genre featured a lot of flash and emphasis on the violent lifestyle of life on the streets of the southern Californian city. Ice T released his single, “Cop Killer” that was considered to be scandalous. The situation was brought to a head when both Suge Knight and Tupac Sahakur were killed by gun violence in separate incidents.

Eminem exploded in 1999. He became he first rap artist to become the largest music star on the planet. Some have compared the white rapper’s lyrics to Shakespeare. He was able to connect to middle America in ways that no other artist could. In 2000, he released his second album. It sold 1.8 million copies.

Since then, there is little doubt that rap and hip hop are part of our pop culture. No longer confined to black entertainment news areas, it is everywhere.

For more information see this. More on this topic.