Winter Wonder Festival by TWijs Foundation at UP Events
29 August 2023
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
How to make an anniversary festival for thousands of guests incredibly cozy
The sun may be scorching enough to make the sparrows drop, but right now is the perfect time to start planning for New Year’s or Christmas event. A great source of inspiration is the Winter Wonder Festival that TWijs experienced at UP Events in January.
In the winter, UP Events transforms its multifunctional venue on the outskirts of Amsterdam into a genuine winter wonderland. With hot mulled wine, heated and festively decorated warehouses, fire pits, winter BBQs, and an area full of twinkling Christmas lights and winter activities, UP provides a warm and cozy atmosphere. It’s precisely what Lisa Slot, Management Assistant at TWijs, was looking for when planning the biennial event for the TWijs school board. “Finding a cool location for a large winter event was quite challenging, but as soon as we walked onto the UP Events site, we knew we’d hit the jackpot!
Lisa Slot
“The fact that we could all gather again, we wanted to seize with both hands,” Lisa explains about the purpose of the Winter Wonder Festival at UP! To feel once more that you’re part of something bigger. “With 35 schools in and around Haarlem, we are quite a large group. Finding a fun location in winter for such a large crowd is quite a challenge.” Especially if the venue can also have a cool, festival-like atmosphere, fitting for the mainly young people who work for TWijs.
Bullseye!
“When we visited the UP! venue, I almost immediately felt that this location was spot-on,” says Lisa. “The whole ambiance, everything immediately felt right. With 650 people, we were quite a large group, but that turned out to fit perfectly at UP! The collaboration from that point on went smoothly: communication was easy, we could always send a message or drop by, and on the day itself, there was an event manager who was our rock. Whatever arose, it was taken care of right away.”
Finding a great venue for a large winter event was quite a challenge, but when we walked onto the grounds of UP Events, we knew right away that we had hit the jackpot!
Lisa Slot | TWIJS
A DJ in one loods and an acoustic duo in the other.
During the Winter Wonder Festival, guests were welcomed around 4:00 PM with a “Koek & Zopie” stall serving mulled wine. Lisa mentioned, “For those who preferred not to drive, shuttle buses were available from NS Station Halfweg. It was well organized, and many people made use of it.” Along a charmingly lit path adorned with skis and other wintry details, guests were guided to one of the warehouses, where the host gave a brief opening speech. Following that, the grand Winter BBQ was fired up. Lisa remarked, “We were served really excellent food. There were good vegetarian options, enough for everyone but not too much. That’s important to me as well. The catering was incredibly well managed. In between, everyone could get drinks from the bars.”
Easygoing icicle-catching and snowball-throwing
After everyone’s stomachs were filled, the party kicked off. ‘A DJ in one ‘loods’ and an acoustic duo in the other ‘loods’,’ Lisa says. ‘A nice mix. In one room, people could dance freely, while in the other, you could have a relaxed chat. In the middle, guests could engage in various Winter Games, just easygoing fun with colleagues, catching icicles and throwing snowballs,’ she laughs. ‘That was a big hit! Just like the photo booth and especially the Karaoke Caravan was incredibly popular.’
‘The highlight for me was truly the atmosphere. Incredibly relaxed, you could see that everyone was having a good time,’ Lisa explains. ‘The UP Events staff as well, by the way – fun young people, all very cheerful and helpful.’ She only received positive feedback from her colleagues. So, she had all the time to enjoy herself too. Lisa adds, ‘You immediately notice that UP Events is a professional organization. You can delegate everything, just trust them. Like with the DJ, for instance. I didn’t feel the need to check if they were good; I knew they get it!’
Júíst in de wintermaanden!
We now know that summer is awesome at UP Events, but the Winter Wonder Festival by the TWijs Board proves that you can also have a fantastic time at UP during the winter months, especially with a large group. “Especially during the winter months, we offer a unique concept,” adds Pim ten Broeke, Senior Sales & New Business Manager at UP Events. “Our entire venue undergoes a complete transformation from the moment the winter time begins. The various (heated) indoor and outdoor options make the location perfect for all kinds of meetings, team-building activities, and corporate parties – even in winter!” To make things easy for clients, UP Events offers various Winter Wonderland arrangements and packages. “Curious about a Winter Wonderland package at UP!? You’re welcome to join us for an informal venue visit to get inspired!”