CARLSTADT, NJ - City Theatrical invites industry professionals to its free Professional Lighting Software Demonstration Day featuring the authors of Lightwright 5, Moving Light Assistant and Vectorworks. The event takes place May 9, 10 am-6 pm at New York City Center, 130 West 56th St. (stage door entrance), New York 10019. Add a comment

DALLAS - Alt-rock band Neon Trees recently launched their North American tour opening for Maroon 5, with multiple tour dates across the globe set to follow. For his part of the set, LD Matt Guminski chose the Vari-Lite VL880 Spot luminaire to compete against Maroon 5’s high-powered luminaires in the large rig.

DUBLIN - UK lighting and visuals rental specialist, Blackburn based HSL, has formed a new partnership with Production Services Ireland (PSI), with operations in Belfast and Dublin. PSI now has the additional advantage of access to HSL’s massive equipment inventory and additional resources.

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TORONTO – For the eighth year in a row, Cast Software has sponsored the USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) Southwest Student Design Competition, an annual event which recognizes young talent in the categories of lighting, sound, set and costume design, stage management and scenic technology. This year's winner is University of Oklahoma student, Leahe Knott.

NASHVILLE – Belmont University’s annual Best of the Best Showcase honored Bandit Lites with the 2013 Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence. The event took place April 13 in the Curb Event Center and was hosted by the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Bandit has worked with the showcase series for the past 10 years to teach students the real world aspects of lighting design.

RALEIGH, NC – There are Spyders to be found throughout the new James B. Hunt Jr. Library on the North Carolina State University Centennial Campus, and they’re getting rave reviews.  Vista Systems’ Spyder X20s were selected by The Sextant Group, Inc. for a number of video processing tasks in the technology-rich library.

AABYHOEJ, Denmark - The introduction of SGM’s X-5 LED strobes inspired award winning production designer, LeRoy Bennett, to specify 470 pieces for Beyoncé’s The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Bennett also had the X-5s in mind for the next tour by metal band Rammstein.

UK - Penn Elcom GmbH has acquired Netherlands-based flightcase manufacturer Flightware BV in an amicable agreement which will further strengthen and diversify The Penn Elcom Group’s flight case product design capabilities and ranges. The agreement was reached between Thomas Mostert, CEO of Penn Elcom GmbH, and Marcel Vlot, MD of Flightware, who is now planning to leave the industry to pursue other interests.

When the producers of Fox TV’s American Idol decided to source a new video wall for the 2013 season, ShowFX Inc. rose to the challenge. The result is a seamless integration of rented video panels into a custom-built 12-axis motion-controlled system that tracks and rotates, creating a multitude of looks for entrances and performances during the show. The LED panels themselves, supplied via VER and NEP/Sweetwater, are Barco ILite 6.

ITALY - Clay Paky cites distributor and customer reaction to the new member of its family, the Sharpy Wash 330. For more product details, visit http://www.plsn.com/product-news/10966-clay-paky-sharpy-wash-330.html