FROME’s spectacular lightworks show ‘Close Encounters of a Frome Kind’ saw thousands of residents gather beneath a starry sky on Saturday 4th November, to watch the work of local company Celestial, in collaboration with Frome Town Council, at the Showfield.
The event raised a record £12,460 for local charities and drew in a record crowd of 7,500 people who gathered to watch a record number of drones, that were lit up, in an evocative and magical display made in the sky.
Voiced by a local actress, the show asked the audience to consider our place in the world and whether there is life beyond our planet.
Welcoming the community to the event and thanking everyone for their support, deputy mayor cllr Andy Jones said, “It is so fantastic to be able to have such a groundbreaking spectacle in our town, showcasing as it does, not only the wealth of talent of Frome business, but also the coming together of the community organisations to support the event and of course, a fantastic community experience in a way that better supports the environment than other seasonal offerings!”
The show was designed and delivered by Frome-based company Celestial whose first Frome show was in 2021.
“Celestial has gone from strength to strength delivering super-premium shows all over the world for some of the biggest brands, including Eurovision, London New Year’s Eve and many more,” said John Hopkins, Celestial CCO and co-founder. “Based in Frome, we specialise in aerial storytelling, performed by hundreds of brightly coloured drone lights in the night sky.
“‘Close Encounters of the Frome Kind’ invited the audience to ponder the increasing probability of extraterrestrial life beyond our planet and humanity’s galactic dance in the universe. Given the amount of UFO sightings in the Frome area, it was a show our team have been excited to produce for some time. Featuring hundreds of drones and epic show lighting, the highly entertaining show brought together cosmic history, mystery and technology in a mesmerising spectacle. It was Celestial’s ‘thank you’ to Frome.”
This year’s show also gave members of the local community, such as Frome Community College, a chance to get involved too. Five students were selected to form part of Celestial’s operations team and were able to experience first-hand what goes on behind the scenes to deliver a drone show.
“It’s been great to get some insights of how the company works and how it operates. It’s been really exciting and a great opportunity,’ says Max, a student at Frome Community College.
Celestial CEO & co-founder, Tony Martin added, “We proudly replace unsustainable fireworks with mind-bending ‘lightworks’ shows. We were thrilled to be able to bring a show to Frome again – we live and work here, and it is important to us that our community can benefit from our success. It was a long time in the planning, and we were proud to provide this spectacular show, free of charge, in partnership with Frome Town Council for the people of Frome. The display also served to embed drones as the new, eco-friendly firework display.”
Not without controversy because of the decision to ticket the event, organisers said, “The decision to ticket simply meant that we were better able to plan for the infrastructure on the site and important provision such as medical support and loos, as well as press home messaging around car parking facilities. Whilst it did leave a number of people without tickets, it is better than the alternative which could have meant an unsafe site being potentially overwhelmed.
“Whilst everyone is delighted with the amount raised so far, let’s not forget this was a charity event with free entry and there is still time to donate – by texting closenow to 70085 to donate a fiver – or for less or more, put the number of pounds after closenow – and press send!”
The charities who were bucket collecting on the night and who will benefit from the show were: Frome Carnival, Frome Collegians Football Club, Frome’s Missing Link, Fair Frome, The Pod, Frome Town Band, Purple Elephant, Frome Skate Park Project, Victoria Park Community Café.
The town council thanked Cooper and Tanner, the Frome Rotary Clubs, the Inner Wheel and the Lions, the Pod, the Collegians, Frome Auto Electrical, Star Medical, Frome Medical Practice and the hospital, the Cricket Club, Agricultural Society and Selwood Academy, the litter warriors, Frome Town Council staff and the rangers.
“But of course, the biggest thanks must go to Celestial for putting together the amazing show,” said deputy mayor cllr Andy Jones. “How lucky we are to live in this fantastic town with such amazing and committed residents.”
