Into its fifth year and showing accelerated signs of becoming the ‘go to’ industry event; Kartfest, held earlier this month was a resounding success.
Whether it is the opportunity to imagine yourself as a pro racer for 30 min as you stride out onto the sun-baked tarmac of the racing track or a great opportunity to catch up with fellow industry colleagues, the day is filled with high octane fun.
The theme this year was ‘Independence Day’ – a timely and astute nod to current political trends perhaps…. We even had an impromptu video message from Donald Trump, congratulating all 2019 participants on their ‘Kartfestian’ dedication.
Unusual was proud to once again support the production team organising the day, as well as offering the regular chance for two teams worth of colleagues to engage in the ‘why and wherefore’ of Backup’s Kartfest by donning racing garb.
Aside from the raffle bonanza (Tony Robinson won tickets to Harry Potter!), BBQ and intermittent boy racing, this year we crept one of the racing teams a little closer up the leaders board with some very fast laps around the track.
We would have won the ‘Unusual Pit Stop Challenge’ had the boys from our yard been as quick as our design engineer Emily at changing formula 1 racing tyres… 9 seconds Emily!!!
More importantly, the chance to catch up and learn about the past year's events from a ‘Backup’ context, help to bring into focus the value of Backup as an entertainment industry charity, which has been created to support our friends and colleagues who have fallen on hard times. We heard about how the charity has supported individuals suffering from mental health due to the challenges of working in an extremely demanding industry. We heard about colleagues in the industry struggling with terminal diseases. It is both humbling and reassuring to acknowledge the support Backup has been able to provide due to the funds raised from such ventures such as Kartfest.
This year the charity raised £28,000. An immense amount from a classic chicaning group of industry professionals of which Unusual were proud to play their part.
Whether it is the opportunity to imagine yourself as a pro racer for 30 min as you stride out onto the sun-baked tarmac of the racing track or a great opportunity to catch up with fellow industry colleagues, the day is filled with high octane fun.
The theme this year was ‘Independence Day’ – a timely and astute nod to current political trends perhaps…. We even had an impromptu video message from Donald Trump, congratulating all 2019 participants on their ‘Kartfestian’ dedication.
Unusual was proud to once again support the production team organising the day, as well as offering the regular chance for two teams worth of colleagues to engage in the ‘why and wherefore’ of Backup’s Kartfest by donning racing garb.
Aside from the raffle bonanza (Tony Robinson won tickets to Harry Potter!), BBQ and intermittent boy racing, this year we crept one of the racing teams a little closer up the leaders board with some very fast laps around the track.
We would have won the ‘Unusual Pit Stop Challenge’ had the boys from our yard been as quick as our design engineer Emily at changing formula 1 racing tyres… 9 seconds Emily!!!
More importantly, the chance to catch up and learn about the past year's events from a ‘Backup’ context, help to bring into focus the value of Backup as an entertainment industry charity, which has been created to support our friends and colleagues who have fallen on hard times. We heard about how the charity has supported individuals suffering from mental health due to the challenges of working in an extremely demanding industry. We heard about colleagues in the industry struggling with terminal diseases. It is both humbling and reassuring to acknowledge the support Backup has been able to provide due to the funds raised from such ventures such as Kartfest.
This year the charity raised £28,000. An immense amount from a classic chicaning group of industry professionals of which Unusual were proud to play their part.