A note from me and Charlie and Caroline Gladstone (my parents, and my colleagues). Last month we launched On The Horizon, a brand new event on Hawarden Estate - thanks very much to those of you who have bought tickets.
We thought we’d drop you all a line to explain the gestation of the event.
A long birth.
This isn’t our normal way of doing things as we tend to dive into projects quickly. Charlie has this notion that -within reason- there is no such thing as a good or bad idea, but it’s what you do with the idea that counts. In this case, we have been mulling this for a couple of years. We felt that the talks that we used to host at The Good Life Experience (our festival of food, ideas, music & craft) were really special and unusual.
In many ways it was the guests’ conversations before and after the talks that made them different. We deliberately had no green room or backstage, and so the speakers were able to meet the audience and continue their conversations over a drink or food or whatever. Maybe this concept was taking Hawarden back to the time when politicians and thinkers flooded here in the 1800s; when they had conversations rather than debates.
Reclaiming that unique spirit.
Anyway, back to On The Horizon. A few years ago, we began to talk about this. The idea of the event was to discuss ideas for the future; ideas that might shape society or things that might just make an individual’s life better. Big stuff like medicine, education or prison reform.
And stuff like how to create a charity or not-for-profit, or how to make your business work so that it suits you better. But either way, conversations that you can join in with - should you wish - long into the night.
Finding the talent.
How do we go about this? That was a big question. We do have a wonderful address book after a dozen years of doing festivals of all sizes. But
this time, we wanted to work with some people that we had yet to meet as well as some old friends. And so, we thought of the subjects that really interested us and drew up a wish list of people that are best-placed to speak on these subjects. Some said yes, some said no, some ignored us.
But after six months -and with the help of journalist, editor and friend, Charlie Teasdale- we had assembled a truly brilliant line up.
And finally: it is HARD!
It is really, exceptionally, hard making an event work. We’ve done it many times, but it’s never been easy. And sometimes we have failed. There is such a strong impulse to persevere, for all sorts of reasons from pride to that notion that next year will be different. On the other hand, some of our events, like Summer Camp, have been hugely successful on many fronts.
We hope that On The Horizon will work like this; it certainly has amazing speakers, great music, food and a wonderful location. So, come and join us - we guarantee you’ll have a life changing weekend. Thanks for listening!
https://lnkd.in/e7B9TTA6
It's not all about Salzburg, though. We'd like to raise a glass and thank everyone who attended our event in Washington, D.C., too. An equally good time was had.