Standard Bank honours women with a celebratory lunch

The “Red Carpet” walk way up to the event.

Some 1200 women attended the buffet lunch, which according to Deanna Velis, who led the Loudfire team on this project, was served beneath a stylish arrangement of freestyle tents on the Zoo's Centenary Lawn.

The guests were addressed by CEO Jacko Maree and Sophie de Bruin, a remarkable woman and one of the leaders of the 20 000-strong group of women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 9 August 1956, to protest against pass laws. Further entertainment was provided by highly acclaimed musicians Judith Sepuma and Tamara Dey.

Velis concludes: "We are really honoured that Standard Bank chose us to be their creative partner in this event and did our utmost to create a designer event that would serve as a worthy platform for such a significant occasion as well as facilitate an experience that guests will remember long after our trucks have left and the sun once again shines on spacious lawns, where once there was a celebration of women."

Picturesque view of the event setting in the Johannesburg Zoo.

About Loudfire:

Born in Cape Town in 1994, Loudfire has served the South African events, parties and experiences industry for more than 12 years. In 2002 it established an office in Johannesburg, which subsequently became its headquarters and home to a sizeable warehouse and fleet. Loudfire still maintains a strong presence in the Mother City and now also has a satellite office in Durban.

In delivering on its promise of "Designer entertaining for your brand", Loudfire creates events that embrace the total guest experience and also sells component experiences to its competitors, such as its bar, décor and tent experiences. Its sister company Tentra manufactures all of the company's freestyle Bedouin tents, which it offers for hire or for sale, and has the largest such tents in Africa.

Loudfire is a fully empowered company with an effective BEE shareholding of 30.14%, of which 18.9% is owned by BEE investment company Direng Entertainment (Pty) Ltd. and the balance by internal partners.