InTents April/May 2023 - 12

events | showcase
supplier interactions. " Some days, what
we have in the trucks can't be installed
and we only find out once arrived on-site
that morning, that we can't proceed with
the planned work, " Renaud says. " Which
means we need to reorganize our day if
we are going to make that time productive
instead of writing the day off. This requires
a tremendous capacity of adaptation, flexibility
and creativity from our teams. "
When the timing changes due to the
Fiesta Tents Ltd., secured the flooring
and structure for the corporate suite to a
floating dock without using fasteners or
underwater anchor points. Photo courtesy
of Guevremont Photographie.
this structure sits over water, the platform
it sits on is ground-supported, " explains
Alexandre Renaud, president, Fiesta
Tents Ltd., Saint-Laurent, Que., Canada.
" But another over-water structure we
provide is not. "
That floating structure housed the
Privilege 12 VIP hospitality suite,
operated by the event promoter, built
in the water atop a temporary floating
platform. " The challenge with that
installation was anchoring a structure
over water without using any fasteners or
underwater anchor points, " Renaud says.
Indy-Co Inc. of Saint-Hubert, Que.,
provided the 18-by-18-inch interlocking
floating dock system that provided the
base for the tenting structure. " The
component that allows you to interlock
the blocks is strong enough to use as
anchoring for guy lines, and guy out
the tent to attachment points on the
perimeter of the platform, " Renaud says.
" We built the tent and flooring on top of
that and secured it to the floating dock. "
Mastering the clock
The build typically takes between five and
six weeks, and each year the biggest challenges
have had to do with installation
timelines and site accessibility. During
setup and takedown, not only does Fiesta
Tents need to coexist with citizens using
the park, the crew also constantly needs
to adjust the production schedule due to
changing client demands, event sales and
12 intents april-may 2023
interdependence of the suppliers involved
in the installation, it falls on Renaud to try
to manage those setbacks so his company
doesn't incur delays for the next suppliers,
" because at some point there's a race-
and that date cannot change, " he says.
To preemptively offset those kinds
of inevitable challenges, Renaud and
his team create a production schedule
as early as possible as they gather
information about the project. They set
what they can " in stone, " write it up into
a schedule, and fit the rest in where they
can. " We break it down as per crews,
per trucking so that we know where the
windows of opportunity are when we
can slide/fit in additional work before the
event deadline, " Renaud says.
The team also builds in buffer time to
allow for the unexpected. " Your instinct
may be to give the client the shortest
window you think you can achieve the
build in, but that can come back to bite
you, " Renaud says. " Because over the 40
years that we've done this, I don't think
there's been a single year that things went
entirely as planned. "
Allowing for access
Being conscious of how the build changes
access points becomes extremely important
as the installation progresses. With big
events such as this one, access to the locations
becomes harder and harder as more
is built. " At the beginning when 10% is
built, you likely have easy access throughout
the site, but as the build keeps going-
whether it be installations of tenting, scaf
InTents April/May 2023

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