LAS VEGAS — Nominations for the 2014 Parnelli Awards, to be presented at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nov. 22, are now open. PLSN subscribers once again have the chance — but only through the end of September — to determine who will be on the Parnelli Awards ballot this year. The 2014 Parnelli Awards Ballot will be open for voting during the month of October.
In the first time in recent memory, the Parnelli Awards has added a new category: Lighting Operator of the Year.
“This is something I’ve heard people ask me about for years,” said Parnelli Advisory Board Member and Sound Image’s Dave Shadoan. “The lighting designer gets his or her kudos as they well-deserve; but the person who takes their vision out on the road and makes it work with the realities of tour, going from shed to arenas, juggling song set changes, are incredibly talented individuals as well.”
Each Parnelli nomination — via the form now at www.parnelliawards.com/nominate — is a critical part of how the Parnelli Awards work. Before a company or individual can be recognized with a Parnelli Award, they have to appear on the ballot. And worthy companies and individuals who don’t get nominated will not appear on the ballot. You, the PLSN reader, have the chance to make sure these individuals and companies do not go unrecognized.
Separate nominations for the Indispensable Technology awards (www.plsn.com/it) are already underway, and PLSN readers have already nominated, and are currently voting for, the 30 regional finalists for the 2014 Parnelli Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year competition. That ballot, divided into five U.S. regions and all of Canada, is at www.plsn.com/hometown. The regional Hometown Hero finalists will automatically be listed on the final Parnelli ballot when it appears in early October.
This year’s Parnelli gala, hosted by The Tubes frontman Fee Waybill, will include the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Benny Collins, the Parnelli Visionary Award to Howard Ungerleider and the Audio Innovator award to Bob Goldstein. All of the other Parnelli Awards honoring excellence on the part of companies, individuals and products are up for grabs — and it all depends on YOU.
So be sure to go to www.parnelliawards.com/nominate and make sure YOUR voice is heard. There, you can nominate your choice for Lighting Designer, Lighting Board Operator, Set/Scenic Designer, Video Director, Tour Manager and Production Manager of the Year. There are also awards honoring companies involved in Lighting, Staging, Set Construction, Video, Sound, Rigging, Pyro, Trucking and Freight Forwarding, among others.
It all promises to add up to the biggest night of the year for the live entertainment profession — and none of it would be possible without the generous support of the 2014 Parnelli Awards sponsors.
To nominate a company or individual, go to www.parnelliawards.com/nominate.
For more information on the 2014 Parnelli Awards, go to www.parnelliawards.com.
