Occupying a building that once housed the iconic Fitzgerald's Hotel and Casino, a Reno landmark, Whitney Peak is the result of an extensive, carefully planned and well-executed renovation that relied heavily on lighting throughout the facility to create a transformative and memorable experience for guests.
The spacious first floor that been occupied by slot machines and table games when the site was Fitzgerald's, now houses Heritage, a farm-to-table restaurant that features locally sourced food and is inspired by Reno and Northern Nevada history; and Cargo, an 1,100-capacity concert venue illuminated by a plethora of fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
The Whitney Peak team of Dan Bishop, production manager and front of house engineer, and Justin Bell, AV manager and lighting director, developed the lighting design based on the hotel's vision, along with the specifications for the lighting rig.
The team worked with Matt Jones, founder and head of XN-Tric in Reno, who consulted with the team and sourced the extensive equipment that now includes: 40 COLORdash Par-Hex 12 RGBAW+UV LED fixtures, four Rogue R2 Spots moving heads, four COLORado 2-Quad Zoom Tours, 16 PVP S5 SMD LED video panels, 10 PVP-RK PVP Rigging Kits, one VIP Driver and one ArKaos Media Master Express, along with 16 Chauvet DJ SlimPAR-38 par cans.
"Chauvet is always at the cutting edge of new and exciting products and technology, so these fixtures were a natural choice given Whitney Peak's vision and the type of experience they wanted to evoke for guests," said Jones, who toured worldwide for over a decade with superstars like Cher, Madonna, The Beach Boys, and Barbra Streisand, before starting what is now XN-Tric. "In addition to the colour and output of the Chauvet fixtures, the fact that they're LED offered a lot of environmental benefits, which were important to the team."
Chauvet fixtures were used throughout Cargo, positioned on upstage and downstage trusses as well as on two mid-stage pods and dance floor pods. "We wanted to create an immersive environment with the lights," Bishop explained.
Creating a lightshow that supports the diverse mix of artists at Cargo has required a lighting design that was itself diverse and flexible. The end product fits this bill nicely, covering a range of emotions for different musical motifs by offering everything from the UV light of the COLORdash Par-Hex 12 to the eye-popping colors of the COLORado 2-Quad Zoom Tours. The new Rogue R2 Spot also supports Cargo's philosophy. Featuring a 240 W LED light engine to drive a bright, crisp spot, the fixture provides users with an array of design options with two continuously and variably scrolling color wheels, motorized frost and an extensive series of split colours.
(Jim Evans)
