Behind the Scenes Announces By Design Day 2011

By Design Day, the joint fundraising day for Behind the Scenes in the US and Canada and Light Relief in the UK, is now in its third year and once again the organizers are hoping for a bigger response than ever before.

Scheduled this year for Saturday April 23, By Design Day has the full backing of a host of award-winning designers: Neil Austin, Scott Pask, Ken Billington, Howard Harrison, Ken Posner, Paule Constable, Scott Lehrer, Jennifer Tipton, Jonathan Deans, Tony Meola and Hugh Vanstone, along with Light Relief's co-founder, Rick Fisher.

By Design Day is the chance for all the profession to support two charities dedicated solely to helping entertainment technology professionals in need. One way to support the day is by voluntarily giving a day's royalties to one or both of these charities. Light Relief assists those involved in the UK lighting industry while Behind the Scenes aids professionals based in the US and Canada working in any area of the entertainment technology industry.

Light Relief Day was founded in 2007 in the UK to honor the memory of founder Tony Gottelier and quickly gained support among designers with shows on the West End and on tour, and 2009 was the first year that the U.S. and Canada joined the day to benefit Behind the Scenes. Now the day is supported internationally with donations from designers with productions on all over the world.

To date Light Relief has awarded more than £30,000 in grants to help lighting professionals and their families, while Behind the Scenes has issued almost $200,000 in grants to professionals working in all disciplines.