The Minneapolis Convention Center has completed another phase in its continuing technology upgrade adding Ayrton Bora-S wash luminaires to the main auditorium.  

“We replaced our old wash units with a greater number of Bora-S and kicked up the rig a couple of notches,” says the Center’s Technology Coordinator, John Eberlein.  “We’ve gained greater capabilities with Bora, which can act as a spot, gobo and shutter unit. This takes us to another level.”

Sleek and compact, the feature-packed Bora-S is particularly suitable for scenic applications requiring a great deal of light output, such as concerts and other live entertainment.  It is equipped with a new LED module calibrated at 8000K delivering powerful metallic white light with a record-breaking output of 42,000 lumens.

ACT Lighting, Inc., Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for North America, had demo’d an assortment of fixtures for Eberlein and hinted that Ayrton had something new coming soon.  “We decided to wait and see Ayrton’s new light, and I’m glad we did,” he says. “We fell in love with Bora’s light output, flat field, gobos and shutter cut capabilities, which we didn’t have before.  We also didn’t see the halations you find in some LEDs.”

Eberlein notes that the versatility of Bora-S gives him multiple options for the Minneapolis Convention Center’s wide range of clients.  

“The Beach Boys entertained at a not-for-profit corporate event here, and their lighting designer was very happy with the units,” Eberlein reports.  “Our Boras were the most moving lights they’ve had on their shows.”

The fixtures also lent themselves to the dynamic staging of a concert featuring Indian singers Sonu Nigam and Neha Kakkar, he says.  

The Minneapolis Convention Center deployed Bora-S for the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ awards ceremony held during the Final Four.  “They illuminated a set piece from Atomic and everyone was very pleased with Bora’s saturated blues that matched the branding colours,” Eberlein points out.

Area high schools that used the Minneapolis Convention Center as the venue for their graduation ceremonies “were able to wash their choirs or orchestras then change over to light the dignitaries on stage,” he adds.  “The Boras are mounted on three trusses flown over the stage; we have no conventionals hung over the stage now – we don’t need them. It’s great that we no longer have to have a ladder crew come out and physically focus the conventional units when the area that needs to be lit changes.”

According to Eberlein, “Bora has quickly become our workhorse light.  Bora’s speed, effects, colour and light output are fantastic, and we can count on it to do a wide variety of things.  This is the light for us!”

The Bora-S fixtures were provided to the Minneapolis Convention Center by Gopher Stage Lighting of Minneapolis.