Marquee Tents
Outdoorsmen and mountaineers are all too familiar with
portable tents of all shapes and sizes. Camping
is not the only activity or circumstance, however, which requires the use of
a tent. There are many events that
host hundreds and even thousands of people, and for these, your experienced
mountain man would be out of his league with his quick pitch.
This where the big daddies of the
tent world come in, called marquee tents.
The marquee tent has several types and sizes, ranging
from big to humongous. It acts as a
temporary building, suitable for parties, performances, and other large
events. For personal use, there are
smaller 20 by 20 foot marquees available. Larger
ones cost too much and need the aid of several people and even heavy
machinery. In the occasion that such are needed, there are companies that
rent out their services and do the installing themselves.
You really wouldn’t want to do it
yourself anyway, not that you could.
In the past, bail rings were used to put up these huge tents.
Through a set of pulleys, the ring,
attached to the rest of the tent with fetters, would be manually raised.
This is not so popular these days as
heavy machinery is much more accessible.
As mentioned earlier, there are different types of
marquees. A popular style due to its
attractive white cotton canvas, pole marquees are not as practical compared
to others due to difficult maintenance.
Despite the introduction of PVC to the pole design, making it easier
to clean, aluminum frame marquees are still more adaptable and stable, able
to be put up on any surface. Trumping
these two however, is the
Speaking of the big top, circus tents are the largest
of the marquees. Consider them the
gods of the tent world. These tents
are so large that cranes are needed in their erection.
In the old days, the elephantine
power of, well, elephants, was used in this procedure.
Due also to its large size, synthetic
materials like polyester are utilized to provide a high level of durability.
The ring master probably doesn’t want
his tent tearing and falling all over his patrons.
It is easy to see why marquee tents are so popular in
the event world. Interchangeable
parts make them adaptable to any situation, and a variety of designs and
colors make them pleasing to the whims of those that need them.
Walls with doors and windows can even
be installed to go along with these tents. They
are so versatile and durable that sometimes they are even kept up
permanently. Some people probably
wouldn’t mind living in one, just add a balcony here, a home theater system
there and your portable mansion is all set. You
can even rent it out when the Olympics comes to town.
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