The First Ever CryptoArt Castle Party
On 30 July 2022, the medieval castle in the Scottish City of Stirling played host to the latest momentous event in its long and dramatic history, when hundreds of NFT collectors and artists from across five continents congregated to celebrate the first ever trevorjonesart Castle Party. The idea for a party occurred to Trevor shortly after the incredible success of his Bitcoin Angel open edition NFT. Trevor wanted to meet and thank his buyers, who were spread all around the world, and to give them the opportunity to meet each other. Owning a Bitcoin Angel was like being a member of a club, so what better way to bring everyone together than a party – and what better venue for such a prestigious event than a castle!
We held an initial icebreaker meetup on 29 July at Dovecot Studios, a beautiful tapestry studio and art gallery in Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh, where guests had a chance to meet each other, chat, and enjoy some drinks and canapés. There were speeches from Trevor and our charity partners Maggie’s, who were chosen in memory of the great Alotta Money.
On the following evening, guests gathered in Stirling Castle’s Esplanade under four Bitcoin Angel flags, which replaced the national and ceremonial standards that normally fly from the castle’s battlements. When the gates opened at 7pm, bagpiper Kevin McLean piped guests into the lovely Queen Anne Garden at the front of the castle. Here they each received a Bitcoin Angel mask provided by Apollo Entertainment and enjoyed an outdoor reception with prosecco and canapés, accompanied by the dulcet harp of Mary Macmaster, the brilliant caricatures of Neil Kempsell, and the amazing close-up magic of Jody Greig and Dusty the Magician. We had a backup plan for this part of the evening in case of rain, but we were blessed with golden evening sunshine leading to a beautiful sunset.
A little later, Kevin McLean’s pipes led guests from the garden to the Inner Close – the courtyard in the heart of the castle. Here we were treated to a rousing performance from pipes and drums band Clanadonia. Following this was a spectacular display of medieval combat from the Highland warriors of Combat International.
Guests were free to roam around and explore the castle buildings during this time, and there were lots of exciting things to see and interesting characters to meet. On visiting King James V’s Royal Palace, guests could be photographed by Kirsty Anderson in period costumes and with props. They could even have an audience with the King himself, thanks to Living History’s costumed performers. Crossing the Inner Close to the Chapel Royal, guests could visit the crypto-confessional booth to unburden their crypto sins to our respected cardinal. Over in the Great Hall a buffet and drinks were available, along with a big screen showing art, NFTs, and music videos, courtesy of Trevor, Eclectic Method, and Vector Meldrew.
At 10pm everyone gathered in the Great Hall for prize draws. Lucky guests won great prizes, including Tokenframes, physical prints, NFTs, and original paintings. This was also an opportunity to unveil the new NFT: Peter Schiff Wrestling with the Angel, which was available as an exclusive reward for Castle Party guests, and the epic The Fallen Angel, which drew a great reaction from the crowd! Trevor also made the exciting announcement that he had been working with rocket company Skyrora to launch the ‘Ascended’ Bitcoin Angels into space! DJRT then took to the Great Hall stage with his house music sets, and guests danced the night away.
As the party drew to a close with midnight drawing near, we prepared to leave the castle to its ancient ghosts. The Royal Burgh of Renfrew Pipe Band performed an incredible display in the Inner Close and piped our guests out of the castle to pick up their party bags, which were filled with marvelous items, including Metacask whisky, Buck & Birch liqueurs, Castle Party limited edition coins and t-shirts, Bitcoin Angel prints, Bitcoin Angel branded cigars, and a Bitcoin Angel miniature model. But the party didn’t end here, with just a short walk taking guests to the Stirling Highland Hotel, where we had booked two function rooms to keep it going till 2am.
On the following day guests met up for our final farewell in the Stirling Highland Hotel. Additionally, many guests decided to meet up in groups to explore Stirling, go for meals and drinks, and visit landmarks, such as the National Wallace Monument. It was a wonderful few days for NFT art collectors and artists to get to meet each other IRL and develop true friendships.
The party was a fantastic event. We all had a great time and raised an impressive $15,700 for the cancer care charity Maggie’s. But this was just the beginning. We are excited to announce the second annual trevorjonesart Castle Party for September 2023. This one will be in France, an hour south of Paris at Château de Vallery – more details to be announced soon. We’re planning an even bigger and better party than the first one, and we hope to see you there!
We wish to thank our sponsors, without whom the Castle Party would not have been possible:
Photography on this page by Julie Howden
Further links related to the above
Venues
Artists
Entertainments
- Mary Macmaster
- Neil Kempsell
- Jody Greig
- Dusty the Magician
- Clanadonia
- Combat International
- Kirsty Anderson Photography
- Living History
- DJRT
- The Royal Burgh of Renfrew Pipe Band