About Heason Events
What is the Buxton Adventure Festival?
Buxton Adventure Festival is the latest adventure organised by Heason Events - speakers, films & events for adventurous spirits and minds.
Encouraged by the phenomenal growth of the annual Sheffield Adventure Film Festival and the popularity of lecture nights he puts on at Buxton Opera House given by the likes of the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and Britain's top climbing talent, Leo Houlding, Matt wanted to combine the magic of both speakers and films into one exhilarating weekend.
The concept behind BAF is to marry the excitement of live lectures with the thrill of big screen cinema.
Over two days, visitors can choose from an inspirational series of ten different 2 hour talk+film sessions with tales of intrepid expeditions, challenges and races brought to life by world-class speakers paired with epic films of climbs, runs and rides.
All in all we promise a celebration of adventure for outdoor enthusiasts, weekend warriors and armchair adventurers, at the heart of Derbyshire's glorious Peak District.
Who are Heason Events?
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Matt Heason launched Heason Events in spring 2003. It began life as a series of grassroots rock climbing talks in Sheffield. His aim was simple - to create slick, multi-media, digital presentations to excite, entertain and inspire audiences around the country. Not long after, Matt started putting on the Best of Kendal Mountain Festival nights on at Sheffield's Showroom Cinema. The evenings proved such a hit that in 2006 the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival was born. This year's trailer had more than 100,000 hits and every year for the past 8 years 100% of visitors said they'd come again and recommend it to a friend. |
And every summer, Matt partners up with Sheffield City Council to put on the UK's biggest outdoors festival for outdoors folk - Cliffhanger. With more than 20,000 visitors the aim of the event is to inspire & involve. Featuring elite competitions and / or professional demonstrations in rock climbing, orienteering, mountain biking, running, slacklining, adventure racing and more, visitors are able to watch incredibly talented sports-people of all ages at the top of their game, and then take part in the very sports they have just been inspired by.
Matt also runs a successful speaker agency - his 'Serious Adventure' Speakers Portfolio is the most comprehensive network of serious (but not humourless!) adventurers, explorers and extreme sports athletes in the world. As he puts it, if the person you're looking for's not on his list give him a call as he probably knows them or will be able to track them down.
Two years ago Matt teamed up with Lissa Cook - a former Radio 4 news journalist and PR. She'd moved to the Peak District to seek the good-life with her adventure sports writer and athlete husband, Nik Cook. Matt was impressed by the serious amount of media coverage she was generating for her handmade childrenswear business, Peak Princess, and got her on board.
It proved a dream team - with ShAFF ticket sales increasing by more than 75% in 2011 and another jump of nearly 50% this year and hundreds of pieces of press coverage.
Matt Heason's claim to fame is holding the Guinness Book of Records World Dyno Jump record. Lissa's a self-confessed omniphobe who had to go on an Overcoming Your Fear of Heights course to carry on working with Matt.
If you would like help or advice organising any sort of event, or you have any questions, ideas, suggestions or criticisms, Heason Events would be very pleased to hear from you.