Dawn Philip from Dumfries has been going to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 12 years…yet this was the first time Dawn has ever won a trip to Las Vegas!
At the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Dawn was selected from over 600 entries to win the all expenses trip for two to Las Vegas, just for attending a show!
As a result, Dawn and her husband Vincent ( main Image) will be escaping the cold winter weather for the more attractive climate of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA for a whole week!
Dawn and her family attended ‘Simon Warner’s Viva Hypnosis’ at ZOO Venues after realising that Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the perfect place to try something different.
Dawn says: “ I just love the festival. We go every single year. I love the atmosphere, the variety of acts you can go to and the fact that you can go to 6 shows in just one day and every single one is different.”
“I really wanted to go to a hypnosis show, so I had a look through the brochure, found ‘Simon Warner’s Viva Hypnosis’ and thought that looked like fun! I had no idea that they were giving away a trip to Las Vegas and I had no idea in my wildest dreams that I would win it!”
Not only did Dawn go to the show, but she also got hypnotised! “I was really up for trying it and I felt comfortable in the atmosphere that Simon and his dancers had created. So I gave it a go and loved it. It was a very relaxing experience. It didn’t feel strange, just extremely relaxing. I felt completely in control at all times, yet I just couldn’t help myself to do what Simon was asking me to do. I was incredibly relaxed about the whole experience”.
Although Dawn admits she will never watch the video of herself hypnotised. “I’d never dream of watching back what I did. That’s best for the archives. I had so much fun doing it, but my teenage daughter said she was a little embarrassed. Teenagers huh!”
The night she attended, by filling in her lucky comment card, Dawn won a bottle of champagne and x2 free tickets to return to the show. “I already thought I was lucky just for winning that! My daughter came to the show the following week and absolutely loved it too!”
But the big jackpot was still to come. “I now knew there was a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas, and I know it sounds strange, because I’ve never won a thing before in my life, but I had the funniest feeling I would win…”
On the final day of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, audience favourite and Fringe-regular, award-winning Irish-Iranian Comedian, Patrick Monahan announced the winner live at Simon Warner’s Viva Hypnosis and randomly selected Dawn out of over 600 entries.
The draw was published on Facebook LIVE, so audiences who had attended throughout the Festival, could find out if they had won by joining Simon, Patrick and the team online.
Dawn couldn’t believe when she watched the Facebook LIVE, only to hear her name being mentioned by the lovable Patrick.
“I was watching it with my headphones and I yelled out I had won! My husband Vince thought I was joking. He did not react initially. He told me not to be silly. And I don’t think he really believed me until I replayed the recording of the LIVE video to him!”
Having not been to the US for over 11 years, Dawn is most excited about seeing shows in Las Vegas and is planning to see a couple of Cirque du Soleil shows and indulge in a bit of Britney Spears…but no hypnosis shows though…”I’ve heard they’re not as good as ‘Viva Hypnosis’ and I wouldn’t want to be disappointed.” she laughs!
Dawn will be jetting off to Las Vegas very soon and Simon Warner’s Viva Hypnosis will be back at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a brand new show to celebrate the Fringe’s 70th Anniversary!
So keep your eyes peeled…who knows what prizes Simon Warner and the team at Viva Hypnosis might offer at this year’s Festival and what YOU could be winning…
