Park Events
Bedford Borough Council actively encourages its parks to be used
for events and other community activities to ensure that there is
plenty to see and do in Bedford.
Interested in Organising an Event in Bedford?
If you would like to use a Bedford Borough Council park or open
space in which to run an event, take a look through the
application pack below to find out how to apply. Completed
applications can be emailed to events@bedford.gov.uk or for
more information contact the Events Team on: 01234
228759.
Alternatively you can complete an
online event booking form here
In order for your event to be booked into the parks diary, along
with your event booking form we will require a risk
assessment and a copy of your public liability insurance
(£10million or above).
N.B. If your event includes use of the River Great Ouse or
waterways regulated by The Environment Agency, you must complete
and submit the following River Great
Ouse New Event Form
If you are new to running events, or would like some additional
guidance, we have also created a handy 'Guide to Organising Safe
Events' to support you through your planning and delivery.
Events on
Parkland Application Pack
Guide to
Organising Safe Events
Bedford River Festival 2018 - 40th Anniversary
Event
Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th July
Bedford River Festival is back this coming
July for its 40th anniversary and planning is very much underway to
make it a celebration to remember!
River Festival Programme 2018
To have an insight into the layout of the site before you
arrive, to located your favourite stage or to plan your
festival weekend hour by hour, take a look at the 2018
River
Festival programme HERE
Traders
If you are a trader and would like to get
involved by hosting a stall over the weekend, then you can apply by
clicking on the Traders Application Pack below. All of the
information you should need is contained in this document, but be
sure to get in touch with any additional questions.
River
Festival Traders Application Pack
River Races
If you fancy a challenge then why
not enter a team into the hotly contested Dragon Boat Races or raft
races (but be prepared to get splashed)! Application forms and
further details below.
River
Festival Dragon Boat Racing Application Form
River Festival Raft
Race Application Form
Parade
Last but not least, if you would like to
take part in the Festivals’ Carnival Parade to promote
a community group, team, or company or just to dance your way
round the streets of Bedford then be sure to complete the
following application form. With a new route proposed for 2018, you
can be a part of something special!
River
Festival Carnival Parade Application Form
N.B. Community Stage slots are now
fully booked.
Bedford River Festival Sunday Stroll / Nordic Walk
Bedford Borough Council in association with Walk2fitness invite
you to take part in a Stroll / Nordic Walk around the Bedford River
Festival site on Sunday 15th July commencing at 10 00 am in St
Mary’s Gardens.
To register
to join this walk click here
40th Anniversary Celebrations - A look down memory
lane...
As part of the 40th Anniversary celebrations,
we are requesting any long standing festival
goers to send us any pictures that you may have taken way back
in the early days of the River Festival event.
So if you have any images of the 1978 festival
(or 1980-1990) that you can share with us, we would love
to hear from you! Just contact us via the details below.
N.B. Images may be used for future
publicity.
We would like to say a special thank you to all of our 40th
Anniversary River Festival sponsors and supporters;
For the first time we are proud to welcome
Bedford Heights to the Bedford River Festival, sponsoring the
exciting new part of the site: St Mary’s Gardens, opposite the new
Riverside Bedford Development. Bedford Heights provide a range of
services to the Bedford business community and beyond, including
space to rent, conferencing, desk space, virtual addresses and the
fantastic onsite Graze Café.
Bedford Heights was built by Texas Instruments
in 1960. The building was installed with a cyclone-proof roof,
being a blue print lifted from the Texas Headquarters at that time
in Dallas. External window glazing was replaced in the 1980s. In
1999 the building was transformed into fully managed office spaces
ranging from 180 to 28,000 ft2.
Bedford Heights was bought by Verve
Developments 2014, who are embarking on a programme of improvements
to enhance the space. The developer has instigated a
phased programme of improvement and refurbishment throughout the
building which will include a new entrance and reception.
For more information please visit https://bedfordheights.co.uk/
The British Friendly are another new and welcome sponsor to the
festival, sponsoring the Dragon Boat Racing in St Mary’s Gardens.
British Friendly are a mutual Society and has no shareholders to
pay which means they are managed and run solely for the
benefit of their members. Founded in 1902 to provide sickness
benefits for Commercial Travellers, British Friendly has over a
century of experience and expertise in serving its members.
They offer a range of products and
services from their traditional investment linked
policies Holloway and Century, to Protect and Breathing Space,
their pure Income Protection policies which are sold by
Financial Advisers throughout the UK. They have also provided
and managed the staff benefit fund for British Airways since
2002. British Friendly were recently awarded with 5 stars
by Defaqto, an independent financial researcher in the UK.
For more information please visit https://www.britishfriendly.com/
It’s a welcome back to BedfordBID who
once again are supporting the festival in their sponsorship of the
festival big screen in Russell Park.
Bedford BID provides a wide range of services and support to
local Bedford businesses. Love Bedford is the brand of BedfordBID,
Bedford's Business Improvement District, which is funded by almost
600 town centre businesses with the aim of providing a fun and safe
environment for customers to keep them coming back for more.
For more information please contact http://www.lovebedford.co.uk/
A long-time supporter of the festival, the
Eagle Brewery (now part of Marston’s) are once again sponsoring the
Bridges across the festival site. Located in Bedford, the Eagle
Brewery embraces different perspectives. It means that while others
may move cautiously, they soar fearlessly. Like the eagle that
looks over their brewery, they take a different view.
For more information please visit http://www.marstons.co.uk/beers/?brewer=eagle&tour=j
Another welcome long term sponsor and
supporter of the festival is the Harpur Centre. The Centre will
once again be sponsoring the main stage in Russell Park. The stage,
always a focal point of the festival, hosts local and regional
bands and acts across the festival weekend.
The Harpur Centre, Bedford’s premier shopping
centre, is open seven days a week with over 30 stores trading over
two levels. National brands including, Primark, Boots, WH Smith,
Topshop, Specsavers, Greggs, Pandora and Fraser Hart provide
everything you need under one roof alongside unique independent
stores and a host of mobile phone providers.
The centre is currently undergoing an exciting
refurbishment, Centre Manager Sam Laycock said: “The whole team at
the Harpur Centre are so excited to have started on our
refurbishment works. We are investing millions of pounds to make
the Harpur Centre the best that it can be and improve the shopping
experience for everyone; we know that the works are an
inconvenience, but all I can promise is that this is a short term
pain for a fantastic long term gain, fundamental works have started
to change the atrium, remove the spiral, open up the basement and
bring the centre into the 21st century.
The Harpur Trust has had a long and fantastic
association with the River Festival and that continues for 2018
with the sponsoring of the Community stages on Mill Meadows.
Hosting 32 bands and acts over the weekend the stages are a mecca
for local bands giving many their first experience of live
performing.
For over 450 years The Harpur Trust has been
inspiring and supporting the people of Bedford to help them improve
their lives. We want everyone to have pride in our community and to
realise their own potential. We give grants to local
community projects, we support, provide and promote education, we
look after older people in our almshouses and other accommodation
and we make social investments.
For more information please visit http://www.harpurtrust.org.uk/
We are pleased that Carpets 4 Less,
another long-time supporter and sponsor of the festival, are for
the first time sponsoring the firework finale on Saturday
evening.
The carpet factory outlet that gives genuine
low prices, the store in Bedford is ready to serve you. They
supply quality
flooring for both immediate takeaway and order
and offer excellent prices that beat all their
competition.
All Carpets 4 Less flooring is sourced from the best of
manufacturers so you can be assured of the lowest prices, superb
quality and great service. They also provide a measuring
and estimating service, expert
fitting and home delivery.
For more information please contact http://www.carpets4less.com/
We are pleased to welcome Leaders as a friend
of the 2018 Bedford River Festival.
The popular town of Bedford is a great place
to live, so it is no surprise it is home to such a busy and vibrant
property market. From young professionals to families and older
people, there is something for everybody in the area. Leaders is
proud to operate a town centre branch and our team offers a full
range of sales, lettings, buy-to-let, auctions and mortgages
services to local people. Contact their team of local
property experts today to find out how Leaders can help you
make your next move.
For more information please contact https://www.leaders.co.uk/branches/bedford
The University of Bedfordshire are once again
supporting and sponsoring the Sports Village at the festival.
The Sports Village on Longholme Island
provides interactive displays and demonstrations drawing on
sporting activities from around the borough.
The University of Bedfordshire is a modern, innovative
university with a heritage of top quality education going back more
than 100 years. We nurture our students to become educated,
employable and entrepreneurial global citizens.
We support our students in all aspects of
their life and encourage them to influence the education and
services we provide.
For more information please contact https://www.beds.ac.uk/
For further enquiries please contact:
e: events@bedford.gov.uk
t: 01234 228759
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