Entertainment and Events
Bedford Borough Council's events & markets
department develop stage and manage a number of events across the
year, notably the annual Kite Festival, Victorian Christmas Fair
and the bi-annual River Festival as well as a number of smaller
events across the Borough. Some of our events this year
include:
Bandstand Concerts
The summer concert series will return again in
2010 and we hope that you will return to the newly refurbished
bandstand to enjoy a summer afternoon listening to Bedford’s best
outdoor performing bands.
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26th Sept
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Bedford Town
Band
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29th August
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Toddington Town Band
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22nd August
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The Rhythm Express
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15th August
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Dunstable Town Band
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8th August
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Bedford Town Band
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1st August
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Wolverton Town Band
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25th July
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Saxophrenia
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11th July
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Bedford Saxophone Workshop
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4th July
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Milton Keynes Brass
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27th June
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Moulten 77 Brass
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All bands will perform between 3pm-5pm on the
Bandstand excepting the Bandstand Marathon on
Sunday 26th September.
Bedford by the Sea
Wednesday 11th August-Saturday 14th
August, Harpur Square, Bedford.
The giant sandpit will return to Harpur Square
for four days of seaside related fun and frolics. Thousands of
children will take advantage of the warm sunshine to play
in the pit, watch punch and judy, and have their faces
painted.
Artist Markets
The Markets Team will re launch our Artists
Market on the permanent stalls in St. Pauls Square on every
1st and 3rd Sundays from June to September.
There will be a total of 8 markets on the
following dates:
6th June (Kite Festival Weekend)
20th June
4th July
18th July (River Festival Weekend)
1st August
15th August
5th September
19th September
If you would like to book 5 of the dates
provided, then the cost of each stall will be £12.50 (payable in
advance), rather than the standard £15 for each individual stall
(payable on the day)
The event will run from 10am – 4pm, although
artists can start setting up their work from 9am, parking in the
town centre is free on a Sunday. There will be 14 permanent covered
stalls (10ft by 10ft) with lighting and electric available,
although no chairs or tables can be provided.
Victorian Christmas Fair
10th-12th December, Harpur Square
Bedford.
There will be the usual colourful milieu of
traditional fairground rides and attractions along with a
comprehensive street entertainment programme, character cameos,
school performances, bands across the three days. Staged throughout
the pedestrian area in Bedford Town Centre, the Victorian Fair
provides the perfect Christmas environment for shopping and an
ideal opportunity for the public to soak up the festive ambience
and really get into the Christmas spirit. The 2009 fair attracted
over 25,000 visitors over the three days.
2010 Bedford River Festival
Saturday 17th-Sunday 18th
July
In 2008 we celebrated the 30th anniversary of
the Bedford River Festival achieving record visitor numbers and the
biggest range of attractions and entertainment ever seen at the
Festival.
The 2010 River Festival will continue to build
on the previous successes and will be a colourful milieu of live
entertainment, river events, carnival parade, funfair and fete with
a wide selection of trade, catering and charity stalls. In the
past, activities have ranged from raft races and road carnival
parade to performances from live bands and firework display.
Indeed, entertainment features strongly at the event with displays
form local community groups in the arts and sporting worlds, to a
multitude of professional acts. Attracting in excess of 300,000
spectators the Bedford River Festival is free, and offers numerous
opportunities to participate in, or just to relax and enjoy a vast
array of activities and entertainment.
There are numerous ways you can get involved
in the Festival:
Festival Parade: Be it a
decorated vehicle, band or on foot help us launch the 2010 Festival
as well as collecting money for local charities. The parade
generally begins on De Pary’s Avenue, working its way down through
the High Street, winding around St Paul’s Square and its final
destination, Riverside.
The traditional opening of the Festival, the
Parade is a great fun packed way to kick off Bedford’s premiere
event.
Raft Races
Build your own raft and enter a team to race
down the river and support local charities. This is always a
highlight of the festival and it is always interesting to see how
many rafts cross the finish line!
Dragon Boats
You provide a team of 16-20 paddlers we
provide the rest for a fun packed day on the river! Over 20 crews
are expected to battle it out over a 350 metre course along the
picturesque River Ouse.
This amazing site is a superb venue for racing
and a fantastic day is guaranteed with bankside entertainment,
music, food and activities for all the family.
Trading space
Choose form a wide variety of options for
trading across the Festival site, we offer anything from 2 to 15
metre pitches. Because of the nature of site, every pitch is
guaranteed to be popular.
Sponsorship
Enhance your business with our taylor made
sponsorship and partnership packages. Packages start from £395
For information about the festival please
visit our website http://www.bedfordevents.co.uk/
you can also follow us on Twitter and become a
Fan on
Facebook
For more information on all our events
this year please visit the Bedford Events website
http://www.bedfordevents.co.uk/
or phone 01234 221955