Bedford River Festival

The Bedford River Festival is held biannually in Bedford, United Kingdom, on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was founded in 1978 to celebrate the completion of a navigable route, by water, between Bedford and the coast [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2006/07/17/bedford_river_festival_2006_feature.shtml BBC Beds Herts and Bucks - Messing about at the Bedford River Festival] ] and is held over a weekend, normally in July (originally it was held annually on the late May bank holiday). It is the main tourist-attracting event in the town.

The 2008 Festival on the 12th & 13th July 2008 is the 30th anniversary festival.

It has several events and attractions over the two days, usually including bands on at least two stages, a road parade, boat shows/races a raft race for local teams and a firework display.On the last occasion, it also had a salsa stage and a base jumping demo. Along with the normal attractions of the fun fair etc, the River Festival also hosted the sports village, where local sports clubs could come and demonstrate their wares.

The last Festival, (2006) had the following exhibitors:

* Bedford Inner Circle Academy of Martial Arts
* Bedford Rowing Club
* Bedford Blues Rugby Club
* Bunyun trampoline club
* Climbing wall
* Kidz size holiday courses
* Riverside Tennis Club
* Star club
* UK ProBASE - UK Pro Base Jumping Demo [http://www.ukprobase.com]
* Viking Kayak Club

Bedford River Festival is notable as the second largest free outdoor event, after the Notting Hill Carnival [

[http://www.bedford.gov.uk/Default.aspx/Web/RiverGreatOuse Bedford Borough Council - River Great Ouse] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.bedford.gov.uk/Default.aspx/Web/BedfordRiverFestival1 Bedford Borough Council River Festival page]
* [http://www.bedfordevents.co.uk/ Bedford Events]