2018’s Bedford River Festival will be bigger than ever before, with the Festival expanding further down the River to include St Marys’ Gardens.

St Mary’s Gardens will host a stage, an arts and crafts marquee as well as a marquee for The Higgins Bedford. There will also be giant games and circus skills area, as well as an Adventure Village with a low rope course, bushcraft activities, and canoe trail.

This year the River Festival marks its 40th anniversary on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th July, and is recognised as one of the largest outdoor events of its kind in the UK with the last Festival in 2016 seeing over a quarter of a million people enjoying this free Festival on Bedford’s Embankment.

As well as this all new area, many of the old favourites are back for this year’s Festival with the Carnival Parade, the Dragonboat and Raft races, the boat parade, music, a wide selection of food and drink, and Saturday night’s fireworks display.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said “This year’s River Festival is fast approaching, and it’s exciting to see all the new events, stalls and entertainments that will be on St Mary’s Gardens. This is a lovely and underused stretch of our riverside, and with the new Riverside Bedford development across the water I’m sure this will be a popular area during the River Festival weekend.”