Bedford River Festival In Bedfordshire

Every Month of July

One of the festivals in Bedford that attracts quite a lot of participants and spectators every year is the Bedford River Festival. Celebrating the presence of the Great River Ouse in the town, the festival is held for two days in July every year and involves different types of boat races that take place in the great river.

The festival is usually kicked off with the Carnival Parade, which is a colorful and riotous event that starts from de Pary’s Avenue. Walking groups, bands and musical groups, small and large gaily decorated vehicles are all invited to join in. Prizes for the best floats are given at the end of the parade.

One of the features of the festival is the Community Stage. Here bands, singers, magicians and other performers showcase their talents for the enjoyment of the people. The most prominent highlight of the festival is the traditional raft race. Here, participants are asked not only to make their own teams but also to construct their own boats, so that they can race against other crews. For the Dragonboat races, a team of up to twenty people are to be created to do the paddling with one drummer positioned up front of the boat to beat to time the paddling. There is always a helmsman at the tail of each dragonboat to direct a straight course steering. The helmsman as well as the dragonboat and all other equipment used in the race will be provided by the organizers of the festivals.