| Bedford River Festival | |
|---|---|
 Bedford Suspension Bridge - 2008 festival | |
| Frequency | Biennial |
| Location(s) | Bedford, England |
| Years active | 1978- |
| Founders | Bedford Borough Council |
| Most recent | 23 July 2022 – 24 July 2022 |
| Next event | 20 July 2024 – 21 July 2024 |
| Attendance | 250,000 |
| Website | https://riverfestival.bedford.gov.uk/ |
The Bedford River Festival is a free festival held biennially in Bedford, England on the banks of the River Great Ouse.
Bedford River Festival was founded in 1978 to celebrate the completion of a navigable route, by water, between Bedford and The Wash. [1] Originally it was held annually during the late May bank holiday but for many years has been biennial and held over either the second or third weekend in July.
The festival attracts an estimated 250,000 people over the weekend, and boat owners from across the country. [2] It is believed to be the second largest free outdoor event in the United Kingdom, after the Notting Hill Carnival. [3]
Music across the five stages includes local bands and artists, singing groups, with headliners including the Dub Pistols, [4] and DJs such as DJ Spoony, Fabio and Danny Rampling. [5]
Following redevelopment of part of the riverside, the 2018 festival expanded into neighbouring St Mary's Gardens, [6] site of a previous council-run free music festival named Lazy Sunday. [7]
The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event successfully returned in July 2022 with the next Bedford River Festival scheduled to take place in July 2024. [8]
The festival has grown significantly in recent years, with:
The River Great Ouse is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn. Authorities disagree both on the river's source and its length with one quoting 160 mi (260 km) and another 143 mi (230 km). Mostly flowing north and east, it is the fifth longest river in the United Kingdom. The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam, which runs through Cambridge. Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised, to relieve flooding and provide a better route for barge traffic. The unmodified river would have changed course regularly after floods.
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FIBArk stands for "First in Boating the Arkansas"—it's a three-day festival held in Salida, Colorado that started in the 1950s. The history actually began in 1949 when two friends bet each other who'd win a race from Salida to Cañon City on the Arkansas River. Since that race almost killed both contestants, the race was shortened in subsequent years to about 26 miles of whitewater from Salida to Cotopaxi. It became a community-wide festival. Today, the festival draws over 10,000 people yearly, around the 3rd week of June, and includes a variety of events on the river and in town. The event has grown from a single boating race to now include biking, running, and other races. The portion of the river where the majority of the races are held runs through downtown Salida, keeping the event close to all of the other activities and festivities offered downtown during the festival.
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Fiesta San Antonio is an annual festival held in April in San Antonio, Texas, and is the city's signature event since 1891. The festival, also known as the Battle of Flowers, commemorates of the Battle of the Alamo, which took place in San Antonio, and the Battle of San Jacinto, which led to Texas' independence from Mexico in April 1836.
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