Your weekly what’s on guide for Bedford and the surrounding area from the Bedford Clanger.
Never miss a thing in Bedford ever again. From theatre to film, live music to art exhibitions, The Bedford Clanger what’s on guide lands every Thursday and is the only guide you need to know what’s on and what’s happening across the Borough for the next 10 days.
The Bedford Clanger’s What’s On Guide is kindly sponsored by The Cellar Bar.
Thursday 18 – Sunday 28 July 2024
Comedy: Bedfringe
The Quarry Theatre @ times vary
Prices vary
This July, the Quarry Theatre will host the 17th International Bedford Festival Fringe, bringing a record-breaking 150 events to the town over 11 days.
From Thursday 18 until Sunday 28 July the theatre will be a hive of activity with comedy, theatre, live music, film, dance and physical theatre, spoken word and poetry taking place throughout the Quarry’s three venues.
Read: Bedfringe is back, bringing 150 events to Bedford over 11 days
More of the events than ever before are Edinburgh previews (44) and almost half are free to attend or ask for a voluntary donation, making it even easier to binge the Fringe!
And there’s not just the events to take part in – why not wander into the Quarry foyer and bar to have a go on their retro games, help ‘put the brand back together’ by contributing to the Bedfrige logo jigsaw or build something in pink Lego?
Thursday 18 July 2024
Talk: Bedford Skeptics – Historic Building Mythbusting
North End Social Club, 60 Roff Ave, Bedford MK41 7TW @ 7pm
Donation appreciated
In his third visit to Bedford Skeptics, James Wright will dive into commonly believed and repeated stories about historic buildings.
James will explore folklore, history, art, architecture, archaeology, sociology, and psychology to delve into the myths surrounding many mysterious features in mediaeval buildings.
Friday 19 July 2024
Live Music: Double Header – Jam69 & Samantha Hughes
The Cellar Bar @ 6pm
Free entry
Jam69 make their debut performance at the Cellar Bar, covering tunes by The Jam, Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Who, The Stranglers, The Specials, Stiff Little Fingers, The Sex Pistols, Sham 69, The Ruts, The Vapors and many more…
Afterwards and into the small hours, the very talented Samantha Hughes is back. Samantha’s set will be part acoustic, so you are in for a treat as she plays a selection of Rock n Roll, Country, 50s/60s and Blues, spreading some good old-fashioned music from years gone by.
Friday 19 July – Saturday 7 September 2024
Family fun: Summer holiday sessions
John Bunyan Museum, Mill St, Bedford MK40 3EU @ 11am
Free / £2
Throughout the summer the John Bunyan Museum and Library will be hosting a whole range of family-friendly activities, trails and exhibitions.
Crafty Thursdays return throughout August (11am – 3pm) and are just £2 per child.
New for 2024, Bunyan Meeting is running free craft and activity sessions every Tuesday in August. With a Noah’s Ark theme, each week make a different animal to take home and help Noah fill his Ark! Have a go at trails around the museum, and summer exhibition in the basement from 11am-2pm in Bunyan Meeting. Free light lunch for children completing all three activities on the day.
Saturday 20 – Sunday 21 July 2024
Family fun: Bedford River Festival
Free entry
This year’s ever-popular River Festival takes place on the weekend of 20 – 21 July on, in and around the banks of the River Great Ouse.
This free community event attracts over a quarter of a million visitors and there really is something for everyone.
Read: Everything you need to know about Bedford River Festival 2024
Read: Planning on coming to the River Festival this weekend? Here’s how you can get there
You can find the full programme online at riverfestival.bedford.gov.uk.
Saturday 20 July 2024
Live Music: May Contain Nutz
The Cellar Bar @ 9.00pm
Free entry
The Cellar Bar welcomes the four-piece party rock band, May Contain Nutz, making their debut at the venue.
Saturday 20 July 2024
Club night: Bedford River Festival aftershow party
Bedford Esquires @ 10.30pm
Tickets: £5
Throughout the River Festival weekend, you can catch all of the Esquires-curated artists on the main stage of the festival in Russell Park. Once the sun goes down, head to the club for two rooms of the finest tunes.
Room 1: Loaded Vs Common People – Sam Voidoid takes you through the biggest tunes from Limehaus era Indie to The Pad Saturday nights, playing the finest in Post Punk, Beats and Dance classics.
Room 2: Juicy – Mass C takes you on a journey from Old Skool Hip Hop to RnB, Soul, Funk and Breaks. Expect the unexpected from one of our very best DJs.
Sunday 21 July 2024
Live music: U18’s Open Mic
The Cellar Bar @ 5pm – 7.00pm / bar opens at 4.30pm
Free entry
The Cellar Bar is throwing its doors open to the next generation of Bedford musicians, with a dedicated junior open mic session for under 18s.
Whether you sing, play guitar, drums, or any other musical instrument, or are a band already, you are welcome to take part. It’s a chance for you to perform on a stage in front of an audience with a full pa, drum kit, amps, lighting.
Hosted by none other than Mat Roberts, Mat will be on hand to offer support and advice, as well as doing a few jam sessions of his own.
Under 18’s are welcome in the bar from 5.00pm.
Thursday 25 July 2024
Dancing: Planet Swing featuring The Last Chance Ragtime Band
The Dance Hall, Wixams Retirement Village, Bedford Road, Bedford, MK42 6EA @ 8pm – 10.30pm
Tickets: £12.99
An evening for dancers and music enthusiasts alike. Cashless bar, plenty of seating (night club set up) and dance floor. Book in advance and come along at 7.15pm for a 45-minute dance class in Balboa, one of the original swing dances of the era. For the main event, just turn up – pay cash at reception – have fun, no booking needed.
Friday 26 July 2024
Live music: The Lottery Winners
Bedford Esquires @ 3pm & 7pm
Tickets: £15 / sold out
Esquires favourites The Lottery Winners are returning for two shows in one day!
The afternoon performance will be stripped back and open to all ages, no swearing, just sing-a-longs, laughter and fun for all the family. They might even pass a mic around for questions, if you think you can behave yourselves!
The sold-out evening performance will be a more classic Lottery Winners show, with all of their hits in an intimate setting.
Friday 26 July 2024
Live Music: New Harmony
The Cellar Bar @ 6pm til late
Free entry
Making a return to The Cellar Bar, these guys need practically no introduction. New Harmony are the ultimate crowd pleasers bringing you the very best in Reggae, Motown and stone-cold classics.
Saturday 27 July 2024
Walk: Mental Health Mates Bedford – Walk & Talk Meet Up
The Pavilion, Bedford Park @11am
Free to attend
Mental Health Mates (MHM) is a peer support group set up by journalist, author and mental health advocate Bryony Gordon in 2016. There are now over 100 MHM groups across the UK, including here in Bedford
The MHM walks in Bedford take place on the final Saturday of each month, meeting at The Pavilion At The Park and finishing back there afterwards for an optional drink and chat.
The walks are free to attend and just turn up to, you can talk as much or as little as you wish about anything, and everyone is welcome regardless of diagnosis or not.
Saturday 27 July 2024
Creative Community: Headway Bedford – Rehabilitations Journeys
The Place Theatre @ 6pm
Tickets: from £10
Headway Bedford is proud to present ‘Rehabilitation Journeys’ – a showcase of talent from brain injury survivors. You will learn, from survivors themselves, all about what it is like to have a brain injury and all the ways that rehabilitation has returned much-needed freedom and independence to their lives.
Saturday 27 July 2024
Live music: Run in the Shadow – The Fleetwood Mac Experience
Bedford Esquires @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £14
UK Fleetwood Mac, the UK’s most authentic Fleetwood Mac tribute show, call into Bedford Esquires as part of their UK Tour.
UK Fleetwood Mac have spent a huge amount of time carefully recreating the look, sound and playing style of their favourite band, so audiences can revel in the attention to detail and delight in a sound noted by many as ‘just like the actual Fleetwood Mac’.
Expect a hit-packed set with all the classics inc Big Love, Dreams, Caroline, Gypsy, Rhiannon, Tusk, Go Your Own Way, Seven Wonders, Tango In The Night, Don’t Stop and many many more…
Saturday 27 July 2024
Live Music: Double Header – Katherine Sefton & Tie One On
The Cellar Bar @ 8.30pm
Free entry
After an incredible debut performance in April, Tie One On will be rocking the Cellar Bar once again.
They are a rock/ blues band with a vast amount of live experience, whether it is large festivals or pubs/ clubs. With Katherine Sefton supporting, it’s sure to be a great night of fantastic music!
Sunday 28 July 2024
Walking: “I Never Knew That” guided walk
Bedford Town Centre @ 11am at the gold postbox in St Paul’s Square
Tickets: £4/£2 (Please use the code HIGGINS30 to remove the transaction fee)
“I Never Knew That”: The most commonly heard phrase after the completion of a Guided Walk. This Walk encompasses all that information about Bedford and its many features that YOU never knew!
Join the Association of Bedford Tour Guides for one of their fascinating weekly walks. Each walk is of 90 minutes to two hours duration and covers a distance of one or two miles. Most walks are suitable for people who are less mobile.
Children of all ages are most welcome on all of the walks but those aged 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Each walk costs £4 per adult or £2 for children over 8. All walks must be pre-booked.
Sunday 28 July 2024
Live Music: Sunday Chillout Session – Bring Your Own Vinyl
The Cellar Bar @ 3pm – 7pm
Free entry
“We think we’ve got a pretty good sound system at The Cellar Bar, so what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than listening to vinyl records, even better to listen to your favourite album,” said Cellar Bar owner, Marcus.
They’ll provide the DJ, decks and the PA, just bring your own vinyl and let them do the rest!
At the Higgins Bedford
Exhibition: Rediscovering Black Portraiture
The Higgins Bedford
Free entry
The newest exhibition at the Higgins began as a diversionary lockdown project in 2020 and can now be seen at Kensington Palace, the Bodeian Library in Oxford and now in Bedford.
It features the work of Manchester-born professional opera singer, Peter Brathwaite, who has lived in the Black Tom area of Bedford since 2018.
With all his singing work cancelled during the pandemic, Peter began looking for an outlet for his creative talents and started recreating famous and lesser-known Black portraiture paintings using as props whatever he could find around his house.
It was inspired by the Getty Foundation’s lockdown project, but quickly took on a life of its own, gathering a large international online following. You can explore the project at his Instagram page @peter_brathwaite.
And from Saturday, 18 May, they will form part of an installation at the Higgins Bedford which will lead visitors through the main collections and into Cecil Higgins’ house, with Peter’s interpretation of The Paston Treasure at its heart.
Read: ‘Rediscovering Black Portraiture’ at the Higgins Bedford this May
Exhibition: Edward Bawden & Me
The Higgins Bedford until
Free entry
Brand new work by some of the biggest names in contemporary British art, illustration and textiles are on display at an exhibition at the Higgins Bedford in celebration of the work of one of Britain’s most inventive and influential artists
Entitled Edward Bawden & Me, the exhibition has been curated by Bawden’s good friend, illustrator and printmaker, Chris Brown and also features work by local artists’ collective, the Circus of Illustration.
Read: Star-studded new Edward Bawden exhibition opens at the Higgins Bedford
You can also read the full article in the February issue of The Bedford Clanger.
At the Panacea Museum
Exhibition: ‘Panacea: A Cure for All Ills’
Thursday – Sunday @ 10am – 5pm
Free entry
The current exhibition at the fascinating Panacea Museum explores the ministry which gave the Panacea Society its name.
Originally titled ‘The Community of the Holy Ghost’, their more famous name came later, connected with their international Healing offer. The Society sent out linen squares, blessed by their leader Octavia, these were placed in water to make a therapeutic elixir.
This exhibition explains the origins of the Healing, how it became so well-known, and why it finally ended.
Entry to the museum and exhibition is free. More information about visiting the museum can be found on their website here.
Every Thursday
Cocktails, Quiz Night & Karaoke
The Cellar Bar from 5.00pm
Pit your wits against The Cellar Bar’s resident quizmaster to see if you can win the jackpot every Thursday from 8pm. £2 per person entry and a maximum of six per team. The winning team will win the jackpot PLUS a round of shots. Followed by Karaoke til close
Every Saturday
Food & drink: Cocktail mixology masterclass
The Cellar Bar @ 3pm / doors open at 12 noon
£30 per person
The Cellar Bar’s resident mixologist, Marley, will explain how to create some outstanding cocktails for your tasting enjoyment. Then, it’s your turn to put what you’ve learned into practice by making (and drinking) three cocktails!
Every Sunday
Live Music: Open Mic Night
The Cellar Bar @ 7.30pm
Free Entry
Every Sunday, join Mat Roberts for the Cellar Bar’s weekly Open Mic night, giving new and experienced performers a chance to get up on stage and perform.
So whether you think you are the next Tom Grennan or just want a good night of entertainment, head to the Cellar Bar from 7.30pm.
Theatre highlights by Paula Walker
