ABOUT
Founded in 1921
The Bedfordshire Festival is affiliated to the British & International Federation of Festivals (BIFF) and provides a showcase for the wealth of talent in the amateur performing arts in Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.
We are as passionate about Celebrating Artistic Achievement as we are about equality, diversity and ensuring that everyone enjoys a fulfilling festival experience. We have an active outreach programme which seeks to address barriers to entry of the state school sector which has become under-represented in recent years. As well as introducing classes which better align with the state curriculum, many more piano classes have been designated for piano/keyboard. Equally we are justly proud to extend support in the form of a fees discount to entrants qualifying for Pupil Premium and Free School Meals.
So, whether you tinkle the ivories, write comedy or recite poetry, we sincerely hope you will find something in the syllabus that you feel able to enter. And if not – tell us!
As a registered charity, the Festival is run purely by a committee of volunteers and a part-time Secretary.
Our Booking System
This year we have introduced a new system for managing entries called Run My Festival. The system is purpose built for festivals like ours and used by many festivals up and down the country.
Once you have created your new account, the system makes it easy to find classes, in conjunction with the syllabus, and to create multiple entrants and entries. For schools there are easy to use CSV templates which can be used to upload entrants and entries in bulk.
The Run My Festival system has also allowed us to extend our deadlines for entries, changes to piece titles and composers/authors and for receiving musical accompaniments.
2000 Entrants
£35,000
3 Venues
250 Classes
3,500
Visitors
8 days
200
Trophies
100
Volunteers
10
adjudicators
The Bedfordshire Festival of Music Speech and Drama was recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) in 2019, recognising the dedication of the numerous volunteers who run the festival each year.
The award highlighted the Festival’s significant role in the cultural life of Bedfordshire, providing a platform for over 2,000 participants to perform and develop their creative skills, as well as countless rewarding volunteering opportunities.
The Bedfordshire Festival was the first festival to ever receive the accolade – the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise the outstanding work done in their communities. The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen’s coronation and is equivalent to an MBE for volunteer groups.
For over 100 years, The British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech (BIFF) has been supporting amateur performing arts festivals to provide performance opportunities in their local communities.
Nearly 250 member Festivals across the UK and abroad part of the Federation, and together they provide millions of performance opportunities for children, young people and adults.
With a focus on music, dance and speech & drama, BIFF member Festivals offer a wide range of classes to encourage participation in the performing arts.
BIFF Festivals have a strong education emphasis and provide a platform to perform in front of a live audience and receive feedback from a professional adjudicator.
