For the past seven years we have varied our dates between the third and fourth weeks in September to work in with other local events and organisational constraints – so for 2025 we have chosen to run the Festival between Friday 12th and Sunday 21st September. We hope that works OK for everybody and that the weather will be good to us all!
It would be great to expand our activities into new areas – would anybody like to organise a Teddy Bear Toss for example? or some sort of street event in the central high street. I think the Library team would like to organise a community open day so if you would like to support them I think now would be a good time to join the conversation.
And of course if you would like to sponsor the event please contact me
We had a great response to our interactive tree this year when we asked people to contribute their ideas for Community Values – it was a popular format as several other trees used the same idea – so when we collected the values we had quite a few These were :
Togetherness, Caring, Support, Love, Neighbourliness, Acceptance, Compassion, Charity, Consideration, Sharing, Friendship, Trust, Creativity, Togetherness & Kindness.
Quite a good basis for a Community Festival – also in conversation I was told that Shefford had a Teddy Bear Zip line at some point in the past – from the Church tower to a nearby tree – what an excellent idea!
I would also like to thank Three Kings for their kind donation of a lovely tree – we couldn’t have done it without you!
The Shefford Festival is based on the energy and ideas of the Shefford community, so now we are planning for the 2025 festival and looking for new ideas – Shefford lost its pram race many years ago, then the parade went and more recently Revs and Rhythms, so we are looking for new things to spark the town’s interest and wondering if there are any aspiring organisers out there? Do you have any ideas of things you would like to see going on in Shefford?
Suggestions we have heard so far include:-
- A book fair
- A film club – the newly upgraded Community Hall should be an excellent venue for this as it now has a modern sound audio-visual system with improved acoustics and lots of comfortable seating as well as a new combined heating and air conditioning system.
- A jazz group
- A photography group
- Amateur dramatics and/or street performance
Would you be interested to run one of these events or can you think of something else however big or small?
We would love to hear and to support new events and activities in September 2025, but now is definitely the time to brainstorm and plan.
Please give me a call if you would like to chat over ideas and venues.
Ian Deavin 07860 218334 or email [email protected]
This year we have an interactive tree at the St Michaels festival where visitors are invited to post their own banners with personal thoughts of positive community values we are aware of or would like to see in Shefford.
Do come and share – simply write your values on blank paper banners and place on the tree – banners and pencils provided!
Once again we will exhibit our tree at the St Michaels festival with a tree kindly donated by Three Kings Christmas Trees
Our theme this year is Community Values – we have noted a few but invite visitors to add their own on a paper banner so we can adopt them for next year!
As was remarked to me on Sunday “this is one of the few times Shefford comes together” – along with others we would like to see more community events in the centre of town and to an extent we have played a small part in encouraging this to happen. Unfortunately we have a restricted area for these events but from memory I think we now have Remberance Day, Christmas Lights switch on, EatFeast, Festival opening, Friday market, Community Market and the Charter Fair.
It is great that some progress has been made by using Pamoli Square so thanks to Morrisons and the Council for facilitating this.
With the 2024 Festival in our minds we are reflecting on the part played by our sponsors, without whom we could not run the festival, which has in turn sparked so many spin offs in new local activities.
We presently have two types of sponsor – the ones who pay and the ones who contribute a service for free.
The first category includes the following, who not only get to support our community but also receive recognition on our website, our blog and the many leaflets and posters which we circulate throughout the year – plus the exclusive right to use an official sponsor banner/poster in your own publicity material.
If you would like to join this select group please contact me on 07860 218334 or email [email protected]
The second category includes sponsors who facilitate the festival in some way on a pro-bono basis eg by publishing or distributing material – a group which includes the following which are in addition to my own contribution and that of my partner and my sec/admin colleague who originated the Festival and continue to run it on a pro bono basis from our “work from home” marketing company.
That’s right – it’s not too early to plan for September 2025 – in fact it is the ideal time to brain storm for ideas – with Shefford growing fast all the time and so many new families looking for local activities – the Community Festival is the ideal place to look.
The form of the Festival is well established with a High Street opening ceremony followed by nine days of local events and activities all organised by local individuals or organisations – from the Street food and the Market to singing classes and meditation. Our art groups and the amateur radio people gave us some really interesting things to do this year – so what could we look forward to next year?
How about we all give a thought to it now so we can gather support and arrange a venue – would you like to run a book club ( do you already do so?) – what about a quilting circle or a fabric dying group? Would anybody like to invite enthusiasts to their shed for a tea and woodworking session? Is there a car group or bike club that could meet that week – maybe have a festival ride out?
If you have an idea but don’t have a venue please contact me – maybe I can put you in touch with a venue that is looking to run an event? Shefford has a number of community focused indoor spaces and organisations who would love to host a new activity – maybe even for free!
Call me – Ian Deavin on 07860 218334 or email [email protected]
The Shefford Community Festival went really well this year and seems to have found its place in our local calendar – I have already been asked when it will run next year, so after due consultation I have set dates for Friday Sept 12 to Sunday 21st – so the same week as this year. This is not too early to think about what you might do for the festival in 2025 – in fact I have already had a couple of people asking – they left it too late for this year so wanted to get in really early for next!
On Friday the opening ceremony was brilliant – not only did we have two local luminaries cutting the ribbon i.e. our Mayor Ken Pollard with MP Alistair Strathern, others participating included the Shefford Prince and Princess, plus an adult Elsa in fabulous costume and character from her adjacent Be Our Guest Palace. There were sponsors there from Country Properties and BEST Academies, Nicola Burr represented Plastic Free Shefford and Erica Bowler showed up from the Baptist Church. Lesley Whiteman, who runs the monthly Community Market, was active taking photos and representing the Garage Sale Trail, as well as the Shefford Mind Body Spirit and Craft Fair at the STMA.
During the week we had many interesting activities covering:
Community Hall AGM, Community Market, Well-being event at Millenium Green, Messy Harvest, Tai Chi beginners classes, Community café, WI invitational meeting, ALL-ABLE art show, Community Choir, Amateur Radio Society, Promoting the environment meeting, Self Help Art group, EatFeast street food, Mind Body Spirit Craft fair, Art Exhibition, Scarecrow festival, STMA Family Fun Day, Garage Sale Trail.
And lastly – thank you to all our sponsors who enable this event each year.
After a very wet start to the day the rain paused at around 10.00 am so most of us could put out our garage sale gazebos and goods. The scarecrows of course had been out since the day before but seemed to survive the soaking very well.
There were many stalls and scarecrows – with stallholders reporting that they were very busy – as evidenced by the groups of families walking round town. So here is a mix of photos taken at random to give a flavour of a wet Sunday in Shefford!
