Downtown Bedford Offering Spring and Summer Events

Looking for some exciting things to do this spring and summer? Downtown Bedford is the place to be.

Coming up on May 7 is the car show, bed races and wing off.

Bed races

For the bed races, there are teams consisting of four runners and a rider. The cart not an actual bed. It’s in the shape of a bed with wheels on it.

“They can make it into their own thing,” said Downtown Bedford Main Street Manager Lindsay Salas.

There are seven teams signed up and they are going to race on South Juliana Street toward the Coverlet Museum. The overall winner of the race will receive a trophy and a cash prize. Participants will be judged based on their creativity and engineering. Those winners will get a trophy as well. Pictures will be posted on Facebook and the team with the most likes will get a cash prize.

Some teams deck out their clothing and their bed. Salas said, “This year, we have The Bedford County Pink Ribbon Fund. They are going to go all out in decorating their bed and their apparel.”

Participants can sign up until the day before the event as long as Salas knows how many people are participating the day of the event. Those interested can download a form from the website: http://www.downtownbedford.com/events. They should call or email Salas. Forms can be mailed in or given to Salas the day of the event.

Car show

The car show will be on Penn Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cars can register from 11 a.m. to noon. All classes of cars are accepted. These classes include Antique to 1949, 50 stock, 60 stock, 70 stock, 80-94 stock, 95-2022 stock, street rod, custom, truck and mid-life crisis.

After noon, judges will judge the cars. According to Salas, you don’t have to enter and be judged. At 1:30, trophies will be handed out to all of the classes. Then they will have an overall best in show.

Wing-off

The wing-off will have seven restaurants participating from noon to 4 p.m. Purchased tickets will be given to any of the participating restaurants set up on the public square. One ticket equals one wing. When tickets are purchased, the customer will be given a ballot that shows where each business is located and what flavor of wings they have.

The people who are tasting the wings will choose which flavor they like the best for the following categories: most creative, people’s choice, best sauce and the hottest of the hot. At the end of the event, the business with the most votes in each category wins a plaque.

There will also be adult beverages available to purchase throughout the event.

Farmer’s Market

The Farmer’s Market will begin May 18 and will continue every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the end of September. Salas said that during the Farmer’s Market, they will host voucher program days.

“We have two Veteran Voucher Days, two Senior Voucher Days and two Youth Voucher Days,” said Salas.

On these days, about $1,000 worth of vouchers will be handed out to each group. These vouchers will be used like cash.

“The farmers will return them back to me and I will give them a check for that amount,” said Salas. “It’s an awesome promotion.”

Art Walk

The Art Walk is a brand new event on June 11 from noon to 4 p.m. There will be artists of all types including painters, ceramics, fabric art, sculptors, woodworking, collage makers and pottery.

There will also be a tattoo artist, but he will not be doing tattoos. Instead, he will be creating paintings.

All artists are invited to participate in this event.

“We are going to have some vendors set up on the public square so that they can display and sell their artwork,” said Salas. We will also have other artists set up throughout the downtown, giving live demonstrations and displaying their art at different merchant locations.”

It is a free event to attend. After the Art Walk, there will be a reception at the Old Bedford Brewing Company at 5 p.m.

There will be a silent auction. Art donated by some of the artists will be auctioned off.

Rock on the Block

Also this summer, there will be two Rock the Blocks and one Rock the River. The first Rock the Block will be held on June 16 and the second on July 14. They will be held on Juliana Street between Central Way and Penn Street.

The first band on June 16 will be Chasing Karma. There will be food vendors and adult beverages will be available for purchase.

The Rock the River will be held on Aug. 11 at Fort Bedford Park.

“People can come out to this free event, bring their lawn chairs and do some dancing and bring their families,” said Salas. “It is just a community get-together and is open to everybody.”

July events

On July 4, there will be fireworks at dusk. There will also be food vendors set up down at the fort and a band along with a cornhole tournament, which will start at 3 p.m.

Throughout the summer, there will be merchant events. The first Friday of June, July and August, the downtown merchants will offer a refreshment and a small chance at a door prize. Salas said, “It is something that gets feet on the streets and shoes in the shops.”

The Christmas theme this year will be “There is Gnome Place Like Bedford for the Holidays.” In July, there will be a Christmas in July Scavenger Hunt.

“We will hide a gnome at participating stores,” said Salas. “People will find the gnome and be entered to win some Bedford bucks.”

For more information, please visit their website http://www.downtownbedford.com.