The Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama was founded in 1921 and provides a showcase for the wealth of talent in the amateur performing arts in Bedfordshire and the surrounding area. The Festival offers a wide range of classes for all ages covering most musical genres including Classical, Musical Theatre, Jazz and Asian music, as well as many varied Speech and Drama classes including Verse Speaking, Acting, Mime and Improvisation. It features categories for school groups, Special School groups, orchestras, wind bands, junior and senior choirs and group creative performance.

Run by a Committee of volunteers and a part-time Secretary, the Festival is a charity. The organisers are extremely grateful to the Festival’s supporters, its Individual and Corporate Friends, for their financial support, without which the Festival would not take place.

The Festival Gala Concert takes place on 9th March (event starts at 6:30pm) tickets are also £2.50 and free for under 10s.

The Gala Concert is held to draw the Festival to a close and it showcases some of the very best performances from the week. In addition to the prestigious cups on offer for winners at the Gala, there are also a number of prizes available: The Woodfine Lousada prizes of £250 each for most outstanding Speech and Drama and Music performances; The Melville Prize of £250 for most promising performer in Year 9 and below; and the Elaine Bonas Prize of £50 for the Most Promising Young Singer selected from performers nominated throughout the week by the adjudicators.