Welcome to this year's Festival
A very warm welcome to the 38th Bewdley Festival of the Arts. We are thrilled to present another wonderful programme of music, comedy, talks and visual arts for you to enjoy. This year's festival again promises an exciting mix of established performers and emerging talent, with events taking place in venues right across our beautiful town.
Bewdley Festival was started back in 1988 by a group of local residents dedicated to bringing quality arts to the region at an affordable cost to all. Of course, everyone knows about the spiralling cost of living - and the arts are no different - but that ambition remains the same today as we strive to provide events throughout the year which are both affordable and entertaining.
So far in 2026 we’ve hosted a fantastic evening of young talent at the Wyre Forest Young Musician, followed by our 3rd amazing Step into Stories festival, funding authors to visit local schools as well as hosting a day long festival of stories and activities for young readers. Meanwhile, a future date for your diary is our Bewdley Festival Soup Trail - always a sell out - which takes place on Saturday 3rd October.
And we’re also delighted to welcome Sue Pennington, our new Bewdley Festival Manager. Sue joined us at the start of the year, and has been busy ever since! She can be found in the Festival Office in St George’s Hall, and would be really happy to hear from you with any thoughts, feedback or ideas for the future. Feel free to drop in, or eMail her at sue.pennington@bewdleyfestival.org.uk
Lastly, may I thank everyone who has helped to bring this year’s Bewdley Festival of the Arts to life, including our Trustees, our Committee, and all our Volunteers. We are, of course, also indebted to our many Festival Friends, Partners & Patrons for their invaluable support.
We very much hope you enjoy this year’s Festival of the Arts. And thank you from the whole team here at Bewdley Festival for supporting our unique arts charity.
Alastair Elliott, Chair
