BBC's Alice Arnold To Open Bedford Park Festival

The Radio Four newsreader will launch the 46th festival

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Alice Arnold Takes On Litter Lout

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Radio Four newsreader and Chiswick resident, Alice Arnold will open the Bedford Park Festival this weekend.

Alice Arnold

Alice hit the headlines when she tackled a litter lout who threw rubbish out of a car last month. Her story was published in the national papers and several celebrities supported her stance.

Alice who has lived in Chiswick for several years, will officially open the 46th Bedford Park Festival on Saturday (June 16th) at 11am.

The Festival runs from June 16- July 1. www.bedfordparkfestival.org

This year there is a special Diamond Jubilee theme to the Festival. It starts at the Green Days fete, on Saturday June 16th, with the children’s fancy dress competition. Ten years ago, at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, there were some spectacular costumes, with winners dressed as kings and queens and a street party.

The Green Days fete, which attracts thousands of people each year with its mix of live music, children’s events, stalls, refreshments, Craft Fair and funfair, will be held on June 15th and 16th. Green Days weekend opens a fortnight of community and arts events in aid of charities and St Michael & All Angels Church, supported by dozens of local businesses. Events include comedy, opera, dance, concerts, exhibitions, talks and open gardens.

A previous Fancy Dress event

There are plenty of events for children and young people
- Design a Jubilee Crown (by Friday June 15th) - you could win a family trip to the Crown Jewels in the Marmalade competition
- Fancy dress parade on Saturday June 16th: the theme is Diamond Jubilee.
- Bedford Park's Got Talent on Sunday 17th. Entry forms in church and on the Festival website - must be submitted by noon on Saturday, with details of your music backing.
- and watch the 5-a-side football!
http://smaaa.org.uk/festival/BPFChildren.html

The festival has a new CycleZone on Green Days, backed by Hounslow Council and sponsored by Woolsey of Acton. Bring your cycle and take advantage of the services on offer: http://smaaa.org.uk/festival/CycleZone.html

And community organisation Streetbank is running a free-to-enter photo competition . They'll be there on the Sunday of Green Days, so do look out for their stall.

The festival has some great restaurants and gastropubs offering a free meal for two in Win a Meal, including Sam's Brasserie & Bar, La Trompette, The Carpenter's Arms and The Swan. Ian Leckie, head chef at Sam's, will be doing cookery demonstrations at 2pm on the Green on both days.

Highlights of the Festival this year include the popular Bedford Park Summer Exhibition, (June 15-22), as well as poetry from former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, three productions at the Tabard Theatre, and a number of music recitals.

Chiswick resident Simon Curtis will talk about his successful film, ‘My Year With Marilyn’ in an interview with BBC journalist Torin Douglas (27 June). The successful children’s book illustrator, Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo), will talk to fans (June 23), and singer Kate Dimbleby will perform songs by Dory Previn and other jazz greats( 22nd June).

The full programme is available at http://smaaa.org.uk/festival/BPFProgramme.html  

Three events have already sold out so online booking is now advisable as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Details of the new online booking system are at : http://smaaa.org.uk/festival/OnlineBooking.html and several forms of payment including Paypal are accepted.

There’ll be a celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, with a 90-minute programme combining archive film, photographs, live commentary with actors, and piano accompaniment by the acclaimed silent-film pianist and broadcaster Neil Brand. It is presented by film historian Luke McKernan, featuring films from the collection of the British Film Institute, and recreates the procession taken through London on 22 June 1897 to mark the sixtieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria.

There’s also a special Diamond Jubilee category in the annual Photographic Exhibition and Competition. And the Festival climax will be a special Last Night of the Proms performance by singers from Opera Novella in St Michael & All Angels Church.

Other events include three productions at The Tabard Theatre , including a production of 'Straight and Narrow' by Theatre West Four on June 17th. On the final day, Sunday July 1st, there will be a Festival Mass and Bedford Park Open Gardens.

The 2012 Festival will raise money for the work of St Michael’s, including its new Organ and Parish Rooms Appeal; and three other charities - CEDARS, which helps disadvantaged children in and around Chiswick (cctg.co.uk/cedars); The Upper Room, feeding the community in need in West London (ur4jobs.co.uk); and Hamlin Fistula UK, a charity which provides medical help for women in Ethiopia

June 13, 2012