Summer Solstice Festival Notches A Success for Bedford

The tables are set and the Common’s ready for the crowds with an hour to spare – Courtesy image (c) 2019 all rights reserved

Submitted by the Town of Bedford

And the crowds arrived. More than 1,600 people came through the course of the day – Courtesy image (c) 2019 all rights reserved

Waiting to test the delicious delights brought by the food trucks – Courtesy image (c) 2019 all rights reserved

The Town of Bedford held its inaugural Summer Solstice Festival, including a German-style Biergarten, on June 22 on the Bedford Town Common. The event drew a large multi-generational crowd with over 1,600 attendees over the five hours. The weather cooperated for the most part with sunny skies and warm weather with the exception of a brief but torrential downpour toward the end of the event.

Sarah Stanton stepped in to help – Courtesy image (c) 2019 all rights reserved

Notch Brewery event manager JT Thompson said that it was a much larger crowd than anticipated and Notch sold out of their session beers (eight kegs) by 4:10 pm, a record for the company that has been hosting biergartens throughout Massachusetts. Bedford Town Manager, Sarah Stanton, graciously jumped in to help pour and sell beers during a particularly busy time. Notch Brewery provided picnic tables and games for the event, which were well used by event goers and added to the festive atmosphere.

Visitors to the festival also enjoyed the unique and delicious specialties of the various food trucks, which reported that they were very pleased with the turnout at the event. Uncle E’s BBQ Express food truck sold out of most of their dishes by the time the event was over. Many commented that they enjoyed the event’s location on the Bedford Common. One of the goals of the festival was to activate this public space helping to enhance the vitality of Bedford Center.

The Team (l-4) DPW Engineer Kristin Dowdy, Town Manager Sarah Stanton, Economic Development Director Alyssa Sandoval, Special Assistant to the Town Manager Amy Fidalgo, and Human Resources Manager Colleen Doyle). Not pictured, team member Michael Rosen – Courtesy image (c) Erin Dorr 2019 all rights reserved – Click to view a larger image

The Town of Bedford is thankful to our vendors, Notch Brewing, Moyzilla, Chez Rafiki’s, Papi’s Stuffed Sopapillas, The Cod Squad, Uncle E’s BBQ Express and the The Whoo(pie) Wagon for coming to Bedford, and local singer, Rick Skehan, for providing the soundtrack for the event. A note of special thanks and appreciation goes to the Bedford CERT Team and Town Staff, including the Police, Fire, Public Works, Health and Town Managers’ Departments, and the Economic Development Director for event planning and coordination.

As we think about planning future events, we would appreciate the input of festival attendees on this brief survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7TNDM6