Bedford Blues fireworks are confirmed for Friday 6 November at £9, Russell's Halloween Circus opens on 23 October, plus 38 more dated listings to 8 November.

The date Bedford has been waiting on is out: the Bedford Blues Fireworks Display and Funfair is on Friday 6 November at Goldington Road, £9 online with under-6s free. The following night Shuttleworth at Old Warden runs its first fireworks night. Before that comes half term, with Russell’s Big Halloween Circus on Longholme Way from Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November, and a busy week at the Corn Exchange for comedy.

Everything below comes from the organisers’ own listings, read on 28 September 2026, and each entry links to its source. Corn Exchange prices include the venue’s booking fee; it adds a £3.85 transaction fee per online booking, or £2.55 by phone or in person on bookings over £8. For places open whatever the month, see our guide to things to do in Bedford.

This week

  • Mistero Buffo, Tuesday 29 September, 7.30pm, The Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s, 26 St Peter’s Street, MK40 2NN. Rhum + Clay stage Dario Fo’s dark comedy as a travelling storyteller’s tales (The Quarry Theatre).
  • Turning Disaster into Triumph: the Sutton medieval pottery kiln, Thursday 1 October, 11.30am to 12.30pm, The Higgins Bedford, Castle Lane, MK40 3XD. Free, booking essential. David Ingham of Albion Archaeology on the kiln found under Sutton Primary School in 2024 (The Higgins).
  • Philharmonia Orchestra: Beethoven’s Fifth with Delyana Lazarova, Thursday 1 October, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange, St Paul’s Square, MK40 1SL. Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Lukas Sternath, then Beethoven’s Fifth. Prices vary by seat (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Loughborough Lightning v Saracens Women, Friday 2 October, 7.30pm, Goldington Road. Top-flight women’s rugby in the PWR Next Gen Cup. Adults £10 online or £14 on the day, under-18s £3 (Bedford Blues).
  • Fun Palaces at The Higgins, Saturday 3 October, 11am to 4pm. Free drop-in: autumn decorations with archaeologists, a snail-themed pattern workshop from 11am to 1pm, geologists who will identify your rocks, and badge making (The Higgins).
  • Bedford Town v Wingate & Finchley, Saturday 3 October, 3pm, the Eyrie, Meadow Lane, Cardington, MK44 3LW. FA Cup third qualifying round; advance tickets are cheaper and go off sale at 1pm (Bedford Town FC).
  • Africa Live: Folksongs from Southern Africa, Saturday 3 October, 7.30pm, The Quarry Theatre. Otto & The Mutapa Calling, the UK’s only African marimba band, for Black History Month (The Quarry Theatre). Our preview of the show has more on the band.
  • Sky Full of Stars: a tribute to Coldplay, Saturday 3 October, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. £33.75, about two hours with an interval (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Race Day Air Show, Sunday 4 October, 9am to 6.30pm, Shuttleworth, Old Warden, SG18 9DT. The last air show of Shuttleworth’s season: rally cars and Edwardian racers on the airfield, then a flying display from about 2pm. From £35, children free, free parking (Shuttleworth).

Next week

  • Handling Sessions: Romans, Wednesday 7 October, 1pm to 3pm, The Higgins. Free drop-in with the museum’s handling collection (The Higgins).
  • Bedford Blues v Cornish Pirates, Ladies Day, Saturday 10 October, 5pm kick-off, Goldington Road. Adult ground entry £22 online or £26 on the day, under-18s £5 (Bedford Blues).

Later in October

  • Ageing Well Exhibition 2026, Wednesday 14 October, 10am to 2.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. Free. 42 organisations for over-50s, their families and carers, with taster sessions and council advice teams (Bedford Borough Council).
  • Geology Drop-in, Wednesday 14 October, 2pm to 4pm, The Higgins. Free, but book by email. Bring rocks, fossils and minerals for Bev Fowlston of Bedfordshire Geology Group to identify (The Higgins).
  • The Art of Nature workshop, Thursday 15 October, 11.30am to 1.30pm, The Higgins. Free adult workshop with the artist Fiona Wilson for the Bedfordshire Natural History Society’s 80th year, booking essential (The Higgins).
  • The Egypt You Don’t Know, Saturday 17 October, 2pm to 3pm, The Higgins. Free talk by Dr Tasneem Ramadan, booking essential (The Higgins).
  • Bedford Town v Chorley, Saturday 17 October, 3pm, the Eyrie. National League North (Bedford Town FC).
  • Philharmonia Orchestra with Seong-Jin Cho, Monday 19 October, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. The venue’s listing is titled Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1, but its programme note describes Borodin and Prokofiev’s Second, so check the page before booking (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • George, a Windrush Boy: meet the author, Tuesday 20 October, 11.30am to 1pm, The Higgins. Free. Gilroy Gregory reads from his novel and talks through the display (The Higgins).
  • Jimeoin: Ballyhoo!, Wednesday 21 October, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. £23.06, strictly 16+ (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • The Anglia Comedy Allstars, Thursday 22 October, 8pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. Sara Pascoe, Jen Brister, Ivo Graham and Hal Cruttenden. £29.81, strictly 18+ (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Kevin Bloody Wilson, Friday 23 October, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. £41.63, strictly 16+ (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Russell’s International Circus: Big Halloween Circus, Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November, Longholme Way, MK42 0BX. Shows every day at 3pm and 7pm, except Friday 23 October (7pm only), Sunday 25 October (noon and 3pm) and Sunday 1 November (noon only). Grandstand £22 adults and £16 children or concessions, up to £26 and £20 ringside, plus £2 a ticket online; no booking fee at the on-site box office (Russell’s International Circus).
  • Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity, Saturday 24 October, 2.30pm, The Quarry Theatre. Illusions and levitation from a physicist and Magic Circle member (The Quarry Theatre).
  • Henning Wehn: Acid Wehn, Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. £31.50 (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Bedford Town v Hednesford Town, Tuesday 27 October, 7.45pm, the Eyrie (Bedford Town FC).
  • Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, Saturday 31 October, 2pm and 6.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. An amateur youth production. £24.75, or £16.88 restricted view (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Bedford Blues v Hartpury University, Saturday 31 October, 3pm, Goldington Road. Adults £22 online or £26 on the day, under-18s £5 (Bedford Blues).
  • Bedford Town v Macclesfield, Saturday 31 October, 3pm, the Eyrie. The same kick-off as the Blues, so expect traffic on both sides of town (Bedford Town FC).

Half term runs from 26 to 30 October; our October half term guide has the holiday clubs and family days out.

November

  • ATW Bedford 10k and Half Marathon, Sunday 1 November, 9am, Russell Park, MK40 3RH, with a free family fun run at 8.30am (Active Training World). Our race guide has entry prices and parking.
  • Man in the Mirror: a tribute to Michael Jackson, Friday 6 November, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. £34.88, over-8s only (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Bedford Blues Fireworks Display and Funfair, Friday 6 November, Goldington Road. Funfair, bars and food from 6pm, children’s display at 7pm, main display at 8pm, and strictly no admittance after 8pm. General admission £9 online, under-6s free; the Burrow (£37) and the Dovecote Park Suite (£55) add food and a viewing gallery (Bedford Blues). There is no parking at the ground.
  • Shuttleworth Fireworks Night, Saturday 7 November, 5pm to 9pm, Old Warden. New this year: funfair, live music and lit hangars, fireworks at 7pm and a Spitfire engine run at 7.30pm. £12 adults and £6 children online, £15 and £10 on the gate (Shuttleworth).
  • The World Famous Elvis Show: Chris Connor, Saturday 7 November, 7.30pm, Bedford Corn Exchange. £33.75 (Bedford Corn Exchange).
  • Remembrance Weekend at Shuttleworth House, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, 10am to 4pm. Free entry to exhibitions on the house’s wartime years, poppy making for children, and a two minutes’ silence at 11am on the Sunday. Guided tours £15 (Shuttleworth).

Bedford’s own Remembrance Sunday service is at the Embankment war memorial on 8 November; the council has not yet published this year’s programme, and our Remembrance Sunday page will carry it when it does. For the other displays in the area, see our fireworks guide.

Regular events

  • Bedford parkrun, every Saturday at 9am, Bedford Park, Park Avenue, MK41 7SS. Free; register once before your first run and bring your barcode (Bedford parkrun).
  • Bedford town centre market, every Wednesday and Saturday (the charter market) and every Friday (a general market), 8.30am to 4pm (Bedford Borough Council).
  • Kempston Market, every Thursday, 8.30am to 4pm, at the Saxon Centre (Bedford Borough Council).
  • Puggle Club for under-5s, The Higgins, Friday 2 October and Friday 6 November, 10.30am to 12pm and 1pm to 2.30pm. Free drop-in (The Higgins).
  • Storytelling in the Gallery, The Higgins, Sunday 11 October and Sunday 8 November, 2.30pm. Free, 30 minutes, for children up to 7 (The Higgins).
  • Sunday Crafternoon, The Higgins, Sunday 18 October and Sunday 22 November, 2pm to 4pm, last admission 3.30pm. Free family craft drop-in for under-12s (The Higgins).

Getting there

The Corn Exchange, The Higgins and the Quarry Theatre are all within a ten-minute walk of each other in the town centre, and Goldington Road is a walk east along the river from there. The Blues say there is no parking at the ground and ask people to walk or use public transport. Our page on parking in Bedford has the car parks and their weekend free hours, and the roadworks and travel page lists closures before a night out. Coming by train, see Bedford train times.

This page is rewritten as organisers confirm new dates. Every listing was checked on 28 September 2026 against the organiser’s own page. Dates can still change, so use the links before you travel. More in our What’s On section.

Send us your event

Running something in Bedford, Kempston or the villages? Email the date, time, venue, price and a photo to hello@bedfordtimes.co.uk. Listings are free of charge, and we add them to this page and to the diary on our What’s On section.

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