For 2010, the popular Craft market returns to its original site, the spacious, shady St Andrew's Church grounds, strategically positioned on the road to Maasstrom Farm Garden. Clive Alderton is back at the helm and he aims to take the project to new heights this year. Once again, the pretty church will be filled with roses, providing an aditional visitor attraction.

Clive's experience includes working at the Rand Easter Show. Contact him on 046 685 1395 0r 0786730920 complete@r63.co.za  

Renowned poet and writing mentor Prof Dorian Haarhoff will be in Bedford from Friday 7 May to Sunday 9 May for a four part writing workshop which promises to be a real Bedford experience. Participants can book for each part separately if they choose. The evening functions are held at two of our most evocative venues - Die Ou Waenhiuis and The Old Gaol. All will head for Albertvale farm for the Saturday session and the meeting point on Sunday is the old oak tree where generations of locals have picniced. For all the info click on WRITING WEEKED in the menu panel.

Registered guide and local wildlife fundi Mark Whitehead has confirmed he will lead three birding trips during the 2010 Bedford Garden Festival.
The first is based at his farm (www.mwsafaris.co.za) and takes place on Thursday 28 October – the day set aside for special groups like this.
Members of the birding group will sleep over at the farm and make an early start on Thursday morning. After a midday break, there will be a second outing from mid afternoon.
On Festival Saturday (30 October), Whitehead will lead another group in a morning excursion from 7am (birds are early risers!). The third sortie starts at 3pm.  The Bedford Club is the meeting place for both these excursions.
For more information and to book, email Mark and Tracey Whitehead 0826570181@vodamail.co.za

The Bedford Garden Festival welcomes the radio station AlgoFM as its official media partner for 2010.

"We have worked with AlgoaFM for the past two years," said festival convenor Bryan Knox, "and we believe our relationship will benefit everyone again this year."

Kim van Niekerk (chair of the Bedford Garden Club) and Catherine Knox (media and marketing for the Bedford Garden Festival) were invited to Barkly East last week to advise the district on their first open gardens event, scheduled for November 2010. "We visited 17 gardens, travelling through wild mountain scenery, meeting wonderful country people. This just might be where we go to wind down after our garden festival (29 - 31 October 2010) this year," said Kim. Last year, a party of 20 Bedford garden lovers travelled to Underberg (KZN) to support their open gardens the week after the Bedford Garden Festival.

Popular organic fertilizer"Bounceback" will bounce into Bedford during the garden festival this year (29 to 31 October).
Neutrog (manufacturers of the Aussie-invented product) have come aboard as a partner to the festival.
They will set up info stands at Maasstrom and Albertvale farm gardens.
Visitors will get a chance to get to know their other products which are appropriately eco-friendly for the Bedford ethos.

More people than ever before visited Bedford’s open gardens during the 2009 festival (23 to 25 October).
Two gardens doubled their numbers and all the gardens where entries are counted reported an increase in visitors.
More than 20 gardens were open.
Restaurants in the village were packed. There was a huge demand for fresh local produce, particularly strawberries, raspberries and cheese.
Cambrian Fuchsias sold thousands of plants and other plant vendors reported exponential sales. Several farm gardeners sold out and resorted to digging plants out of the soil for visitors.
There was a significant increase in male visitors and a number of children showed a keen interest in gardening. Kim van Niekerk’s edible gardening workshops drew 30% more people than expected.
Work begins next week on the 2010 Bedford Garden Festival which will take place on 29, 30 & 31 October, a date set to synchronise with the National Rose Convention (Knysna, 23, 24 October 2010).