Events

Events are key to bringing new visitors into the town and the team at Our Bury St Edmunds are always at the forefront of many major events that have taken place in the town centre over the last few years. The BID team are always coming up with new events and ideas and this year there are many events to look forward to. Take a look at some of the events taking place in 2018...

Whitsun Fayre: 26th and 27th May 2019

Independents Week: 1st - 7th July 2019

Food and Drink Festival: 25th - 26th August 2019

Festival of Sport: Dates 18th - 27th October

Christmas Lights Switch-On: Thursday 14th November 2019

For more information about the festivals and events, click here.

Please find our member resources below for each of our events: 

Theatre Star Trail 2019

This year is the 200th Anniversary of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, and as one of the oldest active theatres in the UK and a huge cultural asset to Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding areas, it’s an anniversary worth celebrating!

There are a number of events the Theatre are organising to recognise this important achievement, click here to find out how you can get involved!

One of the events commemorating this anniversary is the Theatre Star Trail where, in partnership with the Our Bury St Edmunds BID, we are creating a trail around the town centre and challenging the public to find the 25 stars, each with a named performer, who has trodden the boards at Theatre Royal!

The trail will run from the May half term until the end of the October half term holiday (Saturday 25th May through to Sunday 27th October)

To take part in the trail is FREE!, great exercise and a fabulous social event with friends and/or family and a way of getting to know even more about our town centre and it’s wonderful businesses.

Trail leaflets and entry forms will be available from late May from the theatre and the Tourism Information Points at the Apex, the Cathedral Shop, Moyses Hall and the Town Council offices. There are prizes up for grabs for those who can identify each performer on the stars at the correct location and correct entries need to be delivered to the Our Bury St Edmunds BID offices in Woolhall Street by Thursday 31st October 2019.

Header image: download here

This can be used for Facebook and Twitter, the header is the large image at the top which helps to capture attention of the user, and is a great way to advertise a campaign or a particular topic that you would like to promote. 

Social image-  Theatre Star Trail 2019: download here

This is a general image to promote the event the trail with the star in the centre. This can be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Christmas Lights Switch On 2019

We can't wait for the Christmas Lights Switch On on Thursday 14th November. There will be entertainment and stalls at the Buttermarket from 3pm with a special local superstar to be announced! 

Please see below for some images that we've prepared for you to use to promote the Switch On far and wide to your audiences! 

Header image: download here

This can be used for Facebook and Twitter, the header is the large image at the top which helps to capture attention of the user, and is a great way to advertise a campaign or a particular topic that you would like to promote. 

General social image: download here

This is a general image to promote the event. This can be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Independents Week 2019

We are looking forward to Independents Week this year, and we have lots going on including a Facebook competition and a visit from The Town Crier. Please see below for some images that we've prepared for you to use to promote Independents Week far and wide to your audiences! 

Header image: download here

This can be used for Facebook and Twitter, the header is the large image at the top which helps to capture attention of the user, and is a great way to advertise a campaign or a particular topic that you would like to promote. 

General Social image:  download here

This is a general image to promote the event. This can be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We have also created a series of infographics about the variety of independent businesses we have in the town, download them below:

Image 1 - 2019 marks the 9th year of Independents Week - download

Image 2 - 59% of all of our businesses are Independent - download 

Image 3 - Every street in the BID has an independent business in it - download

Image 4 - Bury St Edmunds has 20% more independent businesses than the national average - download 

Image 5 - 290 businesses are independent -  download

Image 6 - There are 80 independent market stalls - download

Image 7 - We have a variety of independent businesses - download

Image 8 - Let us know why you love shopping with independent businesses! - download 

Food and Drink Festival 2019

We can't wait for this year's Food and Drink Festival with demonstrations from celebrity chefs Nick Nairn and Dean Edwards. We'd love for you to promote this to your customers, please find some helpful social media images below:

General header image - download here

Header image with chefs - download here

This can be used for Facebook and Twitter, the header is the large image at the top which helps to capture attention of the user, and is a great way to advertise a campaign or a particular topic that you would like to promote. 

Square social images, we have a few options and these can be used on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Image 1 General - download here

Image 2 with Dean Edwards - download here

Image 3 with Nick Nairn - download here 

We've also written some posts that you are welcome to use on your social media channels in italics below:

We are excited for the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival with demonstrations from celebrity chefs Nick Nairn and Dean Edwards as well as some fantastic local eateries, pop-up beach, mini farm and much more! #tastebury #foodanddrinkfestival

It’s not long to go until Our Bury St Edmunds welcomes the Food & Drink Festival to our wonderful town - make sure you pop in and say hi when you’re in town! #tastebury #foodanddrinkfestival 

It’s almost the August bank holiday which marks the return of the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival - there will be demonstrations from celebrity and local chefs, an urban beach, mini farm and much more! #tastebury #foodanddrinkfestival 

Flyer

A5 double sided flyer with all the information you and your customers will need! - download here

Press Release

Our Bury St Edmunds offers packed menu for foodie festival

New celebrity chefs and stalls bringing first-time flavours are on the menu for the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival taking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend. And one lucky winner will have a day to remember at the event when they get to meet TV chef Dean Edwards, who became a household name cooking on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, and receive a personal signed copy of his book as part of a VIP foodie experience prize in a competition supporting the festival.

The free event, promises two days of foodie fun as well as a host of different family attractions including the urban beach, mini-farm and street entertainment. Celebrity chefs Nick Nairn and Dean Edwards both make their first visit to the festival alongside a farmers’ market, local restaurant demonstrations and scores of stalls selling everything from tapas to teas and beers to artisan breads, offering something to tempt everyone’s tastebuds.

This year there’s a chance to win a VIP foodie experience in the run up to the festival in a competition organised in partnership with the tourism body for the area, Bury St Edmunds and Beyond. The prize includes meeting Dean Edwards on Bank Holiday Monday and £150 in vouchers to spend at any Our Bury St Edmunds member restaurant in the town. Entries to the competition and full details can be found on the Bury St Edmunds and Beyond website.

This is the eighth annual Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival organised by the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation for the town. Our Bury St Edmunds Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “Every year we try to offer something a little different and 2019 is no exception. New to the event this year are a stall selling Hungarian food and another featuring Dominican street food, which was a huge hit at this year’s St Johns Street Festival in the town and we’re delighted to be welcoming them back.

“Among our BID member businesses getting involved in the festival are a number of multi-award winning restaurants such as Maison Bleue and 1921 whose chefs will be giving demonstrations in the Stoves Cookery Theatre. Others such as Bill’s Restaurant are having a stall as part of the event or doing something special at their own premises over the weekend.

Bury is already on the map as Suffolk’s foodie capital with around one in four of almost 90 food and drink establishments having awards to their name and this event is a great showcase for them.”

For younger visitors there will be a range of children’s activities in and around the town centre, including face painting, the mini-farm in Abbeygate Street and the beach complete with deckchairs and Punch and Judy at Charter Square in the arc, along with fairground rides and free street entertainment across both days.

Full details about the event, which runs from 10am to 5pm on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 August, can be found at www.ourburystedmunds.com/foodanddrinkfestival.