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Community Corner

Free Music and Arts Event Takes Place Sat. Sept. 21

Macon, Georgia hosted one in March and then Honolulu a month later. You would have caught one if you happened to visit Sheridan, Wyoming earlier this summer. It’s a rare and rather wacky sport called a bed race and there will be one right here in Milford, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. 

The free family friendly event will take place as part of the second annual music and arts festival, Milford Alive! A bed race involves a team sponsored by a community group or local business. Each team creates a bed on wheels. The bed is decorated according to a theme. It must feature pillows or a headboard or a bed skirt – some characteristic of an actual bed. And one team member at least must be “in” the bed. The race itself is run as a series of heats; each team takes its turn seeing how quickly it can travel from the creek bridge to the Delaware River bridge on Milford’s aptly named Bridge Street.

The bed race is a Milford tradition that began more than 30 years ago, in about 1980, and which has continued just about every year since then. Thousands have watched the race over the years. When the Milford-Holland Rescue Squad was looking for fun events to have as part of a town-wide picnic, Bernard Szwec, one of the members, suggested the bed race, something he had seen in Greenwood Lake, New York when visiting a college friend. The first several were held on York Street, recalls Larry Lutz, who like Bernie still lives in Milford. Lutz says the rules were rather strict in those days – no bicycle tires were allowed, for example. 

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“We had a big turnout. We advertized a lot,” said Lutz, who noted that they drew teams from a number of local bars. These days local Milford watering holes like the Oyster House and Ship Inn are often participants. The field can also include a Scout troop, or the employees of the Milford Bakery too.

According to the original organizers, Szwec and Lutz, the squad sponsored the bed race for about 10 years, and then it became part of Milford’s community day – in recent years called the Fall Festival.  Now the festival has morphed into “Milford Alive.” Most of the action is in and around Milford’s main drag, Bridge Street, and many offerings, including the music and the fireworks, are free. The organizers include a mix of veteran bed-race organizers including Melissa Harrison, of Mystique, a beauty salon in Milford, and newer Milfordites, such as artist Jon Stettler, a local photographer and artist. Milford Alive’s focus is on the vibrant arts and music scene in and around this river town. Along with Stettler, painter Aubrey McWatt of Upper Black Eddy and sculptor Simon Keller, of Flemington, will show their work. There will be nine hours of live music. Dozens of performers and bands will take the stage in the parking lot of the Milford Presbyterian Church next to the municipal ball field perform, starting at noon and continuing till 9 p.m. Fireworks will be the finale of the day.

The music will span many genres:  blues, children’s, blue-grass, hip hop, pop, and rock. There will also be antique cars, a bi-plane flyby, local authors signing books, and crafters selling their wares. The organizers hope to build on a successful event last year, and they are seeking vendors and other purveyors of fun to participate.

Find out about the event and more about Milford area happenings at www.visitmilfordnj.com,  and check out the latest bands that have been added to the program, as well as other news related to Milford Alive by visiting www.milfordalive.com.  Interested vendors can call Ms. Harrison at 908-995-4854.
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