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

MILFORD,
NJ – 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. 

“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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