Bury St Edmunds's St John's Street Festival is back

St John’s Street Festival is returning next month after a five-year absence to celebrate independent shopping.

A celebration has been planned for Saturday, June 15, which will see the popular Bury St Edmunds road closed to allow retailers to exhibit what they sell. There will also be live music and entertainment, rickshaw rides, street food and cooking demonstrations.

It is all being planned by the town’s business improvement district, councillors Kevin Hind and Julia Wakelam, and Rosie Hunter, who owns record shop/café Vinyl Hunter.

Chloe Hailstone, manager of Micks Cycles, is also helping to organise the event. She said: “It is always a really good day and it has a nice atmosphere.

“This time we are going for more of a festival vibe. There is more going on than in the past and we wanted to tie it in with Father’s Day. It is a day to celebrate everything that is good about independents.”

Radio station RWSfm will be broadcasting from St John’s Street throughout the day, while Extinction Rebellion will be raising awareness of climate change from a stall.

Rosie Hunter said: “This year the theme is Celebrating Bury St Edmunds and St John’s Street.”