RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — One of Richmond’s largest celebrations is returning to the city’s historic downtown riverfront this weekend.
The 19th Richmond Folk Festival will feature more than 30 artists from around the world, traditional crafts, food and dancing.
“Last year, we had about 230,000 people show up to the riverfront,” Stephen Lecky, director of events for Venture Richmond told 8News. “Don’t let those numbers scare you. We have a lot of space. It’s not like you’re jammed in here. It’s a beautiful, wide, expansive site. We’ve got food vendors and craft vendors and musicians and kids activities, all sorts of fun stuff.”
The free, three-day festival will feature everything from gospel to salsa, and Lecky says the event has become a staple for the Commonwealth.
“The festival started in 2005,” he explained. “It was the National Folk Festival for a three-year run and the goal of the National Folk Festival, which has been around for over 80 years at this point, is to plant a seed of the sort of folk festivals in a community. Hopefully, that community then runs with it, and Richmond has run with it.”
The Richmond Folk Festival is Oct. 13-15. Times vary:
- Friday, Oct. 13 — 6:30 to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 14 — Noon – 9:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 15 — Noon – 6 p.m.
Off-site parking for the festival will be available at Dogwood Dell on Saturday and Sunday. For $5 per adult roundtrip, a shuttle bus will drop off festivalgoers at Spring Street. Parking lots are also available throughout downtown Richmond.
More details about parking, performers and festival information can be found on The Richmond Folk Festival website.
