For the 2025 Richmond Folk Festival, Virginia Folklife presented “Riverlore” in partnership with the James River Association.
We brought about 50 artisans and experts and 15 boats to our site near the downtown Richmond waterfront and one 40-foot batteau into the Brown’s Island canal. There were also several live mussels and blue crabs were on hand to help teach visitors about waterways. (The federal shutdown prohibited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from bringing a young lake sturgeon, but the James River Association brought their model, Harrison, who proved a popular photo partner.)
Harrison the Atlantic Sturgeon by the James River Association’s educational displays. Photo by Nina Wilder/Virginia Humanities James “Ooker” Eskridge, Mayor of Tangier and commercial crabber, joked Harrison was his latest catch. Photo courtesy Ooker Eskridge
Rivers proved a compelling storytelling tool to connect Virginians.
For the “Riverlore” launch party, we hosted a three-part film screening at Starr Hill Brewery in downtown Richmond. The program included the Virginia premiere of “Ancient New” by Tom Hansell, Trevor McKenzie, and Julie Sheperd-Powell in town from western North Carolina, and the first public screening of ALL FORWARD! Becoming an Urban Raft Guide by Headwaters Down. Justin Black, a Headwaters Down filmmaker, curated “Riding the Fall Line” for Riverlore. Folklife mentor artist, the multi-talented Horace J. Scruggs, III, also screened his apprenticeship documentary.
Julie Sheperd-Powell and Trevor McKenzie perform alongside the 16mm projection during Ancient New. Photo by Nina Wilder/Virginia Humanities Filmmaker Tom Hansell loads “Trash Trout Motion Picture Show” into 16mm film projector. Photo by Nina Wilder/Virginia Humanities
The Riverlore workshop stage hosted conversations and acoustic music. I invited Elsa Howell to open the stage by covering “The River St Johns,” a song adapted by Jake Xerxes Fussell from a 1930s recording of a fishmonger’s cry. She did it with her friend and “Richmond music mentor” Betsy Podsiadlo on fiddle and harmony. Elsa was an apprentice artist, Folklife Program intern, and continues to contract with us — she was also our “riverbank coffee house” stage manager!
A highlight of the weekend was the “Indigenous Virginia Craft Revivals” discussion. Three artists and leaders in their Indigenous communities — Allyson Gray (Pamunkey), Brad Hatch (Patawomeck), and Autumn Morningstar Custalow Alfaro (Mattaponi) — were in conversation with Siera Hyte (Cherokee Nation, Schiller Family Curator of Indigenous American Art for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts).
Making pottery and weaving eel pots are practices embedded in the local environment. These makers discuss how climate is impacting their work and more in this heartfelt conversation, which you can listen to in full on YouTube.
All told, about 30 people including musicians, marine biologists, expert white water rafters, cultural leaders, and historians performed for Riverlore. You can listen to seven sets on SoundCloud. Folklife friends performed on the neighboring Center for Cultural Vibrancy stage, which took over the Allianz Amphitheater festival weekend.
The “Indigenous River Stewardship” panel featured Nansemond Assistant Chief Nikki Bass (pictured) in conversation with Jamie Brunkow of the James River Association and Nansemond Chief Kevin Anderson. Photo by Nina Wilder/Virginia Humanities From left, Imani Bell, Senator Tim Kaine, and Omilade Janine Bell following the Elegba Folklore Society performance on the Riverlore stage. Photo by Katy Clune/Virginia Humanities From left, James RIVERKEEPER® Tom Dunlap in conversation with Matt Balazik, research faculty at VCU’s Rice Rivers Center; Carrie Fox, fisheries technician for the Upper Mattaponi Tribe; and Albert Spells, retired fish biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, on the return of the Atlantic sturgeon. Photo by Nina Wilder/Virginia Humanities
From left, Dayne Shelor, Cassidy Shelor, and Malcolm Smith, perform and tell tales of music flowing up the New River. Henry Whitter, pictured, was a musician and mill worker from Fries who recorded “New River Train” in the 1920s. Photo by Katy Clune/Virginia Humanities Riverlore stage on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities Horace Scruggs combined storytelling with song for “How Rivers Shaped the Land: Carving Out An Inclusive Narrative.” Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities
There were many moments of discovery in our Riverlore demonstration tent, where visitors could explore displays related to the environment, river history, indigenous cultural traditions, fishing, native plants, and more.
The Richmond Fly Women talk with Ooker Eskridge about fly fishing and making flies. Photo by Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities Ooker Eskridge brought blue crabs he caught in the Chesapeake Bay, along with the crab pots and bouys he makes. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities
Riverlore also featured art — with the festival favorite being the poster designed by Julie Wang. (You can purchase a Riverlore t-shirt and tote bag through the end of the year, with proceeds being split between the Virginia Folklife Program and James River Association.)
Allyson Grey demonstrated how she makes traditional Pamunkey pottery and sold earrings she makes, with proceeds supporting her workshops for tribal youth. Nansemond Assistant Chief Nikki Bass, a scientist and an artist, displayed her ribbon skirts. With riverine creatures sewn in appliqué, Bass sews — and wears — these skirts to grow awareness of indigenous cultural and environmental sovereignty.
Linnea Bennett, our primary partner with the James River Association, shared one surprising through-line of the weekend: White oak. The white oak is native to much of Virginia, from forests in the Shenandoah Valley to communities near the Chesapeake Bay. Its wood is favored by craftsmen who appreciate its tolerance of water. Water causes white oak wood to swell without rotting — making it the ideal material for batteaus. Patawomeck tribal member and eel pot maker Brad Hatch uses white oak as does basketmaker and Clyde Jenkins.
Patawomack tribal member and eel pot maker Brad Hatch talks with a young festival goer at the Virginia Folklife Area. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities Allyson Gray demonstrates how she makes pottery in the traditional Pamunkey style. Photo by Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
“White oaks are being replanted in the James River watershed by JRA and its partners. Rebuilding forested areas is a key tool for improving river and stream health, and native trees like white oaks are the perfect species for this task,” Linnea explained.
As the environment changes around us, we adapt our traditions. The four founding members of Richmond Fly Women, Tori Martin, Kensey Barker, Bri Winter, and Hannah Ardey, donned sparkly face paint and demonstrated tying flies. They formed this new social group to support each other in getting out to fly fish, in urban and wild settings.
Bethany Allen and Will Wickham recently founded Seed Pocket Nursery, to help people learn to cultivate more native plants. Will taught me Richmond’s riverine hills are home to native passion fruit!
Stories connected to rivers remind of our own connections to place, and to other people. “Riverlore” was a joy to curate. The program gave me more excuses to spend time near rivers and the people who love them.
Thank you to everyone who helped make Riverlore possible, especially to all our presenters, supporting Venture Richmond, Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, and National Council for the Traditional Arts staff, the Riverlore on-site team — co-curator Justin Black, Whitney Brown, and Barb Gillespie — and our partner, the James River Association.
