RICHMOND, VA – The Richmond Folk Festival returns October 7-9, 2022, and celebrates its 18th anniversary, having become one of Virginia’s largest events. The beloved festival draws fans each year to downtown Richmond’s riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional crafts, storytelling and food.
The free, three-day event hosts 200,000 people over the weekend and is presented by Venture Richmond Events in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the Virginia Folklife Program, the Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum, and the City of Richmond.
Featuring six stages and showcasing music and dance from more than 30 performing groups from around the nation and the world, the Richmond Folk Festival today announces eight artists of what will once again be a culturally diverse and impressive program.
“We are looking forward to showcasing downtown Richmond’s ever-changing riverfront once again for a beautiful weekend of music, dance, food and crafts with the James River and our city skyline as the perfect backdrop,” said Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond. “This event holds a special place in the hearts of so many, and year 18 is shaping up to be one of the best.”
Artists to be featured at the 2022 Richmond Folk Festival include:
Beòlach (Cape Breton)
Cape Breton Island, Nova ScotiaBlack Umfolosi (a cappella imbube singing)
Bulawayo, ZimbabweBnat el Houariyat & Esraa Warda (Moroccan chaabi women’s ensemble)
Marrakech, Morocco, and New York, New YorkCedric Burnside (hill country blues)
Holly Springs, MississippiFran Grace (sacred steel guitar)
Toledo, OhioKorean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (pungmul and samulnori)
Chicago, IllinoisSideline (bluegrass)
Raleigh, North CarolinaSon Rompe Pera (Mexican marimba)
Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico
Click here for extended artist bios, plus audio and video samples on our website.
The Richmond Folk Festival Needs YOU!
The Richmond Folk Festival offers a variety of exciting volunteer opportunities. With over 1,000 volunteers each year, we can't do it without you! The festival is a wonderful place for civic, school, church and office organizations to volunteer. Or simply sign up with your best friend or partner to spend a day together at the festival! Benefits of being a festival volunteer: free t-shirt, free parking, and discounts on festival merchandise.
NEW - Friends of the Festival
Become a Friend of the Festival to help sustain the Richmond Folk Festival for many years to come! Gifts from our Friends ensure the consistency and future of the performances and programs that we all enjoy the most. Your support is invaluable to us as we work to sustain one of the largest artistic and cultural gatherings in Richmond, and the largest folk festival of its kind in the country.
Learn more about the benefits of being a Friend of the Festival here!
Festival Hours
Friday, October 7 — 6:30pm - 10:00pm
Saturday, October 8 — 12:00pm - 9:30pm
Sunday, October 9 — 12:00pm - 6:00pm
More information on the festival and additional artists performing will follow later this summer.
For more information about the Richmond Folk Festival, visit www.richmondfolkfestival.org. #RVAFolkFest - Text to Give! Text FOLK to 44321
The Richmond Folk Festival is sponsored in part by: City of Richmond, Dominion Energy, Altria, NewMarket Corp., CarMax, CoStar Group, Brown Distributing, Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, Atlantic Union Bank, Virginia is for Lovers, National Council for the Traditional Arts, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, and the Children’s Museum.
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About the Richmond Folk Festival
The Richmond Folk Festival is one of Virginia's largest events, drawing visitors from all over the country to downtown Richmond's historic riverfront. The Festival is a FREE three-day event that got its start as the National Council for the Traditional Arts’ National Folk Festival, held in Richmond from 2005-2007. In the tradition of “The National," the Richmond Folk Festival features excellent performing groups representing a diverse array of cultural traditions on seven stages. The festival includes continuous music and dance performances, a Virginia Folklife Area featuring ongoing demonstrations, an interactive Family Area produced by the Children's Museum, a folk art marketplace, regional and ethnic foods, festival merchandise and more. Additional information is available at www.richmondfolkfestival.org.
About Venture Richmond
Venture Richmond, Inc., is a non-profit organization formed to engage business and community leaders in partnering with the City to enhance the vitality of the community, particularly Downtown, through economic development, marketing, promotion, advocacy and events. Venture Richmond provides enhanced property management services for both the Downtown and Riverfront including; the Clean & Safe program, beautification and landscaping projects and management and maintenance of Brown's Island, the Canal Walk and Belle Isle parking lot.
Venture Richmond Events, LLC, produces Friday Cheers, the 2nd Street Festival, the Richmond Folk Festival, and partners with Sports Backers to produce Dominion Energy Riverrock.
Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, operates historically narrated boat tours and private charters of the James River and Kanawha Canal.
Both Venture Richmond Events, LLC, and Riverfront Canal Cruises, LLC, are subsidiaries of Venture Richmond, Inc. For more information visit www.venturerichmond.com.
About the National Council for the Traditional Arts
A leading non-profit in the field, the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) is dedicated to the presentation and documentation of folk and traditional arts in the U.S. Stressing excellence and authenticity, the NCTA presents the nation’s finest traditional artists in major festivals, tours, concerts, workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, media productions, school programs, cross-cultural exchanges and other activities. It works in partnership with American communities to establish new, sustainable traditional arts events that deliver lasting social, cultural and economic benefits. Over 7,000 hours of the NCTA’s archival audio recordings dating from the 1930s are permanently housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The NCTA champions the interests of folk and traditional artists and organizations in the arena of public policy. For more about the NCTA, visit http://ncta-usa.org/.
Venture Richmond, 200 S. Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219