Community

Festival of the River: Three Days of Music, Art and Environment Under the Big Tent and on Brown’s Island

A unique coalition including The City of Richmond, Venture Richmond, the Richmond Symphony, VCU Institute for Contemporary Art, Back to the Bay, 1708 Gallery, James River Association, Capital Region Collaborative and other partners announces a special three-day event, The Festival of the River, which will take place on Brown’s Island June 8-10, 2018. This one-time festival will showcase the very best of the James River, Chesapeake Bay and the Richmond Region. Festival highlights will include contemporary art installations, performances under the Symphony’s “Big Tent,” cleanups along and around the River and family-friendly environmental education activities including Back to the Bay in celebration of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week. For more information about Back to the Bay click here.

Lyft, the fastest growing rideshare platform in the US, is proud to be the Official Rideshare Partner of Festival of the River! In this capacity, Lyft will be offering discounted rides for attendees to/from the event with promo code FEST18 and will also have a dedicated pick-up / drop-off point for passengers at 700 Tredegar Street. Be sure to download the Lyft app in advance, and ride to the Festival in style!

The Festival planning committee includes over 30 partner organizations in addition to those listed above (see a full list below).

The current general schedule of activities is as follows:

Friday, June 8, 2018

6:00 – 9:30pm

Click here to purchase tickets!

6:00pm: No BS! Brass Band
7:00pm: No BS! Brass Band with the Richmond Symphony
8:00pm: Rhiannon Giddens performing with the Richmond Symphony
- Grammy Award-winner Rhiannon Giddens is known for her elegant bearing, prodigious voice, and fierce spirit. She is the lead singer, violinist, banjo player and a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band Carolina Chocolate Drops. In addition to her work with the Drops, Giddens has been featured on the popular television series Nashville, and has released two solo albums: Tomorrow Is My Turn (2015) and Freedom Highway (2017) displaying an emotional range to match her dazzling vocal prowess.
- See full music program here
Dusk: Lighting Installations by Jacob Stanley and the 1708 Gallery on the T. Tyler Potterfield and 7^th Street Truss Bridges (lit for full weekend)

Saturday, June 9, 2018

2:00 – 9:00pm

Click here to reserve Free or Pay What You Can tickets!

11:00am: Region-wide cleanups cleanups along the James River and Chesapeake Bay Watershed
2:00pm: Island officially opens to public with Back to the Bay, family-friendly and educational activities in celebration of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week.
2:45pm: Sweet Potatoes Performance under the “Big Tent”
3:00pm – 6:00pm: Performances by Contemporary Artists presented as part of VCU’s Institute for Contemporary Art’s opening exhibition Declaration, in collaboration with the Richmond Symphony and Sound Arts Richmond
- 3:00pm: Hope Ginsburg, East End Bay Scape
- 4:00pm: Marinella Senatore, on Brown’s island and under the “Big Tent”
- 5:30pm: Paul Rucker, under the “Big Tent”
3:45pm: Oyster Shucker Deborah Pratt under the “Big Tent”
3:00 – 6:30pm: Guided Walking Tours gathering at the Brown’s Island entrance to the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge:
- 3:00 – 4:15pm: Capital Trees
- 3:45 – 4:30pm: The Valentine
- 4:30 – 5:15pm: American Civil War Museum
- 5:30 – 6:30pm: James River Park System
6:00pm: Charles Owens Quartet under the “Big Tent”
7:30pm: Tap-dancing phenomenon, Savion Glover performing Ellington’s The River, with the Richmond Symphony plus the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor with the Richmond Symphony Chorus, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and more!
- Savion Glover is a Tony Award-winning tap dancer and choreographer described as “possibly the best tap dancer that ever lived.” Glover has a growing list of Broadway and film credits including The Tap Dance Kid, Black & Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, Bring in ‘da Noise Bring in ‘da Funk, the movie Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr., Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, and the acclaimed Academy Award Winning 2006 Warner Brothers release of Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2.
- See full music program here
Dusk: Lighting Installations by Jacob Stanley and the 1708 Gallery on the T. Tyler Potterfield and 7^th Street Truss Bridges

Sunday, June 10, 2018

11:00am – 3:00pm

Click here to reserve Free or Pay What You Can tickets!

11:00am: Island officially opens to public with a Community Picnic with Art on Wheels
- Create a ‘Richmond Community Mosaic Quilt’ on Brown’s Island
- Bring Your Own Blanket, Blanket Drive information: http://artonwheels-va.org/community-picnic/
- Aerial photography will capture images of the mosaic quilt
11:15am: Host of Sparrows Aerial Circus with Glass Twin
1:00pm: Family concert by the Richmond Symphony featuring John Stafford Smith’s The Star Spangled Banner, Alan Silvestri’s Captain America Theme, George Bizet’s Suite No. 1 from Carmen, and more!
- See full music program here

The Festival of the River is made possible through generous support from: City of Richmond, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Richard S. Reynolds Foundation, University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, SunTrust, League of American Orchestras, National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Windsor Foundation Trust, Loveland Distributing, Stone Brewing and Lyft.

Style Weekly is the official media partner for the Festival of the River.

Lyft, the fastest growing rideshare platform in the US, is proud to be the Official Rideshare Partner of Festival of the River. In this capacity, Lyft will be offering discounted rides for attendees to/from the event with promo code FEST18 and will also have a dedicated pick-up / drop-off point for passengers at 700 Tredegar Street.

Festival FAQ’s

What can’t I bring with me?

Items that are not permitted include, but are not limited to:

Pets (service animals are permitted)
Large backpacks, bags, coolers, etc. (Exception on Sunday ONLY – because of the picnic – coolers, bags, and backpacks are allowed — you may also bring uncracked/unopened PLASTIC bottles of water/sodas/non-alcoholic drinks). ALL coolers/bags will be subject to search.
Alcohol
Bottles/glass containers
Contraband (drugs and weapons)
Laser pointers
Bikes, skateboards, inline skates
Flying objects (kites, Frisbees, footballs, etc.)

Security is on site at each festival, and all items are subject to search at any time.

Recording equipment (audio and video), cameras (video and flash) may be restricted at certain events at the request of the artist(s).

Can I bring a blanket or lawn chair?

Yes, please make yourself comfortable.

Is there an ATM on the site?

Yes.

Are there restrooms?

Yes, there are portable toilets located throughout event sites, including handicapped bathrooms.

Is smoking allowed?

Yes, but please help us keep the event site clean. Remember to dispose of cigarette butts and other trash in the proper receptacles.

May I leave the event and come back?

Yes. Re-entry is acceptable at all free events. For Friday Cheers, re-entry will be permitted with a hand stamp.