Five years in, Richmond seems as excited as ever about its annual folk festival.
And after another weekend of mostly beautiful weather, a little rain aside, and robust crowds, the Richmond Folk Festival is likely to be back next year, organizers said.
While an official count is hard for a free event, organizers are claiming that 160,000 or so people crowded downtown riverfront venues Friday, Saturday and Sunday for outdoor concerts, arts exhibitions and other cultural activities.
That's down from about 185,000 people who attended the 2008 run. More important than the number, organizers said, was what they saw.
"We've seen a real change in the crowd over the years," said Lisa Sims, director of events for Venture Richmond, which puts together the festival along with the National Council for the Traditional Arts. "This year, we've seen more young people. We also are seeing a more diverse audience in terms of ethnicity. All types of people here are enjoying it. We really feel like the community has embraced it.
"There's always a sense of community at the festival. People don't just sit back and watch. They get up and dance and celebrate and participate. The feeling of community is very strong."
John Bryan noticed that.
As the president of CultureWorks, an arts advocacy group that was recently formed to promote arts, entertainment and culture throughout the area, it's his job to make such things a regular occurrence.
"Our region is very rich in festivals, and the folk festival is the grandest of them," he said before listing half a dozen cultural festivals he attended in recent weeks. "It's absolutely getting stronger."
Mayor Dwight C. Jones was elated, too.
"It is clear Richmonders and our out-of-town guests enjoyed the festival as well as the picturesque views of the city's waterfront," he said. "This event has proven to be a tremendous success for downtown and in its brief two years of existence, it has become a Richmond tradition that we look forward to experiencing again next year."
Sims said because the festival is a free event, it "always and forever is going to be totally dependent on our corporate sponsors and donations."
The drops in the bucket come in handy, too, though there was no immediate word on how much money was raised from contributions from attendees. For the first time, organizers suggested a donation amount, $5. People toting the ubiquitous orange buckets were quite apparent.
Although no announcement about next year has been made, "we foresee there's going to be a folk festival next year," Sims said.
"We always assume there's going to be another one," she said. "The only way we wouldn't is if the money just wasn't there."
The first meeting is next month.
Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or blohmann@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or zreid@timesdispatch.com.
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