Gerloff, Parch memorialized in rollicking tribute at Folk Fest

The families of Gary Gerloff and Francesca Parch accepted plaques in their honor before the No B.S. Brass Band memorialized them in rollicking song tonight.

Gerloff and Parch, both staunch festival supporters and volunteers, died earlier this year, but the memory of both will live on – the check-in volunteer booth is now permanently named for Parch, while Gerloff’s favorite cut-through is christened “The Gary Gerloff Shortcut.”

Tim Timberlake, a member of the Richmond Folk Festival’s programming committee and friend of both, said a few words before the parade, calling Parch the “den mother” of the 1,000-plus people who volunteer to work at the festival every year and Gerloff, “one of those people who is just larger than life.”

Thousands of people then followed the No B.S. Brass Band as it snaked from the Dominion Stage behind Tredegar Iron Works to the Altria Stage on Brown’s Island, many of them bobbing open umbrellas as they walked.

Earlier in the day, Virginia native Swamp Dogg entertained a crowd at the Ukrop’s/First Market Bank stage. Before Swamp Dogg climbed on stage in a lilac suit with matching shoes, his mother, Vera Lee, opened with a couple of songs, including the aptly named, “Playing with the Boys,” which she said her son wrote for her.

At a packed Altria Stage, Debashish Bhattacharya and his brother, Subhasis, played the slide guitar and tablas drums, respectively, their hands a blur as they performed with jaw-dropping speed.

Though a steady drizzle began to fall around 2:30, the thousands strolling between Brown’s Island and Tredegar Iron Works seemed prepared, as a sea of umbrellas popped up.

Today’s activities were scheduled to end at 10:30 p.m. The Folk Festival will kick off its final day at noon tomorrow until wrapping up around 6 p.m.