Richmond Folk Festival a go, with some minor tweaks

The Richmond Folk Festival isn't immune to economic woes, but it will return this year, albeit with some minor tweaks.

The cultural event, which drew 185,000 people to the area last fall in its inaugural year, will still run three days -- Oct. 9-11 along the downtown riverfront -- and will remain free.

But organizers have trimmed the budget from $1.56 million last year -- though the actual expense was $1.66 million -- to $1.4 million and are working diligently to secure sponsorship and reach their fundraising goal.

Lisa Sims, director of events for organizer Venture Richmond, said the festival will shave its stages from seven to six and there will likely be 21 performers instead of 24.

"We met with sponsors from last year and everyone agreed that in this economy, if we needed to pare back a tad, we could. But they all also agreed that we needed to continue with the festival," Sims said.

This will be the second year for the Richmond Folk Festival, which last year branched off from the successful National Folk Festival that the city hosted from 2005 to 2007.

While some past sponsors, such as Wachovia and Comcast, have not yet committed to contributing this year, others, such as the Dominion Foundation, Genworth Financial and Ukrop's/First Market Bank, are ready to ink their sponsorship contracts.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is refining the details of its sponsorship this year, according to Frazier Millner, director of product innovation and strategic marketing for the newspaper.

"We're committed to supporting the festival," she said.

Altria, which last year donated $100,000 to the festival under the Philip Morris USA banner, has upped its contribution to $125,000.

"There's a short list of things that brings hundreds of thousands of people downtown," said Charlie Agee, director of corporate contributions for Altria. "We've got a company that has a significant facility in downtown Richmond and we're a firm believer that the health of the core of the city is vital to the health of the region. We think [the folk festival] has become integral to the cultural fabric."

Marjorie Grier, director of corporate philanthropy for Dominion, said that because of the economy, the company was poised to reduce its support this year from $100,000 to $50,000.

However, when the festival committee requested that they maintain at $100,000, the 10-member Dominion board of philanthropy staff and senior company officials agreed.

"We've had a longstanding commitment to diversity and the region and this event truly is diverse," Grier said. "It's family oriented and such a unifying event for Richmond. With the economy the way it is, we need something like this."

So far, Capital One, which last year provided $25,000 for the Folk Festivals in the Schools program, is the only corporation to definitely say no to contributing this year.

. . .

The Richmond Folk Festival does have a new sponsor in CenterStage, which will open its doors downtown about a month before the folk festival.

Sue Fitz-Hugh, head of the development committee for the CenterStage Foundation, chose not to disclose the amount that the organization is providing.

But CenterStage will have a sponsored stage, which requires at least a $50,000 donation.

"The festival offers free first-class folk music -- we're helping to support free performing arts in Richmond," she said.

The National Endowment for the Arts has provided a $25,000 grant, and The Community Foundation, which made a three-year commitment for $50,000 each year, is sponsoring the information booths.

Sims said that organizers will also call on the community for deeper support.

While the "bucket brigade" -- volunteers who passed around large orange buckets at last year's event -- raised about $40,000 from donations from patrons, it fell short of the $100,000-plus routinely produced in Bangor, Maine, which has staged its American Folk Festival since 2005.

"We don't want to go out with a tin cup, but if people really do care about the event, it would be great if they could find a way to give just a little bit," said Sims. "We will do whatever it takes to make this festival happen."

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or .

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