Sunday quiz time: What do these businesses have in common?

• Ukrop’s Super Markets.

• First Market Bank.

• Altria.

• Genworth Financial.

• NewMarket Corp.

• MeadWestvaco.

• SunTrust.

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.

Folklife stole the show at the Richmond Folk Festival. From gospel music to a parade of women in church hats, the CenterStage Virginia Folklife Stage was the place to be during the third and final day of the music, arts and crafts festival.

Richmond’s successful staging of the National Folk Festival led to the locally produced Richmond Folk Festival. This evening at 6 the celebration begins. To many, “folk music” implies Joan Baez, Bob Dylan (during the best phase of his career), the Limelighters, the Chad Mitchell Trio, the Weavers, Pete Seeger, Taj Mahal, Buffy Sainte-Marie, as well as Peter, Paul, and Mary (may Mary Travers rest in peace). As the Folk Festival’s lineup suggests, the genre includes those and much more. Folk music embraces national and ethnic traditions and styles.

In 17 days, the Richmond Folk Festival will commandeer the downtown riverfront. Throughout the three-day event—Oct. 9-11—25 acts will perform on six stages scattered throughout the Brown’s Island/Tredegar Iron Works area, including three in the Genworth Financial Family Area. In addition, seven groups will perform in the Virginia Folklife Area.

From Ethiopian Orthodox singing to Persian spiritual music to Islamic calligraphy, this year’s CenterStage Virginia Folklife Area and Stage at the Richmond Folk Festival seeks to mine the talents of Virginians. “It’s the one part of the festival that is exclusively Virginia-centered,“ said Jon Lohman, director of the Virginia Folklife Program and state folklorist at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. “The festival is so diverse, with music from all around the country and the world. . . . Our area delves a little deeper into a subject.“

With almost exactly a month until showtime, the Richmond Folk Festival is on track with sponsorships and performers. The free event, Oct. 9-11 along the downtown Richmond riverfront, has a full stable of sponsors and has slightly surpassed its fundraising goal. Lisa Sims, director of events for festival organizer Venture Richmond, declined to give a specific figure but said that goal is less than the $1.4 million that is budgeted for expenditures.

With seven weeks to go, the Richmond Folk Festival is zipping along with its performance lineup. Eight new acts, ranging from Greek cabaret music to Indian slide guitar, have been announced for the free festival, which will take place Oct. 9-11 along the downtown Richmond riverfront. Organizers at Venture Richmond, which produces the Richmond Folk Festival, say that things are proceeding on schedule.

From dobro to go-go, the first eight performers announced for this year’s Richmond Folk Festival indicate the event isn’t straying from its eclectic roots. Nashville’s Jerry Douglas, regarded as the master of the dobro, along with D.C.-based go-go group Trouble Funk, Louisiana’s Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys and yodeler Wylie Gustafson are among the artists announced yesterday by Venture Richmond, the organization that produces the event.

Organizers of the 2009 Richmond Folk Festival are seeking volunteers to fill a variety of roles throughout the festival Oct. 9-11. It takes about 1,200 volunteers to produce the festival, which last year drew 185,000 people to downtown Richmond’s historic riverfront. Potential volunteers are asked to visit http://www.richmondfolkfestival.com, click on Volunteers, then sign up. Volunteers may choose the job they like, along with the specific date and time they would like to work.

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.

185,000 people attended the city’s three-day event, by all accounts a success.