By: Maria-Paula
Virginia Public Media, VPM, in conjunction with Venture Richmond and the Richmond Folk Festival, has produced a television documentary, “The Sounds of Culture”, for the 20th anniversary of the Richmond Folk Festival.

The documentary captures the footage, interviews with current and past festival performers, staff, artists, volunteers and other participants who were involved in the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival. 

Since 2005 when the city of Richmond and Venture Richmond hosted the inaugurate National Folk Festival, downtown Richmond’s Riverfront has maintained the tradition of hosting people from across the country for the Richmond Folk Festival each fall for nearly 20 years now.  

Prided as one of Virginias largest events, the festival is a free three-day event that began when Richmond hosted the National Council for the Traditional Arts’ National Folk Festival between 2005-2007. In the tradition of “The National,” the Richmond Folk Festival features excellent performing groups representing a diverse array of cultural traditions on six stages. The festival includes continuous music and dance performances, a Virginia Folklife Area featuring ongoing demonstrations, an interactive family area produced by the Children’s Museum, a folk-art marketplace, regional and ethnic foods, festival merchandise and more.

This year’s event will take place on the special weekend of September 27-29, to avoid falling on the Jewish High Holiday, Yom Kippur.

The Sounds of Culture: 20 Years of the Richmond Folk Festival weaves the story of The Festival’s history into the broader image of today’s festival. The documentary chronicles the numerous stages, folk-life areas and public participation around the expansive festival grounds, with music at the center point of the narrative. Viewers also meet Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond, as he navigates the 2023 festival. Stephen contributes historical and logistical details of the festival and acts as a common thread throughout the film. 
According to the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the Richmond Folk Festival reflects the ongoing national pursuit to fulfill the country’s founding principles of equality, liberty, and justice for all people.
“The Richmond Folk Festival celebrates our country’s diverse culture with food, storytelling, dance, crafts and music. The festival is a tremendously popular tradition in Richmond and we’re excited to share some of the stories behind how it began and what it means to the community,” said Steve Humble, chief content officer and executive producer, VPM.

Watch a 1-minute trailer video here! 
The Sounds of Culture: 20 years of the Richmond Folk Festival premieres on Tuesday, September 17, at 8:00 p.m. It can be seen on VPM PBS Richmond, VPM PBS Charlottesville, VPM PBS Harrisonburg and livestreamed on the PBS app. The documentary can be seen again on Sunday, September 22 at 3:00 p.m. and then on Thursday, September 26 at 8:00 p.m. For more information, visit VPM.org.

The Richmond Folk Festival is presented by Venture Richmond Events, in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Virginia Humanities and the City of Richmond. 

For additional information about the Richmond Folk Festival, visit richmondfolkfestival.org.