Richmond Folk Festival continues to draw people downtown, help businesses in area

Peggy Stansbery, Spectrum Editor 

The Richmond Folk Festival has transformed the downtown experience by engaging locals and drawing in visitors through a unifying event, said Jack Berry, president and CEO of Richmond Region Tourism. 

The Richmond Folk Festival returned to downtown Richmond’s riverfront for its 19th year from Oct. 13 to 15, according to Erika Gay, Venture Richmond’s director of marketing and communications. The festival hosted various performances, food vendors and a craft marketplace all surrounding the celebration of the roots, richness and variety of American culture. 

The Richmond Folk Festival draws around 200,000 people to downtown Richmond, bringing large masses to the area who visit its restaurants and hotels, according to Berry. 

Richmond was just coming on the scene as a tourist destination when the Folk Festival first came to Richmond in 2005, Berry said. 

Downtown Richmond and the entire region has become a popular tourist destination since then; hotels are now experiencing record occupancy, and more people are coming to the destination than ever before, Berry said. The Folk Festival acted as a “springboard” in getting Richmond where it is today. 

“We have never looked back and absolutely we have exploded ever since then,” Berry said. 

Mama J’s, a soul food restaurant located in the heart of Jackson Ward in the downtown area, has participated in the Folk Festival as a food vendor for the last few years, according to Lester Johnson, Mama J’s owner and president. Participating in the festival is another way for Mama J’s to be part of the community. 

“It’s just a great opportunity for the vendors as well as for the community just to come together and have a great time listening to music, eating food,” Johnson said. 

The Folk Festival has helped expose more people to Mama J’s who might not come on their own, as the festival may be their first experience with the restaurant, Johnson said. 

“It’s a good way to kind of get out outside the restaurant and possibly meet customers and turn them into regulars,” Johnson said. 

Since the festival is such a big event, it draws people in from surrounding counties and even further, according to Johnson.

The festival has brought people who may not come downtown into the area and highlighted the activities there, such as the various art galleries, theaters and restaurants, Johnson said. 

“It’s just a good way of just bringing people into the area so that they can see that there are things for them to do,” Johnson said. 

Josh Hryciak, manager of Trail Hut, an outdoor consignment store located downtown, also feels that the festival has brought more people downtown and helped them recognize the businesses there, he said. 

“It’s helped our business as far as getting new folks into the area who maybe wouldn’t have come downtown and an opportunity for them to see some of the thriving businesses that are happening here and how the downtown area is really starting to grow,” Hryciak said. 

The festival’s inclusivity brings in many different people, providing an opportunity to show additional people there’s more to do downtown than they thought, Hryciak said. 

People exploring the downtown area will see unique businesses; there’s an outdoor store and then a record store around the corner — it’s interesting, Hryciak said.  

“I think it’s a great thing that’s just going to help continue to perpetuate business in the area and help raise awareness of the shops here,” Hryciak said. “I think it’s doing a great job for that.”