The Richmond Folk Festival will highlight Virginia’s rivers this year with a special film screening and launch party on Thursday, Oct. 9, ahead of the festival, which runs Friday through Sunday, Oct. 10-12, at Brown’s Island and the downtown riverfront.

The Virginia Folklife Area theme, “Riverlore,” explores life on, under and along Virginia’s rivers, including the James River. Guests include fly-fishers, Indigenous potters, a decoy carver and James Eskridge, mayor of Tangier. The program is presented by the Virginia Folklife Program of Virginia Humanities and the James River Association, with curatorial support from local filmmaker Justin Black of Headwaters Down. 

Katy Clune, Virginia state folklorist and director of the Virginia Folklife Program, said the rivers are “an elemental foundation of Virginia culture … which we still tell stories about today.” 

The James River Association will present environmental education displays and panels, including “The Great Return: Atlantic Sturgeon & Migratory Fish,” featuring fish biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as VCU research faculty and representatives from the Upper Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes. 

The launch event at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop, 3406 W. Leigh St., runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. It includes screenings of three short films: “Reclaiming the River: African American Life on Historic Rivers,” by Horace Scruggs III; “Ancient New: Exploring the Oldest River in North America,” by Tom Hansell, Trevor McKenzie and Julie Shepherd-Powell; and “ALL FORWARD! Becoming an Urban Raft Guide,” by Justin Black. The films will be followed by a discussion with five Riverlore artists. 

The screening and discussion are free to the public. More information on the launch event and the Riverlore theme is available at VirginiaFolklife.org.