35th ANNUAL – JUNE 20-27, 2020-"NO OFFICIAL FESTIVAL EVENTS THIS YEAR".
June 5th, 2020 – JRBF update from Chairman Andrew Shaw: “There will be no official James River Batteau Festival this year and as such no public launch party at Percivals Island in Lynchburg, and no festival activities in Scottsville. The Batteau crews will make their journey from Lynchburg to Richmond stopping at their traditional stops, minimal…
“We have come to an end of an era”, said Bill Trout upon hearing the sad news of Minnie Lee McGehee’s passing. We are sad to announce the passing of VC&NS Lifetime Member, Mrs. Minnie Lee McGehee. Minnie Lee was a lifetime member of the VC&NS. She wrote many articles for The Tiller and wrote many books…
This week, the batteau community joins the Samuels’ family in mourning the loss of the batteau “Rivertime” crew member Justin Samuels. With his booming voice, boundless enthusiasm, and outgoing spirit, Justin was an unmistakable feature of the James River Batteau Festival in recent years. His absence on the river next year will be palpable. While we…
Maiden’s Landing was busy and the parking lot full when I arrived in mid-afternoon and it was starting to get hot and was real hot inside the facilities in the field. It was surprising to see the Mary Marshall at the landing earlier than expected. Andrew Shaw and his crew took the batteau out and…
Cartersville was nice and cool this morning and had a beautiful pink sky as the sun rose up first thing. A group photo was taken a little after 8am. Andrew Shaw gave the Dewey Pole Award to Rob Campbell and his batteau crew. Andrew awarded a JRBF-Trail Atlas to Megan and Beth for all their…
Cartersville was pleasant as we sat waiting on the boats to come in. Bill Trout enjoyed telling the batteau history to several new visitors to the JRBF for the first time. The Lady’s Slipper crew cooked a hot meal for sale and everyone said it was good. Some of the boat crews stayed up a…
Columbia, Virginia is where the Rivanna River comes into the James across from the boat ramp. The sun was shining and it was real nice and breezy out. The Lady’s Slipper stopped by and visited a while. When they left the crew sang Swing Low Sweet Chariot and continued singing several verses as they went…
Slate River was calm and clear Friday morning. The sun peaked out over the top of the trees and the view over the point was beautiful. Up-river a short distance at a private boat ramp were several batteaux tied off and people still sleeping. The sun creeped up on to them as the morning started.…