Producing the Center for Cultural Vibrancy Stage at the Richmond Folk Festival is one of our most joyful endeavors and at the heart of our mission. In 2024, we—and about about 200,000 of our closest friends—celebrated the 20th anniversary of a festival that has a sense of community and togetherness that few other events can match.
CCV executive director Jon Lohman and business manager Tori Talbot have together produced the stage from the festival’s inception as the National Folk Festival in 2005, and over the years it has truly become one of the jewels of the festival.
A highlight of this year’s festival was the Sacred Sounds workshop on the CCV stage. Featuring Cora Harvey Armstrong and her family, the Legendary Ingramettes, Tony and Heather Mabe of the Junior Sisk Band, and Gina Sobel and Susan Gaeta of Minnush, it was a magnificent coming together of different styles of sacred music. “What’s beautiful about music and culture is that we can share with one another and it helps us to understand each other better and make this a more empathetic world, a more peaceful world,” said CCV executive director Jon Lohman from the stage. “And if we can sing together we can live together, right?”
Another special moment was a surprise appearance by the legendary soul bassist and singer Sherman Holmes of the Holmes Brothers, who was celebrating his 85th birthday. Lohman worked closely and forged a deep friendship with Sherman during Lohman’s tenure as Virginia State Folklorist, and Sherman has continued to be a regular participant in CCV productions. Sherman joined Johnny and Jeanette Williams and a stellar cast of southwest Virginia’s finest bluegrass players for a beautiful rendition of the Stanley Brothers’ classic, “White Dove,” which appears on Sherman’s 2016 release The Richmond Sessions. Afterwards CCV presented Sherman with a cake and the capacity crowd serenaded him with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
The stage presented an additional 11 performances throughout the weekend, showcasing regional and traditional music styles from bluegrass and Appalachian music to gospel, blues, and jazz. We worked closely with the Virginia Folklife Program, which produces the Traditional Craft Demonstration Area, which this year focused on African origins of textiles and music in partnership with the Elegba Folklore Society.
We’ll be back at it next year, October 10-12, 2025. Don’t miss it!
