The River Festival: June 13-June 21 2008

A division of the Virginia Canals & Navigations Society Inc.

The James River Batteau is a flat bottomed boat which was used to transport tobacco and other products from areas of Central Virginia to Richmond during the late 1700's. The boats were generally from 6-8 feet wide, 40-50 feet long and were constructed of white oak and other wood native to Virginia. For the past 20 years the James River Batteau Festival has been held in June to celebrate these boats and the important role they played in Virginia history.

The Annual James River Batteau Festival will be held Friday June 13th through Saturday June 21st. The 2008 festival will begin Friday evening with a concert at the Riverfront in Lynchburg and the batteau fleet will leave from Percival's Island at 11am on Saturday the 14th.

We are anticipating a fleet of 15 to 18 batteaux for this year's festival including at least one new boat. A group from Lynchburg is building a boat called the Spirit of the James. After leaving Percival's Island, the batteaux will travel 120 miles in 8 days arriving at Maiden's landing.

More information for batteau crew members and the visiting public is available by following the links in the "More About The River Festival" box on this page.