The River Festival

A division of the Virginia Canals & Navigations Society Inc.

The James River Batteau is a flat bottomed boat which was used to transport tobacco from areas of Central Virgina 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. For the past 18 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 19th Annual James River Batteau Festival will be held Friday June 18th through Saturday June 26th. The 2004 festival will begin Friday evening with a concert at the Riverfront in Lynchburg and the batteau fleet will leave from Percival’s Island at 12:00 noon on Saturday the 19th. We are anticipating a fleet of 16 batteaux for this year’s festival. After leaving Percival’s Island, they 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.