The musical seeds sowed by folk music icons like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Phil Ochs and even folk-rocker Bob Dylan, have long since inspired singers of the present.
The familiar roots and lyrical stories of the past still run deep, even if the definition of folk music has become a little broader in scope over the years.
Although the National Folk Festival has ventured on from its previous three-year stop in Richmond, the cultural seeds left behind have planted roots and sprouted the city's first-ever Richmond Folk Festival.
"The National Council for the Traditional Arts, who brought [the National Folk Festival] here for the past three years, they don’t go anywhere," said Katie Boyer, public relations manager for the Festival.
"Of course the idea is to plant the seed and show us how it's done, but we hire them back and they are basically in charge of the programming like they have been in the past. But we also have a very active programming committee here locally."
From the moment one festival ends, the planning process for next year's begins. Committee members go through numerous CD's and videos to ensure that the performers are fresh every year. There is also a commitment to ensuring that the festival is free.
But while a fantastically diverse line-up of over 30 different performers on seven separate stages is a major selling point for festival-goers, it's not the only thing makes for a great Folk Festival.
Returning to the festival this year, albeit in an updated form, is the Virginia Folklife Area. Every year, this portion of the festival changes shape, bringing something new and local on a state level to the festival.
In support of the idea that, although different, we all reside on a common ground, Chris Williams, curator of the Folklife Area, has brought together New Neighbors: Common Ground in the Commonwealth.
"Every year, just like with the music programming, there's an attempt to show new flavors and slices of the traditional arts spectrum," Williams said. "When you come to a folk festival, you're looking at all sorts of traditions and there is equal value to all of them, so that's where the name of the area came from."
This year, New Neighbors will explore the artistry, creativity and community life of new immigrants to Virginia, highlighting artistic achievement, deeply-held cultural expressions and cross-cultural communication.
"This piece of the festival we think of as the material component, meaning things that are made or built by hand, but when we decided to go the immigrant root, we realized that there is also music and dance mixed in with these traditions that have been brought to Virginia as well," Williams said.
One stage of the festival will be specifically devoted to the showcase of these musical and dance acts. Also, there will be a marketplace where artisans can sell the products of their trade.
"You'll see everything from Danish lace-making to Sudanese coffee ceremonies," Williams said." There are 23 moving pieces representing artists from about 19 to 20 different countries of origin that all live and work here in Virginia."
"The bottom line is we're trying to encompass all the different traditions that you can pull from these cultures, and it's not just music," Boyer said. "It's food and crafts and all these aspects are equally important to one another. It's just expressing art and culture in different forms."
Meaning, if you've been wary of trying new flavors in the past, the Festival may just be the place to branch out.
Aside from traditional "festival fare" that encompasses all the fried food and funnel cake you can eat, a variety of ethnic food vendors will be on site with delicacies for you to savor.
"We've got Indian food, African food, Greek and Mediterranean. Locally we have Oktoberfest of Richmond, which will have German food; Sine's Irish Pub will bring fish and chips and other Irish food," Boyer said.
"It's not that this is food you wouldn't be able to find if you went to a specific type of restaurant and were looking for it, but the fact that you can find all of these different varieties in one place and then kind of sample and pick and choose, noticing the difference, it could open up a whole new world of sensory delights."
The Festival's family area, always a hit and always packed with fun, is embracing the same concepts as the National has before. But, it is also adding a signature Richmond twist for added enjoyment.
To mix up the usual offering of performers and crafts for the kiddies, the committee has chosen the theme, "Get Your Hands Wet."
Per this water-inspired theme, children will enjoy "models in a bottle" as well as the chance to meet a live turtle courtesy of the James River Park System and educational seminars on exploring the river's aquatic life through the VCU Life Sciences program.
"The only difference, truly, is the name," Boyer said. "There's no definite going into the first 'local' festival, because you take that word 'national' off and you wonder if you're going to get that same support, but we have and it's been extremely encouraging.
The Richmond Folk Festival will be held from 6 to 10:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, from noon to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11 and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12. The location of the festival will encompass 2nd to 7th Streets and from Byrd St. to the James River, including Browns Island, the New Market Lawn and all of Tredegar Iron Works. Admission to the festival is free. Multiple parking lots and shuttle points are listed online. For more information, visit richmondfolkfestival.org.