Heart of Virginia Festival - 2001: Festival Coverage

(If you would like to see a full size version of any of the pictures just click on that picture!)

Despite the recent fire at Longwood College which destroyed the historic Rotunda building, it was business, almost, as usual for the festival. Some of the usual area used by the festival was no longer available but this was worked around and in the end everything worked out for the best. The streets of Farmville saw the usual sea of people who came to see the Arts, Crafts, performers as well as their friends, family and neighbors. The fun started on Friday evening at the premiere First Fridays event down by the Appomattox River and continued on till late on at the Saturday night concert at the Farmville Airport.

For more details on First Fridays Click on this link ...

See an interview with Chris Brochon, 2001 Festival Chair in RealVideo ™ by selecting the appropriate speed for your connection [28k] [56k] [DUAL ISDN]

See interviews with some of the festival-goers in RealVideo ™ by selecting the appropriate speed for your connection [28k] [56k] [DUAL ISDN]

At 10.00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the opening ceremony was held at the Downtown Stage. Throughout the day there was a wide variety of music to be heard including gospel, country, blues, jazz and much more. One particular highlight of the day was Josh White, Jr., (pictured left) who performed twice.

For more details on the downtown stage including more pictures and interviews Click on this link ...

Earlier in the morning at Hampden-Sydney college the Heart of Virginia 10K Run had started while downtown some of the workers and early birds were tucking into a fully cooked at the Farmville Baptist Church in aid of Habitat for Humanity.

For more details on the 10K Run including pictures and full list of the winners Click on this link ...

The Art Show was the main casualty of the fire. The Art show had to be moved into a smaller area than usual. It turned out well as many of the artists enjoyed the more intimate setting and very welcome shade from the hot sun that graced the day. The craft show was bigger than ever before with over 60 crafters taking part. All kinds of crafts were available and several of the artists offered demonstrations. The Antique Car Show returned for its third year and it was also bigger than ever.

For more details on the Art Show including pictures and full list of the winners Click on this link ...

For more details on the Craft Show including more pictures Click on this link ...

For more details on the Antique Car Show including pictures and full list of the winners Click on this link ...

Festival favorites The Southside Jazz Quartet and Back in Bluegrass performed most of the day. Newcomers to the festival were Cody and BJ and magician Walter Glod who performed at the Children's Festival. As per usual there was a wonderful Art Workshop for children.

For more details on the Children's Festival including pictures Click on this link ...

Saturday Night brought a new set of bands to Farmville with a somewhat different sound to what has been heard before. Things looked bad at first as a rainstorm blew through bringing down the temperatures and depositing enough water to require the stage to be dried before anyone could perform. Thankfully the rain passed on through and the sun broke through the clouds enough to produce a gorgeous sunset for everyone at the airport.

First on stage were an Acapella band from Boston called Ball In The House. They were followed by New Wave Nation from Ohio who played a set of '80s favorites which proved to be very popular with teenagers as well as the members of the audience who remember them from first time around. Following the spectacular firework display Groove Spot from Richmond treated the remaining audience to a set of '70s disco favorites.

For more details on the Saturday Night Concert and Fireworks including pictures and interviews Click on this link ...

List of all the links to pages covering the 2001 Heart of Virginia Festival