Monday, June 22, 2015

Batteau Festival: This Upcoming Wednesday June 24th


 
 
Make it a priority to visit historic Scottsville, Virginia this Wednesday, June 24th and join the town in a celebration for the 30th Annual James River Batteau Festival!  The Batteau Festival is a FREE all-day celebration filled with live music, art/museum exhibits, food vendors, and much more! 

Not only is this the 30th year of operation, but also the strongest year in boat totals.  Twenty-five batteaux total will be floating down the James River for a grand eight day voyage starting in Lynchburg and finishing in Richmond, VA.  
 


The “batteaux” are long wooden, flat bottomed boats that are directed by poles.  Each batteau will float a crew dressed period costumes along with supplies for their journey. 


We should all go out and celebrate, as Scottsville marks the half way point on their voyage.  The stretch is a total of 120 miles. 

 

One goal of the James River Batteau Festival other than having a great and memorable time is to preserve the heritage of the batteau and its voyage.  The first batteau was hand crafted by Anthony Rucker in the mid to late 16th century.  This life style and previous mode of transportation are very important to mark in history.  In previous centuries, this network of transportation was so popular that there were more than 500 batteaux on the James at one point in time.  Many of these boats were carrying items such as Irish linens, tobacco, fine French wines, and more.  As you can see this path from Richmond to Lynchburg was very important for the installation and improvement of trade to the west parts of Virginia.


In the meantime, France was undertaken by political conflict, foreshadowing a future revolution on the horizon.  Look forward to read more about the French Revolution leading up to our Bastille Day Celebration on July 14th. 

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