The 2nd Street Festival is back in Jackson Ward with food and live music

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The 2nd Richmond Street Festival is back this year, after pandemic restrictions saw the iconic event canceled last year.

The festival, which takes place October 2-3, features live music, food vendors, local art, and celebrations from historic Jackson Ward.

Derek Therefore visited the festival with his son on Saturday morning and told 8News that they were eager to visit the food vendors: “We’ll probably have funnel cakes, and things like that. Probably participate in the food mainly.

The festival will be open until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. Headliners include jazz band Plunky & Oneness and reggae artist Mighty Joshua. You can see a full schedule of shows shows here.

The festival also includes an “Artist Row”, where a number of local artists will present their work.

David Marion, founder of Liberated Flow LLC, is one of them. The artist and architect, who has been commissioned to design the festival poster in recent years, is from South Carolina – but he said the 2nd Street Festival was part of the reason he fell in love with Richmond .

“One of the first things I got to experience when I arrived in Richmond was the second street festival,” he said. “And I was amazed by all the art, the culture, the food, the experience.”

“The pandemic has been pretty brutal for many business owners here, especially small business owners, black business owners,” he added.

But he hopes the festival will give them a much needed boost. “We have businesses that need to be supported. It’s a pretty huge deal.

Entrance is free and parking is available on the street and in neighborhood lots. There is also a convenient GRTC Pulse stop at 2nd and offshore.