Whatever floats your batteau

By Mary Alice Blackwell

Published: June 12, 2008

They are poling.

Poling down the river.

Or at least they will be Saturday, when the 23rd annual James River Batteau Festival sets sail from Lynchburg en route to Maidens Landing in Goochland County.

Sometime Wednesday afternoon, crews on more than a dozen flat-bottomed boats will pole into Scottsville for a much-deserved rest stop.

Scottsville will be ready and waiting with food, fun and flatpickin’.

“We have been busy,” said Nancy Gill, a member of the Scottsville Town Council. “We are bringing it back. We will have our own festival based on our history.”

Gill, Sallie Massie and Cynthia Bruce have been spearheading the first of what they hope to become an annual Scottsville Batteau Festival in conjunction with the James River fest.

As in years past, folks are welcome to come on down to the Rafting and Reeling site to meet and greet the men and women participating in the boat float.

This year, however, there will be a whole lot more to do.

“We are going to have a Heritage Children’s Area,” Gill said. “And over at the Canal Basin Square, we are going to have 25 vendors with foods and crafts.”

Bruce has organized some history-oriented games for the young ones, along with a moonwalk, face painting and a visit from Kirkwood the Magician.

The Canal Basin will look more like an outdoor museum dedicated to the river traffic that made Scottsville a hot spot when batteaus frequented the local waterway.

And, let’s not forget the musical interlude.

“Kip Cook will be on stage from about 3 to 5 p.m.,” Gill said.

A flat-footing, or clogging, workshop is set for 5, followed by a ham-boning performance. Some call it “body percussion.”

Before the grand fire-spinning finale at 9, Gill has scheduled an open mike from 7 to 9 p.m.

“I have sent out emails to a lot of old time and bluegrass musician inviting them to come out for a pickin’ party,” she said.

And the boats?

“Oh, yes,” she said. “And the batteaus are coming.”

Depending on water levels, the boats should be poling in between 1 and 3 p.m.

“We want to make this a fun place for the crews and spectators,” she said.

Gill knows a little about throwing these types of shindigs. Before she moved to Scottsville in 1999, she had helped put together the Goochland Day Festival for years.

“I figured 15 years was long enough to take off,” she said with a laugh.

Her enthusiasm is contagious. Other events also have sprung up in conjuction with the twin festivals.

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” will be staged at 2 p.m. Sunday at Victory Hall. The cost is $5.

Transformed, a Southern gospel quartet from Charlottesville, will perform at Scottsville United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

And, on Wednesday, following the riverside activities, Jackass Flatts will be at 330 Valley Street.

Proud Mary, and Nancy, keep on rolling.

Dial 286-7132 to find out more.