Save the date! RiverFest 2026 will be held on September 26!
Click here for a recap of RiverFest 2025!
Save the date! RiverFest 2026 will be held on September 26!
Click here for a recap of RiverFest 2025!
At RiverFest, we invite the entire community to celebrate, explore, and protect the St. Mary's River with live animals, kayaking, face painting, balloon animals, music, and more! Thanks to our generous sponsors, donors, volunteers, and members, all of the entertainment and activities at RiverFest are completely free!
Remember to bring your change of clothes for the River Wade-In in honor of the late Sen. Bernie Fowler. We will start the procession to the waterfront at 2 pm in the pavilion. Please invite your family, friends, and neighbors. We can't wait to see you there.
GPS Address: 47418 Old State House Rd, St Marys City, MD 20686
Please note: The St. Maries Citty Militia will be conducting their annual militia muster concurrently with RiverFest. If you are sensitive to loud noises, they will be firing their weapons at 10:30 am and a little after 1 pm.
On this Page:
Featured Events • Live Music •Events & Activities•Vendors & Exhibitors•Sponsors
12 pm to 2 pm
Pavillion
Photo Credit: Joe Evans
Local to the Chesapeake Bay, the Eastport Oyster Boys will be performing at RiverFest! They provide a fun and engaging story of the unique Chesapeake Bay culture and history through their rhythms. Some rock-and-roll, Island rythms, Anericana, boogies, and more sounds are showcased in their original music.
12 pm, 1 pm, & 2:30 pm
State House Lawn
Chad Day is from St. Mary's County and is a lifelong waterfowl hunter and retriever enthusiast. His demonstrations will provide an overview of the role the Chesapeake Bay Retriever has played throughout the Chesapeake Bay's maritime history and showcase his dogs' abilities as an integral part of the conservation of our natural resources today.
10 am to 3 pm
Waterfront
Get out and enjoy the water! Greenwell Foundation has generously allowed us to borrow their kayaks for this event so head down to the waterfront, grab a life jacket, and get paddling!
This year, kayaking experts from Team River Runner Southern Maryland will be there to teach paddling and discuss their mission.
11 am to 3 pm
Pavillion
Photo Credit: Photos by Ken
Ever wonder what sound a Barred Owl makes? Or what an Eastern Screech Owl eats for dinner?
Find out from the source! Tom Newquist from Raptor's Eye and his birds will be there to answer all of your burning questions about birds of prey. Come visit your seldom-seen neighbors including owls and other raptors with Raptor's Eye from Tom Newquist!
11-11:45 am
Fourth-grade students at the Chesapeake Public Charter School have been practicing their narrations and songs about the importance of protecting our natural world since the start of their school year. Meet us under the pavilion at 11 am to support the next generation of environmental leaders!
12-2 pm
Photo Credit: Joe Evans
RiverFest will feature the Eastport Oyster Boys, musicians dedicated to spreading a message of stewardship for the Chesapeake Bay. With 27 years of experience, they combine several musical genres and Chesapeake Bay history into a unique performance that complements RiverFest’s goals.
2-3 pm
Locally acclaimed musicians and friends of the St. Mary's River return for an engaging performance of '60s, '70s, and '80s folk and country rock classics at RiverFest 2025. Indian Summer has performed at every RiverFest!
12:15 - 1:15 pm
Billy Breslin has been performing the guitar for almost forty years. He plays a mix of original compositions and your favorites from the Eagles, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and more.
1:30 - 2 pm & 2:15 - 2:45 pm
David Norris is a southern Maryland native who performs bluegrass and folk. He will play live music with a break in between for the river wade-in!
2 pm
Pavillion
Bring a change of clothes for the ceremonial Wade-In honoring Sen. Bernie Fowler. We will meet under the pavilion at 2 pm and process down to the waterfront together.
We will wade into the water until we can't see our feet anymore to demonstrate how water quality is linked to the clarity of the water. Remember to bring a change of clothes!
All Day
Pavillion
Bryan Clapp will be under the pavillion bringing your imagination to life with his colorful and creative balloon animals! Be sure to stop by!
All Day
Pavillion
Students from St. Mary's College of Maryland's Public Art Collective will be face painting all day under the pavilion. Transform into your favorite aquatic critter or character for FREE!
All Day
Dove Dock
Since the 1800s, oyster lovers and commercial watermen have been hand tonging the Chesapeake Bay in search of its treasured oysters. At RiverFest, you’ll have the chance to learn this time-honored tradition from one of the best—Sheldon Russell, a lifelong waterman with over 40 years of experience. Join him at the Dove dock as he shares stories from his life on the water and gives you the opportunity to try tonging for yourself!
All Day
Pavillion
Photo by Jay Fleming Photography
Reggie Townsend will provide tours of his 63-foot schooner, RAINBOW, at the Dove Dock all day.
Despite its length, this boat can be sailed by one person! Step aboard to learn about how Reggie designed and constructed the RAINBOW.
All Day
Museum Exhibits
Experience the river's past with FREE admission to the Historic St. Mary's City Museum during RiverFest! Enjoy historical interpreters tending to fields, preparing food like the colonists, and even operating a printing press.
All Day
Dove Dock
Step aboard the Maryland Dove, a re-creation of the 17th-century trading ship from the first expedition from England to Maryland. The newly rebuilt will be at the waterfront all day and available for tours.
10:30 am, 11:30 am, 2:30 pm
Waterfront
Want to learn what lives in the St. Mary's River?
Come down to the waterfront at 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:30 pm to watch biologists use a large seine net to catch fish in the St. Mary's River. They'll put them in display tubs so everyone can see what's inside.
All Day
Museum Exhibits
Meet Izzy! Izzy, the Terrapin, is the biology department at St. Mary's College of Maryland's mascot. Students found Izzy as the only surviving egg from a predator attack before Hurricane Isabel. She'll be on display at RiverFest in her favorite kiddy pool.
All Day
Near Farthings Ordinary
El Coqui, the first authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in southern Maryland, will be serving up empanadas and virgin pina coladas at RiverFest. Their event menu is linked here so you can plan your lunch.
All Day
Pavilion
Want to measure water quality your local pond, river, or bay? Stop by the "Make Your Own Secchi Disk" table under the pavilion where you'll use a CD, some string, a plaster weight, and wire to make a Secchi disk. Secchi disks have alternating white and black quadrants and help scientists measure how clear the water is.
All Day
Pavilion
Learn about keystone species and how they engineer the environment to provide habitat for other species through our make-and-take marine scene stamp and splash activity!
You'll paint the keystone species (seagrass or oysters) and then stamp the critters that live amongst them onto the page.
All Day
Waterfront
Head down to the waterfront, grab a life jacket, and try kayaking! Team River Runner will be there to help you get your lifejacket on and launch your kayak.
All Day
Pavilion
The NAS PAX Natural Resources Department and the Forrest Technology Center Natural Resources Program will be bring their live animals! Come face-to-face with a California King Snake, box turtles, painted turtles, salamanders, and so much more!
All Day
Pavilion
One of St. Mary's College of Maryland's Giant Puppets will be at RiverFest under the pavilion. Take a selfie and learn about how students created these giant masterpieces!
2 Dogs Tie Dye
AT&T
Bows & Dinos
Calvert Marine Museum
Calvert Marine Museum Purple Martin Club
Casey Julia Designs
Cecil Creek Glass
Cedar Point Federal Credit Union
Corn Crib Studio & Publishing
Cub Scout Pack 560
Cycling without Age
Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, Natural Resources Management Program
Ever After Vows by Kaylee
League of Women Voters of St. Mary's County
Little Sunshine Beads Co.
MaryKay
NAS Patuxent River Natural Resources
Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust
Peaches Sugar Shack
Perfectly Seated Events
Rotary Club of Lexington Park
Sailing Center Chesapeake
Shore Thing Shellfish
Southern Maryland National Heritage Area
Southern Maryland Sailing Foundation
St. Mary's College of Maryland, Community Outreach & Engagement
St. Mary's County Commission on the Environment
St. Mary's County Democratic Central Committee
St. Mary's County Department of Public Works & Transportation
St. Mary's County Health Department
St. Mary's County Department of Land Use & Growth Management
St. Mary's County Genealogical Society and Historical Society
St. Mary's County Library
St. Mary's County Museums
Studio Sabine Susanne
Team River Runner - Southern Maryland
Teresa Anne Creations
Trebor's Quilted Creations
University of Maryland Extension - Watershed Stewards Academy
University of Maryland Extension - Master Gardeners
Villa Rosa Farms
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, all activities at RiverFest are completely free of charge. Please support the businesses that support RiverFest and our year-round efforts to protect, improve, and promote the sustainability of the St. Mary's River.
Sherry Stanley
&
John Giusti
ABOUT OUR WORK GET INVOLVED EVENTS DONATE
St. Mary's River Watershed Association, Inc., Post Office Box 94, St. Mary's City, MD 20686 [email protected]