RiverFest 2024- A Celebration of the St. Mary's River

Join us for the 17th Annual RiverFest!
September 28, 2024 | 11 am to 4 pm
at Historic St. Mary's City

RiverFest, a celebration of the St. Mary's River and its watershed, is free and open to everyone! Discover 101 ways to protect and enjoy our waterways, enjoy live music, try kayaking and seining, and enjoy tours of Historic St. Mary's City. Visit exhibits and vendors from Southern Maryland. Don't miss the Ceremonial Wade-In at 2:00 p.m!

All activities at RiverFest promoted on this page are free! If you want to keep these activities free, please consider donating to the St. Mary's River Watershed Association.

Thank you to our sponsors!!
If you want to help make RiverFest awesome and promote your business, please fill out this form to be a sponsor.
We are still accepting vendor and exhibitor applications. If you are interested, please fill out this form!

Want to volunteer to make RiverFest magical? Sign up here. Thank you in advance!

Help promote this event by handing out this flyer or hanging it up at your local shop!

Event Address: 18751 Hogaboom Ln, St. Marys City, MD

FEATURED EVENTS

Raptor's Eye- Birds of Prey

11 am to 3 pm

Along Walkway

Come visit your seldom-seen neighbors including owls and other raptors with Raptor's Eye and Tom Newquist!

Chad Day's Chesapeake Bay Retrievers

12-12:30 pm, 1-1:30 pm

& 2-2:30 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.

Bryan Clapp poses with a child and their balloon animals

Rain Barrell Workshop

1 pm - 1:45 pm

State House

Join Caroline DiGiovanni Watershed Restoration Educator from the University of Maryland Extension to learn all about rain barrels. The presentation will be approximately 30 minutes, followed by a question and answer session.

The presentation will cover the environmental benefits of using rain barrels to retain stormwater collected from roof tops. Rooftop runoff collection, use and safety considerations will be discussed. Finally proper installation and maintenance of rain barrels will be covered.

Participants will have the opportunity to purchase rain barrels for pick up at a later date.

Pride of Baltimore II

All Day!

Dove Dock

The Pride of Baltimore II will be in St. Mary's City for RiverFest! Visit the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area staff (One of RiverFest's Gold Sponsors) on this historic Baltimore Clipper replica that played a pivotal role in the War of 1812!

LIVE MUSIC

Chesapeake Public Charter School

11-11:45 am

The Chesapeake Public Charter School's 4th-grade choir will kick off RiverFest with music and narrative pieces.

Billy Breslin

11-11:45 am

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.

David Norris

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!

Indian Summer

3-4 pm

Locally acclaimed musicians for a return engagement performing an eclectic mix of 60s,70s and 80s folk and country rock classics at RiverFest 2024.

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Pride of Baltimore II in the inner harbor

Maryland Dove

All Day

Waterfront

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.

Oyster Tonging with Lance Lumpkins

12 pm to 3 pm

Waterfront

Want to learn what it's like to work on the water? Lance Lumpkins will be at the Dove Dock from 12 pm to 3 pm with his oyster tongs and culling board.

Izzy The Terrapin & More Aquatic Critters

All Day!

Pavillion

Want to learn more about the critters that live in the St. Mary's River? Come visit them under the pavillion! The fan favorite, Izzy the Terrapin from St. Mary's College of Maryland's Biology Department, will be there all day along with critters from the Forrest Tech Center's Natural Resources Management program.

White rain barrell filling a watering can

River Wade-In

All Day - 2 pm

Waterfront

Bring a change of clothes for the 2 pm ceremonial Wade-In honoring Bernie Fowler.

The River Wade-In demonstrates how water quality is linked to the clarity of the water. We will wade-in until we can't see our feet any more.

Balloon Animals

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!

Face Painting

All Day

Pavillion

Free face paiting all day under the pavilion! Transform into your favorite aquatic critter or character!

Kayaking

All Day

Waterfront

Get out and enjoy the water! Greenwell Foundation has generously allowed us to borrow their kayaks for this event. Head down to the waterfront, grab a life jacket, and get paddling!

The Pollinator Race!

All Day

State House Lawn

A water yard game to see who is the busiest pollinator! You have 60 seconds to collect nectar from native plants your pollinator is attracted to. Whoever collects the most nectar wins, but wait round two is not easy because an invasive species - english ivy - has taken over the garden and depleted your resources. Who is going to be the busiest pollinator in the pollinator race? A game invented and hosted by Ecobay Landscape.