RiverFest Riverside Chats 2025! Year of the Eastern Box Turtle

Join us at RiverFest this year in conversations with local authors/organizations - Riverside Chats! There will be 3 Riverside Chats offered this year on array of topics including flooding, and it's effects, of the South River; Turtles!!!, and Sustainable Landscapes. A bonus event will be offered at the Wayneboro Library for our younger enthusists (and those young at heart!). Read further for details.

2 PM, Friday May 2nd: Riverfest Preview Chat @ Waynesboro Public Library:

Turtle Turtle on the Wide Wide River  Will Hilldebrand (author will be doing remote program)

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where my family owned a barbershop. As a kid, I often walked to the shop in the summer and delivered my Dad’s hot lunch. Then, I would take a break and listen to the conversations. Many customers told “big fish” stories laced with humor and exaggeration. I enjoyed drawing those stories at the kitchen table when I returned home. Later, I went to art school, and after taking a class in picture book art, I decided to try illustrating children’s literature. After over 75 books, I still feel lucky to do what I love. I live with my wife, Jane, and son, Ian, in Terrace Park, Ohio.

Events for Saturday May 3rd at Constitution Park:

11:00 am: South River Flood Panel

Dale M. Brumfield is a Richmond journalist and the author of 12 books, which include fiction, creative non-fiction, history and memoir. He is also a criminal justice reform advocate, and as field director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty helped lead the charge in 2021 to abolish capital punishment in Virginia. Because of this achievement, Dale was awarded the Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award by the Southern Centre for Human Rights in Atlanta, and did a TED talk on Virginia’s death penalty, which can be seen on YouTube. Dale received his MFA in Creative Writing from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2015 with a concentration in fiction. Dale has won many writing awards since 2012 from the Virginia Press Association, and in 2015, Mary Washington University nominated his short story “Death Row Report” for a Pushcart Prize. He also has been twice nominated for best non-fiction by the Library of Virginia Literary Awards. A Waynesboro native, Dale now lives in Richmond.

Gary Critzer, Director of Emergency Management and EMS for the City of Waynesboro -1990 to current.  Coordinated preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation to major flooding in 1996 (January snowmelt and September Hurr Fran) and 2003 Hurr Isabel and several other near flood or minor flooding events. Also part of the response to the election day flood in November of 1985 as an EMS first responder/rescuer. Coordinated the hazard mitigation grant program for acquisition/demolition and elevation/flood proofing of multiple residential properties in the floodplain 1997-1998

Urbie Nash is a retired civil/environmental engineer with 45 years experience in the design, construction and operation of water, waste water, and ground water treatment systems. Working in the USDA's Soil Conservation service, he helped to plan and construct flood prevention dams in  the Shenandoah Valley. Following hurricane Camille in the fall of 1969, he worked in Nelson County restoring stream channels devastated by the flooding and saw firsthand what 30 inches of rainfall in eight hours can do. Urbie moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 1974,  served as chairman of a stormwater and flood commission for Waynesboro and has been involved in  many conservation projects along the South River.

1:00 pm: Turtle Tales; Discovering the Watery world of Terrapins with Eli Mackey, 12-year-old author & turtle enthusiast!  

Eli Mackey – The Young Turtle Enthusiast Inspiring a Generation

At just 12 years old, Eli Mackey is already making a name for himself as an author, speaker, and advocate for wildlife education. His passion for turtles has led him to write Turtle Tales, host educational presentations, and even appear on panels and podcasts to share his journey as a young entrepreneur. But he’s not stopping there—next on his list is creating outdoor nature events to help kids experience the beauty of wildlife firsthand. Eli’s book, Turtle Tales, has been making waves in the wildlife education space, now sold at Virginia Living Museum and Pet

World in Hampton. He regularly visits schools to do interactive presentations, sharing turtle facts, conservation tips, and his experiences as a young author. He’s also open for bookings, eager to bring his engaging storytelling and passion for nature to even more audiences.

2:30 pm Walk on the Wild Side w/ Nate Miller; author of Simply Sustainable Landscapes

Nate Miller is a professor of Horticulture and Biology at Piedmont Virginia Community College. He is

the owner of Simply Sustainable Landscaping which focuses on native, edible, and historical landscapes, and works with Messer Landscapes of Staunton, VA. He graduated from Bridgewater College with a BA degree in Art and a concentration in Environmental Science and holds a master’s in Landscape Architecture from Clemson University. He published his book Simply Sustainable Landscapes in 2020. 

*All books available at events and at Stone Soup Books in Waynesboro.