Dominion Riverrock and Flo Sports yesterday announced a partnership to stream the Dominion Riverrock bouldering competition live online at www.FloClimbing.com during the May 19-21 festival. This marks the first time that any Riverrock competition has been made available for livestream and will bring the excitement of the bouldering competition, featuring some of the top climbers in the country, directly to spectators across the U.S. and around the globe.

A slackline over the Kanawha Canal at Dominion Riverrock. Credit: Venture Richmond

“Dominion Riverrock offers a visually unique and exciting climbing competition taking  place at one of the premier outdoor sports and music festivals in the country, and we are thrilled about our new partnership,”  said Jordan Shipman, General Manager of Flo Climbing. “The event will be streamed live for the first time on FloClimbing.com, and we are looking forward to bringing this competition to an even larger audience of climbing fans!”

Men’s and women’s Bouldering qualifying and finals will be held Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, and the Speed Competition follows on Sunday, May 21. All events take place on a custom-built 20-foot cage constructed specifically for Dominion Riverrock that offers a unique test of speed, agility, and physical and mental strength. Top competitors for this year’s event include Kai Lightner, Nathaniel Coleman, Kyra Condie, and Brooke Raboutou, among others.

In other Riverrock news: 

To help kick off the 2017 Riverrock, Red Bull Media House will screen a premier of the film ‘Blood Road’ at the Byrd Theater at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 18. The film chronicles mountain bike champion Rebecca Rusch’s journey as she rides the 1,200 miles of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Trail in search of the spot where her father crashed and died during the Vietnam War. Rusch, a Red Bull athlete known as ‘The Queen of pain with a heart of gold’ for her epic performances and adventures around the world, will be in attendance for the premier and will participate in a Q&A session with the audience following the screening. The session will be moderated by Jeff Lenosky, a world class freeride and mountain bike rider who coordinates the Freestyle Bikes competition during Dominion Riverrock and also competes in the Urban Assault mountain bike race during the festival. The screening is free and open to the public, and Rusch will be available for media interviews following the Q&A session.

Prior to the screening, Lenosky and Rusch will lead a pre-ride of the Urban Assault course at noon on May 18. This will be a great opportunity for riders to preview the course, which takes place on the trails in the James River Park System, and learn a few expert tips and tricks from accomplished athletes like Rusch and Lenosky. The course preview ride is free and will start and finish in the Belle Isle parking lot.

Participants Finalized for ‘RVA Plein Air Paint Off’

The field of local artists for the first-ever RVA Plein Air Paint Off at Dominion Riverrock is set and includes some of the area’s best known artists, muralists, and designers. The 10 artists scheduled to take part are Ed Trask, Hamilton Glass, Nico Cathcart, Matt Lively, Amy Swift, Greig Leach, Linda Hollett-Bazouzi, Vincente Gonzalez, Mickael Broth, and Andras Bality.

During the paint off, set for Saturday, May 20 at noon, the artists will have four hours to create a work of art that will be judged and showcased before being made available for sale on Sunday, May 21. The sale is open to the public and will take place from noon-4 p.m. in the brick courtyard at Historic Tredegar.

While the challenge is taking place, the artists will be scattered all over the festival grounds, creating plenty of viewing opportunities to see the competitors at work as their paintings come to life. A canvas size of 30″x40″ for all competitors will create an additional challenge for the artists during the time window, as most plein air painters work on a much smaller scale. With diverse styles and processes, the paint-off promises to be thrilling, inspirational, and educational all at the same time and will present a unique challenge to participating artists. Dominion Riverrock is partnering with Glave Kocen Gallery for the paint-off event.