1. PARK RULES

It is a privilege to work with James River State Park (JRSP). Please honor our host by acquainting yourself with the General Park Rules and Regulations before you arrive and abiding by them while you are on-site. Please also review and abide by these additional JRSP Camping Regulations.

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2. INTERPRETIVE GOALS AND GENERAL CONDUCT

By creating a “living museum” of society and culture along the James River circa 1850, Batteaux and Banjos seeks to promote public awareness of, and appreciation for, local history and the rich cultural heritage of the James River. Batteaux and Banjos also seeks to provide with an immersive historical experience for participants offering a taste of life in Antebellum Virginia.

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In order that we might effectively accomplish these goals, we ask that all participants familiarize themselves with the research materials available on this site, our Facebook page, and elsewhere so as to be conversant with our specific historical setting for the scenarios we will be portraying.

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Public interaction is expected and encouraged. Please be friendly and courteous to all visitors. Invite them to tour the encampment where they will find various displays and traditional historical activities being demonstrated. Explain what they are seeing and offer to answer any questions.

 

Please keep all modern conversation and anachronistic references to an absolute minimum. This includes movies, TV, music, sports, news, politics, social media, etc.. If you must discuss something along these lines, please do so away from the public and be considerate of other participants who may seek a more immersive period experience. Please also refrain from cursing and coarse language and topics. Lastly, please be respectful of the fact that Sunday’s religious services, while delivered in period style and attire, will be conducted as actual, devout Christian worship in substance and purpose, not as theater. 

 

3. AUTHENTICITY STANDARDS

Clothing and all other items you intend to wear, use, carry, or display as part of your impression (e.g.: miscellaneous personal effects, jewelry, musical instruments, camp furniture, tents, cookware, utensils, packaging, food, etc.), unless original artifacts, shall be museum-quality reproductions based on originals, utilizing period-correct materials, patterns, and construction methods, and documented to the culture and region being portrayed. All impressions shall conform to historically normative gender roles.

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4. FOOD, MODERN CONVENIENCES, CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, FIREWOOD, and CELL PHONES

All food should be appropriate to the historical period, season, and region — early summer in antebellum Virginia — and served from period-correct packaging or vessels. To learn more about what foods are appropriate for our setting please read our article, Foodways in Antebellum Southside Virginia. If you must bring food in modern packaging, discreetly transfer it to a period-appropriate container when you take it out. If you must bring any modern conveniences such as a cooler, ensure that it is well-hidden in a period box, barrel, burlap sack, or some other authentic form of concealment. No generators. No cigarettes, although period tobacco products are welcome. (See park rules for further restrictions.) Park rules prohibit public consumption of alcohol. Substance abuse will not be tolerated. To protect the park's trees from harmful diseases and parasites, no firewood may be brought in from outside. Firewood will be provided by the park. Please Keep cell phone use to an absolute minimum and all devices well-concealed. If you must make a phone call or check messages, please do so away from public view. Please note: this list is not comprehensive. Participants are trusted to abide by the spirit of the law.

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5. TENTS AND ACCOMMODATIONS
Participants staying on-site will need to bring their own shelter for the event. All shelters should be of period-correct construction. Wall tents, wedge tents, flys, and brush arbors are strongly encouraged based on the types of shelters documented to 19th century camp meetings. Military-style dog tents should be avoided. If you wish to participate in the event but do not want to camp on site, the park also has cabins which may be available for rent. If you wish to rent a cabin, we highly advise making your reservation as soon as possible as they tend to go quickly after the first of the year. Please be aware, while the cabins are located on park property, they are not immediately adjacent to the actual event location. Participants staying in the cabins generally drive to and from the site, a distance of 1.5 to nearly 2 miles by park road. Alternatively, the closest towns with hotels are Appomattox to the south and Amherst to the west. Both are about a 30 minute drive from the park.