Riverfest was founded in 1997 to educate the community about the recreational, educational, and esthetic value of the South River. Throughout the years, the downtown event has grown to be one of the largest festivals in Waynesboro as more programs, activities, exhibits are added - all of which challenge people of all ages to protect the environment and our own South River.

The South River has seen many exciting changes and developments since that first year: the City of Waynesboro built a greenway along the river, Trout Unlimited and the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries have established a destination trout fishery (with signs of natural reproduction occurring), and DuPont is actively remediating legacy contamination along the river.