Reflections on the 2025 Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival: A Weekend of Connection and Conservation

Recently, I attended the 2025 Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival at the Meadows Event Park in Doswell, VA. I was representing the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, manning the booth we run every year at this event. It is always such a great opportunity for the Chapter to kick off the new year, and this year did not disappoint—even though we had some winter weather to contend with.

Leading up to any event, there is always a little bit of anxiety. I ask myself if I got everything done, if anyone is going to come by and talk to me, and so on. Plus, there are the logistics to consider. This year, the event was held on Friday and Saturday, which meant taking a day off work. But given the choice between a day at the festival or a day at work, the decision was easy.

Funny enough, I’m not a fly-fishing angler. I have only ever been once in my life, which you can read about in the AFI blog (read the article). However, I always look forward to this event. There are a lot of great vendors that attend every year, and Beau Beasley, along with his team, always does an incredible job organizing the festival. We are always in the same area with the same vendors, which makes it nice to reconnect and catch up on the past year.

As expected, the festival was a lot of fun. We always have pretty good foot traffic, and I enjoy the discussions with attendees. I find that engaging with members and non-members alike about Backcountry Hunters & Anglers mission—to ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting through education and advocacy for wild public lands, waters, and wildlife—is the most important part of attending an event like this. This is where we "make our money" as a Chapter, promoting the great work this organization does across the nation.

I am already looking forward to next year. Hopefully, you can come out and enjoy a great time, and we would love to see you at the booth. Be sure to keep an eye on our social media and your inbox for updates on what the Chapter has coming up. As always, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

About Garrett Robinson

Born and raised in southern York County, Pennsylvania, I participated in hunting in fishing throughout the state with my family on both public and private land. To this day the memories of growing up in a family where everyone hunted are some of the best

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