Second Annual Richmond Coffee Festival March 7-8 Features Seminars, Competitions

The Richmond Coffee Festival has returned to the Richmond Convention Center for its second annual edition, bringing education, vendor exhibitions, competitions with cash prizes, and live music to downtown Richmond for March 7-8. The festival is open March 7 from 8:45 AM - 4 PM and March 8 from 8:45 AM - 3 PM, with tickets available for purchase through the event site.

Festival organizers bill the two-day program as a mix of consumer-facing events and industry programming; the site states, “The Richmond Coffee Festival will feature education, industry professional knowledge, seminars, discussions, competitions, and live music.” The festival site also frames the audience directly: “The Richmond Coffee Festival is for coffee enthusiast, coffee professionals, and people in the Mid- Atlantic region! We welcome all!”

Competitions are a highlighted element of the schedule. A summary of the event noted that the festival “featured educational seminars, vendor exhibitions, competitions with cash prizes, live music and a”, a line carried in the event materials that underscores the competitive draw alongside seminars and vendor booths. Vendor registration for 2026 is closed, per the site, indicating the exhibitor floor is set for this year.

Music is scheduled alongside coffee programming. The festival page lists “Music by Plunky & Oneness 3/7/26 : 11 AM and 3 PM,” and the site describes Plunky as “an award winning Jazz artist who help revolutionize the Jazz culture globally.” Those two sets on March 7 are the only listed performance times in the event excerpts; the program pairs live sets with the seminar and competition schedule throughout the day.

Logistics and hospitality details are published on the festival site. The event page lists a “Parking & Accommodations” section and names nearby hotels: the Richmond Marriott and Hilton Richmond Downtown are noted as adjacent to the GRCC on Broad Street, while Linden Row Inn, Omni Richmond, Crowne Plaza, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn, Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, the Berkeley Hotel, and the Commonwealth appear on the accommodations listing.

The festival site also carries archival and merch references that point to 2025 as the inaugural year: items include “2025 Richmond Coffee Festival Photos” and a “2025 Richmond Coffee Festival T-shirt.” On the commerce side, the site indicates an e-commerce flow with fragments like “Item added to your cart” and “View cart,” and an explicit line confirms “2026 Vendor Registration is now closed.”

The Richmond Coffee Festival continues through March 8 at 3:00 PM, offering a mix of seminars, vendor booths, competitive rounds, and live music designed to serve both coffee professionals and regional enthusiasts.