ROANOKE, Va. – NokeFest is back, bringing three days of live music, local art and community spirit to the banks of the Roanoke River. The annual hometown festival runs this weekend, drawing residents together to celebrate the city, its artists and the river that winds through it.
Organizers made one notable change to this year’s lineup: the organized float trips that have been a staple of past NokeFest weekends will not be offered in 2026. Festival leaders say the decision came down to logistics and safety — not a lack of enthusiasm for the river.
“This year we’ve been focusing on patron safety a lot. We knew it was going to be very hot so we’ve been putting in a lot of shade sell space, reconfigured this site a bit to open up more shade, we ran a bunch of water lines, so the property has ample access to really clean water,” said Kody Reed, director of NokeFest…