Want a good indication of how successful the 69th Annual National Folk Festival has been? Yesterday, they ran out of ice and water.

Not out of ice and water for the day. Out of ice and water for the entire three-day festival. They were out by 3 p.m. -- less than a third of the way into the day's events.

Frantic calls to Ukrop's resulted in an additional truckload of water and two or three more pallets of ice, so they were set for fluids for the day. As of yesterday, they were working to get more for today.

The weather gods looked down on the festival's third and final year in Richmond, and smiled. A bright and pleasantly warm sun hung high in the cloudless azure Saturday sky. Perhaps because of the perfect weather, the Richmond riverfront was jammed with throngs of folk fans listening to music, eating gumbo and learning about traditional crafts.

"It's a really big crowd out there," said Lisa Sims, the director of events.

Want another indication of the event's success? At one point in the afternoon, the shuttle parking lots were full.

"We wouldn't miss it for anything," said Sharon Tulloh of Richmond. "We've been here every year. We slogged through the rain the first year and baked in the heat last year. This year, it's perfect."

Tulloh was at the festival with her husband, John Taliaferro. Both were wearing clothing from Virginia Tech, which was Taliaferro's school. They were at the festival instead of watching the Tech football game, which the Hokies won 43-14.

"I figured it would be a blowout," Taliaferro said.

Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Caz, performing with other early names in hip-hop, drew loud cheers from an audience that was, to a large extent, the National Public Radio crowd.

"It was a chance to be seen in front of a diverse audience. People who came to see other music will stop to see hip-hop," Caz said, in between signing autographs and posing for pictures with babies.

"Hip-hop makes its audience," he said. "It doesn't need a set audience. We went to Japan in '82, and exposed them to hip-hop. They couldn't even understand what we were saying, but they got the energy of what we were doing."

Dee DeLoatche of Richmond was sampling some alligator nuggets ("It's cliché as hell, but it tastes like chicken," he said), and noted that he came last year and had this year's event on his calendar all year.

It isn't just the crowds enjoying the festival -- the performers get a kick out of it, too.

"We get to learn from [the other performers], they get to learn from us," said Jerry Grcevich, the prim player and leader of the Jerry Grcevich Tamburitza Orchestra. "We become friends with some of them.

"It's not a competition. But there's a competitive spirit within us, too. When someone else gets a big hand, we like to get a big hand, too."

For western swing fiddler Elana James, who plays with steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar, the appreciative crowds are a validation for the kind of music she has chosen to play. She said it's music often "relegated to folk music for folkies."

"The festival brings people in who may think they're not into this kind of music," she said. "They're into top-40 country music or college radio, and they can listen to something here and see that it has relevance to them, too."

But there is more to the festival than food and music. There is an educational aspect, goods for sale, and a chance to watch master craftsmen work at their crafts.

Caroline Carver came from Fredericksburg to buy an intricately carved, twisted broom by master broommaker William "Larry" Counts. She carried it with her through the crowds.

"Now people have been calling me 'the broom lady'" she laughed.

The lines for food were steady all day long, none so much as the beer lines.

By 6 p.m., more than 42,000 cups of beer had been sold. That's another good indication of the festival's success.

Contact Daniel Neman at (804) 649-6408 or DNeman@timesdispatch.com.