Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival highlights community for women

CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Laughter filled Meadow Hall in Doswell Thursday night as women from across the country gathered for dinner, drinks and conversation — all centered around a shared interest in fly fishing.

The night served as a pre-festival event ahead of the 25th-annual Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival, which takes place this weekend at Meadow Event Park.

Organizers said the festival is about more than learning how to fish -- it’s about creating space for women to build confidence, skills and community within the sport.

"More women than ever are getting into fly fishing," said festival director Beau Beasley.

One year after Richmond water crisis, Henrico DPU director says things are ‘180 degrees better’

Beasley said women are now the fastest-growing group in the sport.

"This room is filled with women fly anglers that aren't here because their husband brought them -- they're not here because their boyfriend called them," Beasley said. "They're here because they're fly anglers and they want to go to the next level."

On Friday, Jan. 9 and Saturday, Jan. 10, ticketholders can attend all-day fly fishing classes at Meadow Event Park. Beasley said the instruction is open to people of all skill levels and led by experienced professionals, including instructor Wanda Taylor.

"I learned to fish from my grandmother [when] I was four years old," Taylor said. "From that day, I fell in love with it."

Shyndigz announces vending machines offering cakes, pies around the clock

She said she later learned to fly fish at a time when women were largely absent from the sport -- making events like this especially meaningful.

"It means all the world," Taylor said. "Because the industry, especially when I started ... my first waders were [for] boys."

For more information on this event, click here.