Welcome Back, Quilters

By Cassie Johnson

After a two-year wait, the 36th American Quilter’s Society Quilt Show is back and Paducah is welcoming it with open arms! Spectators, local businesses, and residents have been on pins and needles anxiously awaiting the 2022 Quilt Week.

“The staff at the museum are thrilled by the return of AQS Quilt Week and it’s very exciting to welcome everyone back to Paducah,” said Matt Collinsworth, CEO of the National Quilt Museum. “Registration is strong and quilters and quilt lovers are excited. We are ready to support the weeklong event with great exhibitions and fun activities.”

Visitors from across the United States and many other countries from around the world flock to western Kentucky just for Quilt Week. Please be patient as you go about your normal routines around town. There will be extra traffic, longer waits at restaurants, and crowds in the stores but it’s all worth it. Quilt Week contributes around 24 million in tourism dollars to the economy of Paducah and western Kentucky.

More than 50,000 people, not just from all 50 states but more than 30 countries, visit the Paducah National Quilt Museum each year. Our hometown NQM was voted as one of the top museums in the South and attracts quilters, art enthusiasts, and locals.

New This Year

There will be a few changes to the regular itinerary. The Awards Presentation featuring Susan Cleveland will be held at Walker Hall on Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30pm. On Wednesday morning at 8:45 am, the Paducah Tilghman High School Band will start the day with the Quilters’ Parade of Small Quilts following in step behind them. The Quilt Show will open promptly at 9am each day. Lastly, An Evening of Music with Ricky Tims will be held on Friday, 7 - 9pm at the Clemens Fine Arts Center on the campus of West Kentucky Community & Technical College.

To avoid standing in lines at the show, advanced registration is recommended. For a single or multi-day admission, visit americanquilter.com/quiltweek/paducah-2022/paducah-2022admission/. General admission is $15 per day and $12 daily for AQS members.

“Attendance is usually around 30,000,” said Bonnie Browning, Executive Show Director. “We predicted slightly less than that this year because of the pandemic, but registration has been robust with 29 classes filled and sold out on the first day of registration!"

SPECIAL EVENTS

Friends of NQM Reception (Members Only) - Monday, April 25, 5-7pm

Bruce Leonard Book signing - Thursday, April 28, 10am - 1pm

Ann Hazelwood Book signing - Friday, April 29, 9 am - NooN

QUILT WEEK HOURS

at the National Quilt Museum, Convention Center, and Pavilion

• Monday 10am – 5pm

• Tuesday 10am – 5pm

• Wednesday 8am - 6pm

• Thursday 8am - 6pm

• Friday 8am - 10pm

• Saturday 8am - 5pm

• Sunday 1 - 5pm

Special Quilt Exhibits

In addition to the impressive 405 AQS Contest Quilts, there will be more special quilt exhibits including:

• Specimens by Susan Carlson, featuring a crocodile quilt that is 21 feet wide - look for this quilt at the Pavilion

• Studio Art Quilt Associates: Wide Horizons VII, featuring quilts from nine European countries

• Antique Red and Green Quilts, collection of Sue Reich

• The Night Before Christmas, curated by Sue Reich

• The Diana Cherrywood Challenge, sponsored by Innova

• New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Wheel of Fortune, contest quilts from The National Quilt Museum

Popular and highly anticipated exhibits that will also be on display include:

• Untamed Abstraction by Sheila Frampton Cooper until May 10, 2022

• Australia Wide Seven from Ozquilt Network from now until July 19, 2022

• New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Shakespeare from April 8 until August 23, 2022. 