Asheville Quilt Show - The Quilt Show that Wasn't 2024

The Asheville Quilt Show’s Ruby Jubilee was planned for 2024, a celebration of forty years that our small army of volunteers has tirelessly put the quilt show together, year after year. Over three hundred quilts had been received, judged, and hung. Prizes had been awarded, ribbons and labels pinned to quilts. Vendors were in place and ready to go. Publicity, advertising, and signage all pointed toward our best show ever. We planned to open the doors at 9:00 am on Thursday, September 26.

And then Hurricane Helene happened.

The Quilt Show was cancelled on Thursday, although the weather was not that bad. We asked the WNC Ag Center to allow us to extend the show through Sunday, permission was granted, and we had hope. Then there was Friday morning, and it was quickly obvious that the Quilt Show could not open.

The impact on our members, our community, and our lives was overwhelming. The WNC Ag Center was not damaged, but there was no power and all buildings were locked for security reasons. Vendors waited for days in powerless hotel rooms, anxious for word that they could pack up their booths, retrieve their wares and go home. With limited communications, Quilt Show volunteers were organized and came together to take down the show and pack up and store the show equipment. Quilts were moved to members’ homes for safekeeping. We refunded our vendors their booth fees and wondered how we could minimize our overall losses.

We were then overwhelmed by the show of support from the quilting community at large. Many of our sponsors were angels and allowed us to keep their donations. Several advertisers rolled their funding forward to 2025, and the WNC AG Center graciously waived our rent. Various individuals made donations, and many prize winners donated their award money back to the Quilt Show. We received donations from Quilt Guilds outside of the immediate area, and more support came from many different places. At the end of the day, our losses, although measurable, were not material enough to hinder our ability to move forward with the 2025 Asheville Quilt Show.

The generosity and kindness shown to us by the quilting community and our supporters has far outweighed the disappointment of the 2024 show cancellation. We are profoundly grateful for your ongoing support.

Outstanding Machine Work

All the Dancing Flowers - Carolyn Brooks