Spring is here, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming and soon Franklin will be blooming with quilts and fiber arts during the Spring Quilt and Fiber Arts Show hosted by Franklin Preservation. The show is scheduled Friday and Saturday, May 19-20, with registration starting from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and during the show both days.
“It is a citywide event,” said Daniel Weiland, president of Franklin Preservation. More than 200 quilts and fiber arts will be displayed at historic homes, downtown businesses, the Baptist Church, St. John’s, DeBence and the historic Koos House, according to Weiland.
Art and art enthusiasts will be able to tour the historic homes, the downtown shops, attend presentations, workshops and demonstrations on various quilt and fiber arts-related topics. The show also includes a vendor mart with 15 different vendors, raffles, people choice and best of show awards, museum tours and a downtown quilt walk.
Those interested in displaying their quilts and fiber arts during the show and be considered for the People Choice awards and Best of Show award should contact Franklin Preservation a week in advance by emailing SpringShow@yahoo.com or calling 437-7921.
The show begins Thursday evening with welcome reception and early registration at the Baptist Church for those wishing to secure a seat at one of presentations and workshops as seating is limited. Registration can be done by emailing SpringShow@yahoo.com or online at facebook.com/springshowfranklin.
The Spring Quilt and Fiber Arts Show officially kicks off at 9 a.m. Friday, May 19, with registration.
The Historic Homes Quilt and Fiber Arts Tour starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. both days and the first presentation and workshop starts at 10:30 both days. The free demonstrations are held at various downtown shops from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. both days and from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday. The vendor marts and the quilt and fiber arts displays open at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. both days.
At 7 p.m. Friday evening a free concert will be held in the beautiful historic sanctuary of the Baptist church featuring seven musicians.
A free shuttle bus will make stops at all of the historic homes and venues throughout Franklin.
Admission to the show is $10. The admission ticket includes one Historic Homes Quilt and Fiber Arts Tour, one raffle ticket, access to the vendor marts, any of the 35 free demonstrations, a tour
of the historic Koos house and admission to all quilt and fiber art displays at the following places — Baptist Church, St. John’s and DeBence.
Throughout the day on Friday and Saturday, there are seven presentations and five workshops scheduled. Attendees can select one or decide to sit in on several, Weiland said.
Each presentation is $5 and workshops vary in price from $9 to $30, this includes the materials and kits needed for the workshop. Tours of the Tiffany stained glass windows at St. John’s and the tour of antique music instruments at DeBence are pay at the door.
Quilt appraisals, either informal or formal, are by appointment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday only at the historic Koos House. Appraisals are limited and on a first-come basis and early registration is recommended. Jan Tierman Rodgers of Mars is the appraiser for the event. Formal appraisals are $40 and informal appraisals will be determined by the appraiser.
The hospitality room at DeBence third floor Social hall will offer plenty of seats to take a break and we’ll serving up lots of cookies, coffee, tea and water, Weiland said.
The vendor marts will feature 14 vendors selling quilt and fiber art related items. Throughout the day there will be raffles for chances to win gift baskets and a queen-sized, hand-stitched hand quilted country wedding ring quilt.
Weiland said the response from the community in the form of donations for the raffle baskets has been tremendous.
He also wanted to emphasis that the event is not just for quilters and fiber art artists.
“It is an event for everyone,” he said. The event has a lot to do with history, he added, presentations of historical quilts, tools of the trade used by pioneer woman of northwestern Pennsylvania in the 1800s, history of bobbin lace and cross stitch to name a few.
Proceeds from the event go to Franklin Preservation.
The association will use the funds toward its goal of restoring the Old Lutheran Church on Buffalo and 11th streets. Purchased in 2015, the church is an excellent example of Stick Victorian architecture.
Franklin Preservation plans to use the building as a community facility, an event space for all the arts and a nonprofit hub, Weiland said.
