After the pandemic caused the cancellation of all its shows in 2020, Quilts, Inc. is proud to announce that Quilt Festival and Quilt Market have both moved online. Virtual Quilt Festival will be held December 3-5, 2020 and Virtual Quilt Market from January 26-28, 2021.
Both editions will have many of the same aspects attendees have come to expect and appreciate from our long standing in-person events. That includes exhibitors, quilt displays and competitions, and education, including classes and lectures. Because only a computer or a cell phone and internet access are necessary to participate, online shows are proving to be very popular.
“Like most other businesses both in the quilting industry and those far removed from it, we’ve had to shake up our business model for our attendees, our exhibitors, and ourselves. Something that would take the best aspects of the shows people expect from us, but with an online structure was required,” says Quilts, Inc. President/CEO and Market/Festival Director Emeritus Karey Bresenhan.
Bresenhan continues, “One of the most important advantages of the online shows is that people who have never attended can easily see the basics of the shows without the expense of traveling! Attendance at Virtual Quilt Festival is open to the public, although attendance at Virtual Quilt Market continues to be limited to credentialed participants such as shop owners and affiliated professionals.”
An internal team evaluated and tried out a number of virtual platform companies to see which one would best fit the different needs of a trade and a consumer show. All the latest info on both shows will be announced in the coming weeks and months, and will be available on Quilts.com. To be added to the email notification list, sign up on the Festival and/or Market page at Quilts.com.
“We’re very excited to take both of these shows into brand new, cutting-edge areas until we can all see each other again,” Bresenhan sums up. “Nothing can stop this industry, and the quilters making great quilts.”
