After an eight-year break, the Missouri River Quilt Guild is excited to host another quilt expo.
Spring Into Quilts will be held at April 19-20 at McClung Park, 931 McClung Park Drive.
The first night will feature an opening reception-style event that will be held from 5-8 p.m. The evening will include a wine and cheese tasting and live music by local flute player Katie Dancer.
Hy-Vee will provide the charcuterie boards and talk to guests about the different pieces and how to build your own board. Three alcohol vendors will be sharing various drinks for guests: Last Flight Brewing will serve beer samples, ElderBlossom View Winery will provide wine and Blacksmith Distillery will provide whiskey.
From 9 a.m.-4 p.m. April 20, the main event will take place with more than 75 quilts on display and competitions, prizes and ribbons.
There will also be a Make-and-Take portion on the second day, where you can choose between a pillow or pot holders and members of the guild will guide you to create it.
"One of the things that we wanted to try to do was to help people feel more comfortable with the idea of sewing or making items that are quilt-related," said Christa Johnston, the main organizer of the event.
Though the pillow with a monster design on the front is aimed more toward a younger age range, the make and take section is open to all ages.
"We're always looking for the opportunity to share our skill, share our knowledge and increase people's interest in the art of quilting," Johnston said.
Missouri River Quilt Guild used to hold the event every three years before the pandemic, but had to cancel in 2019 due to the tornado and then again in 2020 due to the pandemic. With the last show being in 2016, the Guild is ready to invite quilters and quilt-lovers back to their show.
"When I saw in the newspaper that Jefferson City was trying to expand the cultural arts, I thought that this is a perfect opportunity to perhaps partner with Parks and Rec in terms of the cultural arts, especially in terms of fiber art, and be more visible to the community," Johnston said.
The Guild reached out to JC Parks Arts and Outreach Department and shared thoughts about partnering to bring the event back.
"We're just really excited to bring this to Jefferson City. They've bounced around with this event, so it's really fun to see how this is taking off now in our community," said Leann Porrello, Program Manager for Community Arts & Culture at JC Parks.
The quilt expo serves as a fundraiser for the guilds various community service initiatives. Funds raised from ticket sales will go to support initiatives the group does, such as the Honor Flights, Habitat for Humanity and the Healing House.
They also make quilts to donate to community organizations such as River City Habitat for Humanity, Central Missouri Honor Flight, the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center, and more.
Tickets are $3.