National Gathering Schedule Posted

7:30am – 9am        Breakfast (& Registration)

9:00am – 10:30    Ball Room: Welcome from area hosts and Keynote: Merikay Waldvogel

Waldvogel is an internationally known quilt historian, lecturer, and author. Among her books are “Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930” and “Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression,” which is regarded as the key work on mid-20th century quilts and quiltmaking. http://www.quiltershalloffame.net/Waldvogel.html

    (morning time TBA Downtown Walking Tour repeat)

10:45am – 12:00pm    Ball Room A: Three Mins of Fame -Part 3

Ball Room B:  PANEL: Community Engagement:  Ambassadors will share creative ways in which they have broadened the reach, scope, or impact of their quilt trails. Audience is invited to participate in discussion and Q&A.

Brumley Room:  Interest Group: Quilt Trail mobile app: The northeast Tennessee quilt trail (the host of the Gathering) launched the “Follow the QT” mobile app in 2013 and would like to explore adding other Trails and broaden the app’s geography.

12:00-1:30pm         Lunch at General Morgan with Awards Presentation

2:00 – 3:30        Ball Room A: Web and Social Media Best Practices: Lead by quilt trail representatives and area business experts, you’ll take home how to effectively use websites and social media to attract more visitors to your quilt trail.

Ball Room B: Measuring Economic Impact: How do you defend the importance of your trail? Measuring community and economic impact is key to attracting funding and support. We’ll go over ideas for how to do this with your trail from the ground up.

Brumley Room: Working Group: What’s Next for the National QT? What’s next? Those interested in a working group for national-level communication and collaboration are invited to attend.

3:30 – 6:00 pm        Vendor/Exhibitors open, demonstrations, area arts.

5:30pm – late        Farm Dinner at Still Hollow Farm with Quilt Bed Turning ($35 ticket extra)

Greene County’s quilt barn owners will bring their quilts and give an old fashioned bed turning, an informal presentation where quilts are stayed high on a bed and stories are told as each quilt is peeled back like peeling back the layers of time.  Still Hollow Farm is a working family farm and beautiful venue overlooking the Nolichucky River. Designated a Tennessee Century Farm, it has been continuously operated by the Allen/Birdwell family since 1857.  The Birdwell’s put the historic granary on the quilt trail wit the “corn cross quilt”, significant in the fact that corn has played an integral part throughout the existence of the farm in sustaining many generations of the Birdwell family.