LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — The American Quilter's Society announced this week that it will return to Lancaster County next year to host its annual AQS QuiltWeek after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will be held from September 11-14, 2024, at the Spooky Nook Sports Conference Center in Manheim, organizers said in a press release.
Tickets go on sale Nov. 15, 2023 and can be purchased at AmericanQuilter.com.
“We are so excited to be heading back to the northeast, specifically to Lancaster," said AQS president Bill Schroeder. "The quilting community in Lancaster and surrounding areas has always been supportive of AQS.
"We have received so many inquiries about coming back, we thought we owed it to the community to diligently work with Discover Lancaster Visitors Bureau and the local event centers to host another show there.”
The quilt show will feature hundreds of semi-finalist quilts for the AQS Quilt Contest with cash prizes awarded totaling $54,000. The award-winning quilts will be announced Sept. 11, 2024.
Special quilt exhibits, featuring curated collections from around the world, will be displayed for quilters, collectors and enthusiasts to enjoy. A merchant mall with the latest supplies and machines for quiltmaking will be open during show hours every day.
Special events will be held during the quilt show, including a VIP Tour that gives participants an exclusive early look at the quilts before the show opens.
There will also be an All Star Review, offering demonstrations by quilting instructors and entertaining events featuring well-known quilt stars.
Classes with world-class quilting instructors will be offered, including quilting techniques, construction processes and creative projects.
Early AQS Member registration for classes and special events opens May 28, 2024.
Pre-show registration for classes and special events for the general public opens June 11, 2024.
“I can’t wait to work with the area quilters again at the show in the Spooky Nook Conference Center and enjoy some of that good Amish home cooking while we are there," said executive show director Bonnie Browning.
Previously, the AQS QuiltWeek show had been held at the Lancaster County Convention Center for 10 years, from 2010–2019. Attendance at the Lancaster quilt shows averaged nearly 15,000 attendees over that span, organizers said.
Two shows were scheduled to be held at the Spooky Nook Conference Center in 2020 and 2021, but they were cancelled due to the pandemic.
For additional information about entering quilts in the quilt contest, becoming an instructor or vendor at the show, please contact AQS at shows@americanquilter.com.
