Quilt Show kicks off 35th anniversary

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is launching its 35th anniversary with new plans and opportunities.

This year's show will be held on Saturday, July 10. A special birthday celebration for the community and quilt enthusiasts will be held on Tuesday, July 6. The seventh annual Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll is scheduled for July 3.

In honor of its 35-year history, the board of directors has approved a new plan, focused on sustaining the event. Highlights include new sponsorship opportunities and enhanced benefits. For example, this year sponsors may receive increased visibility by supporting the 35th Anniversary Birthday Gala. Recognition for major sponsors and opportunities at special exhibit areas during the show have also been enhanced.

The quilt show staff and board are working to provide sponsorship information to a wider audience in 2010, focusing on the advertising and goodwill benefits accrued by aligning with the organization.

"We know that visibility is important to businesses, and we have created many opportunities for our sponsors to be seen," said executive director, Ann Richardson. "Sponsoring the quilt show is an excellent and economical way for businesses to stretch their advertising budgets. We also hear from our participants that they appreciate our sponsors and seek to patronize them while in the region.

"We have long believed that the quilt show is an economic driver for the community," Richardson continued. "Now we know this to be true based on the results of an economic effects study completed at the 2009 show."

Survey results showed direct expenditures of $2.4 million by all attendees in the greater Sisters area, and the equivalent of 35 jobs sustained as a result.

Quilt Show founder and board member Jean Wells said, "It has been my privilege to help grow this event and I have long been delighted with the benefit it brings to the community. I am pleased that we have been able to establish the quilt show as a nonprofit organization, hire staff and develop plans to sustain the event long into the future."

New sponsor information will be sent to past sponsors the first week of February.

For more information, visit SistersOutdoorQuiltShow.org or contact Ann Richardson at 541-549-0989 or [email protected]