RIPLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – More than 170 quilts will be on display for public viewing September 17-19 at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley as part of the 2026 West Virginia Quilt Festival. This year’s theme is “Happy Birthday, USA” in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration.
The annual festival features quilts entered in the judging competition in a variety of categories. This year, the annual event will include a special exhibit by the West Virginia Modern Quilt Guild featuring “modern” quilts and quilting techniques.
Daily admission to the West Virginia Quilt Festival is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 years old. There is no charge for children under two years old. Please bring cash or checks.
Ribbons will be awarded to the quiltmakers whose quilts are judged to be the best in a particular technique or category. Sue Cortese, a highly respected certified quilt judge from Michigan, will be this year’s judge. In addition, a special award will be given to the quilt entry that most successfully incorporates this year’s theme of “Happy Birthday, USA.”
The festival quilt display will be open to the public at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center Assembly and Dining Hall on Thursday, September 17, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, September 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, September 19, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cortese will deliver a free lecture, “Learning to Look,” on Friday evening following the West Virginia Quilters, Inc., business meeting at 7 p.m. The lecture will explore looking at quilts as artwork. Quiltmakers will be encouraged and coached about how to analyze their own work, as well as to see their work through the eyes of others.
Cortese is a long-arm quilter, quilt teacher, and judge. She is a current member and a past board member of the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges. Her work has been recognized at local and regional quilt shows, as well as by national quilt-related entities. She is a regional representative of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the art quilt.
The West Virginia Quilt Festival also offers numerous classes about quilting techniques to those who sign up. The deadline for class registration is August 31, 2026.
In addition to the quilt displays, classes, and lecture, the West Virginia Quilt Festival will have raffle baskets, a raffle quilt, a West Virginia Quilters, Inc., Market with ready-made items and a Little Quilt Auction. There will be an open silent auction Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and each day will feature a different selection of Little Quilts.
Several vendors will be open for business at the festival to offer quilting, sewing, needlework and textile-related products, including festival sponsors Bolts and Quarters of Parkersburg and Rene’s Fabric and Gift Shop of Clay, West Virginia.
For more information about the West Virginia Quilt Festival schedule and instructions about how to register for classes, go to the West Virginia Quilters, Inc., website at www.wvquilters.org.
In a separate event at the Cedar Lakes Vocational Building during the West Virginia Quilt Festival, the West Virginia Quilt Documentation Project volunteers will gather information about quilts that were made in or “currently reside” in West Virginia. Quilt owners may make an appointment to have a quilt documented for inclusion in a state and a national database of quilts. A team of volunteers will measure, photograph, date, and identify the quilt pattern and any distinguishing characteristics. Those who are interested may obtain additional information and make an appointment by contacting Robert Gellner.
