Festival of Quilts at Heritage Park is Coming May 27-28th, 2023! See YOU there...

The Quilt Show

The Festival of Quilts at Heritage Park has been a "thing" since 1996!

The adventure of covering the park with quilts never grows old however, and we're always full of exciting new ideas for this and future shows.

See below for some of the activities that are happening in 2023!

Quilts, quilts, and more quilts - more than 500 quilts on display all over Heritage Park:

Quilter of Distinction

Festival of Quilts at Heritage Park is thrilled to announce our 2023 Quilter of Distinction - Karin King.

Quilting continues to be a thread of the past sewn into the future, and this year’s Quilter of Distinction brings a very modern twist to the showcase. Formally trained as an accountant and financial analyst, Karin left the energy sector several years ago. She enjoys seeing the transformation of raw materials into works of art - from counted cross stitch and needlework, to lampwork (glassbead making), and has finally found her passion in quilting.

The modern quilt aesthetic, and a particular fondness for foundation paper piecing, makes Karin happy. She has had quilts juried into both QuiltCon 2022 and QuiltCon 2023, the largest annual show of modern quilts in the world.Her studio has grown to include a longarm machine and two resident feline supervisors, plus occasional foster kitties just for fun. Karin’s favourite colour is “all of them”, but she admits to a smaller stash of yellow. Cooking, music (especially from the band U2), and travel (everywhere, especially if U2 is playing there!) are also a big part of her life.

Karin has always been an avid volunteer – from boots on the ground (beer ticket sales, fostering, making charity quilts) to leadership roles on the boards of organizations near and far (Calgary Folk Festival, AARCS, Calgary Stampede Creative Arts Showcase, Calgary Modern Quilt Guild, and the worldwide Modern Quilt Guild). Calgary, and the local quilting community, have benefitted greatly from her enthusiasm and expertise.

Karin’s strong voice, her volunteer achievements, and a growing body of quilted works has found her in this distinctive role for our festival. We are delighted to showcase Karin - another gem from our local community!

Here's the list of our previous Quilters of Distincton:

1999 - Nel Noonan
2000 - Nancy Wikant
2001 - Joy Nixon
2002 - Mary Lou Scott
2003 - Lorraine Stangness
2004 - Florence Godfrey
2005 - Sheila Niles
2006 - Dianne Sutton
2007 - Jean Gray
2008 - Betty Bailey
2009 - Aie Rossmann
2010 - Susan Paddock
2011 - Agnete Kay
2012 - Karen Jurek
2013 - Bev Patkau
2014 - Sandra Krystalowich
2015 - Darlene Hockaday
2016 - Margaret Jessop
2017 - Trudy Cowan
2018 - Vanecea Greene
2019 - Ana Buzzalino
2021 - Linda Van Gastel
2022 - Cheryl Arkison

What makes a Quilter of Distinction?

Every year the Heritage Park Festival of Quilts recognizes an outstanding member of our quilting community. Selection is based on the following criteria:

An outstanding quilter who has made significant contributions by volunteering, being an inspiration to others, and showing encouragement within the quilting community.
Is a resident of Calgary or the surrounding area.
Has a sufficient body of work available to showcase their talent.
Has work to show progression or growth in quilting.
Is available to meet with the public for a minimum of four hours each day of the Festival of Quilts.

Do you have a nomination for next year's QOD? Email your suggestions to .

Merchant Mall

Where would we be without a little retail therapy and inspiration for our new projects?

Every year, quilt shops and services put on a great display of what's new in the quilting world!

Registration for the 2023 Festival of Quilts Merchant Mall will begin in early 2023. If you are interested in becoming a vendor, please email your contact information to .

Friday Night Special Event

Yes, you read that right - we're trying something new and have moved our "evening event" to Friday!

We are pleased to feature Brandy Maslowski as our special guest speaker for an evening Lecture & Trunk Show on Friday May 26, 2023, from 7:00 pm to 9 pm.

Spend your Friday evening with us as we host Brandy Maslowski for a quilt trunk show and presentation, "Your Mind Matters". This lecture and trunk show feature a collection of quilts, textile art and processes that chronicle the story of Brandy's path to healing, to where she is today. With consistent practices in self-care, learning and creativity to live happy rather than searching for happiness, she discovered that bringing joy to others through her podcasts, teaching, and travel, fills her cup every day. Brandy will share how she became “Quilter On Fire”, and the unexpected journey she has travelled. Learn about this engaging and passionate quilter's story, discover what inspires her and the life lessons she has learned along the way. Please join us!

Tickets available soon!

Special and Group Displays

We have two Special Displays coming up in 2023:

Show us your creative quilts using either, or both, of these categories!

Trees: We look forward to seeing a forest of tree quilts! We hope to see modern trees, landscapes with trees, tree of life blocks, or any interpretation of a tree. For your quilt to qualify, a tree or multiple trees must cover 60-70% of your quilt top. Please remember that major embellishments, such as real branches, will not be accepted. Small beads or embroidered areas which protrude slightly from the surface of the quilt are acceptable.

Orange and White: Most of the quilt must be orange and white. Other colours can be included if they do not overpower the orange and white!

Group Displays are like a build-your-own Special Display. Grab a group of quilting friends, pick a pattern or theme, and enter those quilts to be displayed together. Group displays are limited to 10 quilts per group.

Special Displays began at the Festival of Quilts in 2011, before that there were "quilt challenges" which were judged and awarded a prize.

1998 Challenge - Pioneer Spirit (maximum 40"x40", minimum 20"x20")
1999 Challenge - Timeless Treasures
2000 Challenge - Quilting 2000 and Beyond!
2001 Challenge - My Favourite Block
2002 Challenge - Garden Party
2003 Challenge - Sampling of Stars
2004 Challenge - Baskets and Blooms
2004 Special Display - Quilts of the 60s for the 40th Anniversary of Heritage Park
2005 Challenge - Vintage Alberta
2006 Challenge - Dazzling Dots
2007 Challenge - Sassy Stripes
2008 Challenge - Revisiting the Past - the 1930s
2009 Challenge - Merry and Bright Christmas
2010 Challenge - Ho Ho Hallowe'en
2011 Challenge - Star Challenge Using the 15th Anniversary Heritage Star Pattern
2011 Special Display - Heirloom Quilts from Martha Lynn Tune
2012 Special Displays - Red and White; Hooked Rugs and Quilts; Art Quilts; Star Challenge
2013 Special Displays - Star Challenge; Applique; Halloween
2014 Special Displays - Antique Quilts; Civil War and More; Modern Quilts
2015 Special Displays - Blue and White; Dear Jane and Nearly Insane; Past Quilters of Distinction
2016 Special Displays - Log Cabin; Ruth McDowell style quilts; 6 group displays of Quilts in the Community
2017 Special Display - My Canada
2018 Special Displays - Black and White Plus One; Judy Niemeyer and Jacqueline de Jonge style quilts
2019 Special Displays - Show Us Your (Pieced) Curves; Miniatures; Gloria Loughman workshop quilts
2021 Special Displays - Pineapple Quilts; English Paper Piecing Quilts
2022 Special Displays - Modern Minimalist, Portraits (People or Animals)

Creative Kids Display

We encourage young sewers, 16 years old and younger, who like to sew and love to show others what they've accomplished. Anything quilted by the "Creative Kid" is welcome, even if there has been a little help from his/her friends! Don't forget the outer perimeter must be a minimum of 60 inches.

Go kids go!

Heritage Block Competition 2023

The Heritage Block Competition is an annual challenge at the Festival of Quilts. Participants must create a quilt block using a kit available only at the Festival Information Booth during the Festival of Quilts weekend. The kit contains entry information, details of the challenge, and some fabrics. You then have two months to create your block and return it to Heritage Park, after which judging takes place. Cash prizes and rosettes are awarded to the top four blocks!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 "Bee Happy" block competition:

1st prize - Bernice Verklan from Spruce Grove, AB
2nd prize - Jenn Hummel from Airdrie, AB
3rd prize - Pat Bradley from Pointe Claire, QC
4th prize - Dena Kubota from Okotoks, AB

The Challenge Blocks are then assembled into quilts and other items, to be raffled off at future Festivals. The theme for the 2023 competition is "Birds and Their Houses" - get those good ideas flying, and come pick up your kit at the Info Booth!

Raffle tickets are for sale only at the Festival Information Booth (1 ticket for $5, or 3 tickets for $10 - cash, debit or credit). The draw is held at the Saturday night event, and winners will be contacted by phone.

Prizes for the 2022 Raffle included:

1st prize - "Winter's Shimmer" Quilt - winner Tamara Chapman
2nd prize - Selkirk Grille $100 Gift Card - winner Fran Hunsperger
3rd prize - Festival of Quilts Tote Bag - winner Cindy Lawrence.

Previous Year's Challenges have included:

1996 - Transportation at Heritage Park
1997 - Country Garden
1998 - Reflections of Grandma
1999 - Millennium Stars
2000 - Toys of Yesteryear
2001 - Maple Leaf
2002 - Harvest
2003 - Old Time
2004 - Flower Power
2005 - Home Is Where The Heart Is
2006 - A Tisket, A Tasket, Look What's In The Basket!
2007 - The Changing Seasons
2008 - Once Upon A Christmas
2009 - Posies and Butterflies
2010 - Traditional Block
2011 - Ghouls and Ghosties and Long Leggity Beasties, and Things That Go Bump in the Night
2012 - A Day At Heritage Park
2013 - Christmas Bells
2014 - Down On The Farm
2015 - May Flowers
2016 - Home Sweet Home
2017 - Fun In The Sun
2018 - Starry, Starry Night
2019 - Winter's Shimmer
2021 - Classic Black and White
2022 - Bee Happy

And there also used to be a quilty component to the Heritage Park Fall Fair! The block competitions held at the Fall Fairs included:

2000 - Sleeping Under the Stars
2001 - Where's Home?
2002 - Peeking Through the Garden Gate
2003 - Magnificent Bugs
2004 - Crows In My Garden
2005 - Let's Celebrate
2006 - Christmas Remembered
2007 - Block Busters
2008 - What's Your Angle?
2009 - Ten x Ten, What, Where When?

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