Tickets now available for Airing of the Quilts Festival in Gee’s Bend in October

Tickets are now available for the 5th annual Airing of the Quilts Festival, set for Saturday Oct. 3 in Gee’s Bend.

Co-organized by Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy and Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, the event is expected to draw visitors from across the country and around the world, according to Kim Kelly, executive director of Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy.

The Airing of the Quilts Festival has become a premier cultural tourism destination in the South. The 2025 festival drew 3,000 visitors and generated an estimated $878,000 in economic impact for Alabama, according to Grey Research Solutions.

The festival connects visitors directly with the African American quiltmakers whose bold, improvisational designs are featured in major museums and collections worldwide.

“There is something truly powerful that happens when people make the journey to Gee’s Bend,” said Claudia Pettway Charley, co-founder of Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders. “They don't just see quilts; they meet the women and families behind them.  They hear our stories, and they leave carrying a piece of this community with them.”

Attendees can expect a dynamic, day-long experience featuring quilt displays and sales, live demonstrations, hands-on quilting workshops, guided tours, storytelling, live music, and local food vendors. The event is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Gee’s Bend Welcome Center.

Tickets are available now at www.airingofthequilts.org with a recommended donation to directly support the Gee’s Bend quilt-making community.

Wells Fargo joins as a key sponsor this year. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Kim V. Kelly at kvk@fqblegacy.org or Claudia Charley at geesbendheritage@gmail.com.