Most days of the year, the historic downtown business district in Liberty will remind you of the historic downtown squares you see in movies. With a wide array of public art, shops, restaurants and business offices, there is always something to do or see. A few days a year, our beautiful downtown is in the spotlight as Historic Downtown Liberty, Inc. (HDLI) hosts its schedule of popular events, including the Liberty Quilt Walk.
For one day in June, downtown Liberty is magically transformed into an indoor/outdoor quilt show with 27 local businesses showcasing a variety of quilts, highlighting a range of quilting styles and techniques, in addition to their usual wares.
The second annual Liberty Quilt Walk will be held on Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Each participating business will have quilts on display as well as a free quilt block pattern design exclusively for the event by Angela Walters, internationally recognized quilter and owner of Quilting is My Therapy on Franklin Street. Finishing instructions for the quilt will also be provided.
Weather permitting, quilts will be hung everywhere you turn, from fences and off of railings. A tram will be available to shuttle attendees from the parking lot and around the event. Walters and Jean Warren, owner of James Country Mercantile, will be back to give quilting presentations. Due to limited seating, free tickets will be required for the presentations. You can pick up your tickets the day of the event at the HDLI Office at 117B N. Main St. starting at 10 a.m.
Reflecting on the Inaugural Liberty Quilt Walk:
The idea for the Liberty Quilt Walk began almost on a whim in early 2018 and would surprise everyone with it's resounding success!
When asked how the Quilt Walk started, Jean Warren, owner of James County Mercantile, laughs, "As an avid quilter, I am always going to quilt shops and quilt shows wherever I travel. I heard about another town hosting an outdoor quilt walk and it just dawned on me that it made perfect sense for us to do the same."
She shared her idea with Vicki Vance, Executive Director of HDLI, and Angela Walters, owner of Quilting Is My Therapy, getting them involved as well. Even though the proposed date in June was looming close, they decided to make it happen.
With help from a few other local business owners, the team came up with a plan that would ultimately become the Liberty Quilt Walk. Looking back at how much they accomplished in a short amount of time, Walters jokes, "I've heard that the best results come from a great plan and not quite enough time to achieve it!"
They began curating a selection of quilts that would serve as the attraction. To encourage the participation of local business owners, quilts were provided for display during the event and Angela designed an exclusive quilt pattern for the event with enough blocks for each business to hand out a unique, free block to participants.
"Even though most of the businesses weren't familiar with quilt shows, quilters or even quilts, they took a chance on the Liberty Quilt Walk," Walters recounted, "that meant a great deal to us."
Though Missouri is notorious for it's unpredictable weather, the day of the quilt walk was warm and sunny....with barely a cloud in the sky. As quilters wandered through the shops and businesses, they collected the patterns needed to make the Liberty Quilt Walk quilt and were treated to displays with quilts of all types.
Even if visitors didn't go inside any of the businesses, it was still quite obvious that quilting was the theme of the day. Quilts were hung from fences and off of railings, decorating the downtown and giving it an amazing presence.
"To say it was a success would be an understatement," laughed Warren, "It completely blew all of our expectations out of the water!"
Blog contributed by Angela Walters, Quilting Is My Therapy
Upcoming events in Historic Downtown Liberty:
- Liberty Cruise Night - Last Saturday of the Month, April - August
- Historic Downtown Liberty Farmers' Market - Saturdays, May - October
- Liberty Quilt Walk - June 15
- Make Music Liberty - June 21-22
- Dog Days of Summer Craft Beer Crawl - August 17
- Fall Festival - September 27-29
- Trick or Treat Downtown - October 31
- Small Business Saturday - November 23
- Hometown Holidays - December 7