The annual Kalona Quilt Show is hitting a milestone this week.

This is the 50th year for the show which started Thursday and continues through tomorrow. 200 new and antique quilts are on display and for sale in the Kalona Community Center. All are crafted by hand and many are local Amish and Mennonite quilts. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow with COVID safety protocols implemented.  The event also features a special lecture from to 2 to 5 p.m. today by collector Michael Zahs, who will discuss the impact and history of cloth bags in quilting and in clothing, “When they started, I have examples that go back to the 1800’s and will explain the impact those bags had on history. Herbert Hoover was very important in cloth bags. During the depression, most farm families were wearing something that had flour or feed in it before it had them in it. It helped Iowans get through the Depression and cloth bags were used a lot, clear up into the beginning of the 1950’s.”

Zahs’ “History in a Cloth Bag” exhibit is on display through October 31st at the Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum located two blocks east of the community center. 

*Click here for more information on the Kalona Quilt Show