HomeAboutNewsQuiltCon Breaks Attendance Records, Announces Return to Raleigh Convention Center in 2026

QuiltCon Breaks Attendance Records, Announces Return to Raleigh Convention Center in 2026

May 7, 2024

A show taken from above the crowded mezzanine as people gather for an event.

Raleigh, NC – QuiltCon, billed as the largest modern quilting event in the world and held at the Raleigh Convention Center (RCC) earlier this year, today announced they broke attendance records with more than 25,000 visitors at this year’s event in Raleigh. That’s an increase of 25% over last year’s event in Atlanta.

“It's clear that Raleigh's accessibility both via air travel and car travel and heavy population of crafters and quilters combined to create our biggest QuiltCon yet,” said Elizabeth Dackson, director of events with the Modern Quilt Guild, the organization that hosts the annual event.

Each year, QuiltCon is held in February and celebrates the best in modern quilting. QuiltCon has been held in Austin, Pasadena, Savannah, and Nashville. QuiltCon is the annual event of the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG), a worldwide non-profit association of more than 18,000 members in more than 40 countries around the world. The MQG has committed to returning to the Raleigh Convention Center in 2026.

QuiltCon welcomed attendees from around the world and featured a vibrant quilt show full of over 480 competition quilts, 80 community outreach quilts and many special exhibits, as well as a very busy vendor hall. QuiltCon’s booths, lectures and workshops are always curated with the modern quilter in mind.

“This is the kind of event that will completely change your perception of what it means to be a quilter,” said Kerry Painter, Executive Director of Raleigh Convention Center and The Complex, which includes Red Hat Amphitheater and the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts. “These pieces and the artists behind them inspired creative thought and started important conversations. QuiltCon is the epitome of what we want RCC to be – a place that welcomes everyone and promotes a spirited and supportive community.”

Winners of the quilting competitions can be viewed at https://quiltcon.com/quiltcon-2024-winners/ and include the Best in Show winner from Chapel Hill.