Lancaster Quilt Show at Lebanon Valley draws thousands to free four-day event

It’s become one of the largest non-fair events at the Lebanon Valley Expo Center & Fairgrounds in North Cornwall Township. 

The Lancaster Quilt Show at Lebanon Valley, now in its fourth year in Lebanon County, features 60 vendors and brings thousands of guests from across the country and around the world to the four-day event, according to event co-organizers Cynthia Turnbow and her daughter Aasta Deth.

The show runs through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the expo center at 80 Rocherty Road. Parking and admission are free.

“We can’t count actual attendance because we’re a free event, but her husband goes out and counts the cars,” said Turnbow about her son-in-law.

“He does the mental math,” added Deth. “A fourth of the people are going to stay for three or four hours, and other people are gonna stay all day. We assume each car is two people (per car) and that you get two rotations of cars throughout the day. That’s our math. And we figured 12,000 last year was based on the whole show.”

The first day is among the most heavily attended, according to organizers, now in their 17th year of running the 34-year-old event, including the past four at the expo center.

“People think the vendors will run out (of merchandise),” said Turnbow, explaining why people come early. Deth said last year’s crowd on Friday had the highest vehicle count.

This year, the first day on Wednesday witnessed a crowded house throughout the complex, including in both the North and West halls. The good news for vendors, including Turnbow, who owns The Stencil Company, is that business was brisk on Wednesday.  

“I’ve barely had time to finish my lunch,” Turnbow said between bites of potato chips and ringing up sales as customers patiently waited their turn to check out. 

Wednesday’s turnout was aided by four tourist buses, which brought guests to the Lebanon Valley from Connecticut, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Additionally, vendors came from several states, including Indiana, Maryland, and Utah.

Despite having Lancaster in its name as part of the show’s long-standing legacy, it has found a home in the Lebanon Valley, and the organizers and vendors couldn’t be happier. 

“There was no place big enough to accommodate us. I mean, there’s a convention center, but the American Quilter Society had their show at the convention center, and the vendors complained about how horrific it was,” Turnbow said. “And people hated to pay $20 to park or whatever it was at the time. So that’s just not a good location for a quilt show. … My daughter found this place.”

“Yeah, this place is great,” added Deth. 

“Free parking and free admission are great,” added Turnbow. “We’re excited for the future because they’re going to be adding a new building here.”

The free amenities certainly benefit the vendors and attendees who don’t have to dig into their wallets for parking before spending money on products at the show. It seemed to be a contributing factor for many vendors who were ringing up sales as LebTown visited exhibitor stands in both halls. 

In addition to shopping, there are 50-plus educational seminars and classes and, of course, quilts for sale or on display for visitors to see. Turnbow said there are over 250 quilts on display so visitors can enjoy the artists’ handiwork.

“I just gave a talk the other day at our local library about the oldest quilt that had been found,  and it was discovered to be from 400 B.C., by archeologists. So that’s been around for thousands of years now,” Turnbow said. “It’s funny because when I was growing up, quilts were very utilitarian. You didn’t make them and enter them in shows for money. They weren’t fancy. They didn’t even go on your bed. I mean, they went on your bed, but now they don’t for crying out loud. No, you put it in some tissue paper, acid-free tissue paper, because nobody’s allowed to touch it. God forbid the dogs would sit on it. They’re not as utilitarian anymore. They’re artistic quilts.”

Lebanon Quilters Guild

Members from three area quilt guilds, from Lebanon, Lancaster, and York counties, bring their members’ quilts to showcase their handiwork. Lebanon Quilt Guild president Cheryl Maulfair said local quilters supplied 30 quilts that are on display on the north side of West Hall.  

“We have members who range in age from their early 20s and into their 70s and late 80s,” Maulfair said, adding their organization has around 130 members. “We’re predominantly in our 70s and 80s.”

The club has a primary focus of providing quilts to community service organizations. Founded in January 1984, the organization exists to “foster the art of quilting and to use these skills to provide quilts to the community.”

“We do a lot of community service. We make pillowcases for Hershey Med for the children’s oncology. We make pillowcases for the VA for nursing homes. We make quilts for domestic violence intervention. Quilts for Lebanon County Christian Ministries,” Maulfair said. “We are very involved in Quilts of Valor, and veterans get those quilts during a ceremony thanking them for their service. We also do Babies Bundles for babies, which is a project of the National Guard’s Pennsylvania chapter.”    

Maulfair spoke, as did Turnbow and Deth, about the depth of the quilting community. 

Maulfair has made friends, including one who is staying in her home after flying to the East Coast from Washington state just for this event.

 “We have a kind of wide (breadth), and this (event) has created a wide pool of people that are drawn to it,” said Maulfair. “Last year, Karen Kate Buckley was here. She’s a huge name in the quilting world. Develops these patterns that make her work spectacular. She also wins national and international prizes.”

Maulfair noted the local quilting club is elated to have this show in their backyard. 

“We’re just thrilled. Initially, Cindy and Asta came and contacted us. They changed venues, and their concern was that they were trampling on our toes because this is kind of our backyard. We were like, ‘No, the clothing world is so huge that there’s room for all of us. …We’re happy to share space with them, no matter what, because there’s such a sisterhood in quilting.”