The Sewing Place

Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?

maliw

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #45 on: August 01, 2021, 10:56:53 AM »
All the pictures I've seen look as if there are very few people there - taken early or late in the day?
At leisure on the leisure penninsula

StitchinTime

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #46 on: August 01, 2021, 11:08:38 AM »
@maliw It didn’t seem busy at all. I took this photo of the winners’ gallery at 1.30 yesterday and as you can see there were very few people about, though I suppose some might have been getting lunch at that point.

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StitchinTime

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #47 on: August 01, 2021, 11:47:15 AM »
The dates for next year’s show will be 18-21 August. I wonder if it is a little later due to the Commonwealth Games being in Birmingham until 8 August.

RJR_38

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #48 on: August 01, 2021, 16:37:10 PM »
@StitchinTime that makes sense. I was a little disappointed it was so late next year as it towards the end of my summer holidays and I like it near the beginning so that I have time to play with all my goodies!

maliw

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #49 on: August 01, 2021, 16:45:45 PM »
@maliw It didn’t seem busy at all. I took this photo of the winners’ gallery at 1.30 yesterday and as you can see there were very few people about, though I suppose some might have been getting lunch at that point.

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Wow what a difference to previous years
At leisure on the leisure penninsula

Lowena

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #50 on: August 01, 2021, 18:41:19 PM »
Quite eerie I'm glad I didn't go
Triumph of hope over experience :D

RJR_38

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #51 on: August 01, 2021, 19:29:17 PM »
Quite eerie I'm glad I didn't go

It really wasn’t eerie Lowena - and there were parts that were much busier than that (and you still had to queue in some stalls and for food etc). There was still plenty of atmosphere - you just didn’t have to push past people to look at things or queue to look at a particular shelf (generally speaking!) - I preferred the fewer people (but would like the bigger variety of stalls back haha).

Catllar

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #52 on: August 01, 2021, 20:40:35 PM »
FFS!!!

Just got an email saying theres still time to buy tickets ... at a discount methought ,so I went through the motions ...

£19.00 !!!!  :faints:

I kid you not!

That includes lunch, I suppose? No?
If life gives you lemons, add to gin and tonic !

Iminei

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #53 on: August 01, 2021, 21:47:05 PM »
The dates for next year’s show will be 18-21 August.

BLIMEY!!!  :faints:
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again

Renegade Sewist

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #54 on: August 02, 2021, 01:28:42 AM »
This actually looks "perfect" to me. Calm and serene.  :meditation:

Here in the US even medium sized quilt shows are packed like sardine cans. Maybe not right now if they're even having any, but in "normal" times. Five or six deep at the quilt displays all pressed up against you trying for a better look.. They push and prod you in the booths and reach over and around you to grab merchandise. Ye gads. I'd be much less tempted to elbow someone in the ribs in a layout like that.
Hey Bill! Read the manual!  Hehehe.

StitchinTime

Re: Festival of Quilts 2021 - better, worse or just different?
« Reply #55 on: August 07, 2021, 12:49:06 PM »
As Festival of Quilts was the first show at the NEC since Covid, it attracted some media interest. An industry report mentions that it was attended by 11,000 visitors. A page on the Festival of Quilts website said they were expecting  “no more than 16,000 people in total over the four days (compared to 26,000 normally)”.

These visitor numbers probably explain the ticket offers prior to the show and the near empty at times aisles at the show.