Quilts weren’t the only thing being sewn at the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, as local nonprofits were also sewing seeds of equality at the event
The hall has high ceilings and a low hum of quilters conversing. The crowd — mostly composed of those looking to be in their 50s and above — is not rowdy or loud, but they do have a lot of content to catch up on. After all, it’s been a year since they last gathered to talk patterns and pin cushions. On this final Saturday of the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, an annual three-day event held every September at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center, everyone is exerting last-ditch efforts to take in the abundance of booths, demonstrations and, of course, quilts.
The weekend’s festivities are contained in the Exhibition Hall, which boasts an impressive 255,000 square feet of space – enough room to hold gargantuan gatherings like the World Dairy Expo and, now, hundreds of handmade blankets.
Amid a sea of vendors selling fabric, sewing machines and tiny pairs of bedazzled scissors on necklace chains, there are about ten fundraising booths staffed with nonprofit staff members and volunteers, all of them masterfully interweaving social justice with this celebration of quilt artistry.
One of these booths, situated near the hall’s exit, displays rainbow quilts of all sizes and shades. With a small boxy shape and contradicting flamboyant design, it looks like the only corporate cubicle in the history of the world capable of sparking joy. The booth belongs to GSAFE, a Madison-based organization dedicated to the protection of LGBTQ+ youth in K-12 schools. GSAFE spent their weekend at the quilt show raising money and awareness for their annual online Quilt and Fiber Art Auction, which this year, will be held Nov 26 – Dec 3 with “Together” as its theme.
Brightly colored informational pamphlets and matte-finished stickers were strewn about the table beside Kris and Kringle, two crocheted reindeer stuffed animals dressed in matching rainbow sweaters and hats—a surprise donation to this year’s auction.
Fox Coenen and Kalen MacAdam are sitting at the table, explaining GSAFE’s mission and their fundraising efforts to any interested passerby. “We do a couple of different fundraisers throughout the year,” MacAdam tells them, maintaining kind eye contact. “We have a fun run coming up around Halloween — that one’s human versus zombie. And then towards the end of November, we also have the Quilt and Fiber Art Auction.”
What started as just a quilt auction, MacAdam explained, soon expanded to include other fiber art pieces — like Kris and Kringle. MacAdam tells visitors that they’re free to donate “whatever fiber art makes your little heart sing.”
It’s MacAdam’s first and last volunteering shift this weekend — his only chance to raise awareness for the cause amidst the quilting chaos. Coenen, on the other hand, has been at the booth throughout the weekend. Andtheir experience has been overwhelmingly positive.
“How has your weekend here been?” a visitor asks.
“This has been my one day,” MacAdam clarifies
“It’s been good,” Coenen quickly cuts in to give the 411. “People who don't want to talk to an LGBT organization kind of just kept walking. There’s actually been a lot of people who have come and said just really kind things and thanking us for being here and thanking us for providing for the youth. A lot of retired teachers and educators have come up and been very emotional. It’s all been very sentimental.”
The bright little booth, one of the last things you see before departing to the jam-packed parking lot charging $8 a spot, had broken through the noise of an equally jam-packed event.
And so it seems, despite the chaos of the crowds and quilts, you can still find —– sewn into the very fabric of the event — threads of change at the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show.
