Times staff report
The 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival is set for Saturday, Oct. 4, in the Gee’s Bend community of Wilcox County. The event celebrates history, art, and cultures that have been formed over a period of 200-plus years.
The Festival is hosted by organizing sponsors Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, and Souls Grown Deep and open to the public.
“Quilting is a way of life for us and we are grateful for the opportunity to share it with the world,” says Claudia Charley, co- founder of Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders. “The airing of quilts is a tradition that spans the lifetime of our communities. The women here pull out our quilts from the summer stored places to freshen them on the outdoor quilt lines for use in the coming cold winter months.”
“The festival gives visitors the opportunity to meet quilters, learn about the area’s history, and become immersed in the area’s incredible cultural significance,” said Kim V. Kelly, executive director of the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy.
The Festival serves as an opportunity for attendees to learn about the community and its traditions. It traces the living story of Gee’s Bend from the area’s origins of enslavement, through its significance in the Civil Rights Movement, to present day as one of America’s most renowned artist communities after decades of disenfranchisement.
“This hamlet of only a few hundred people has had an outsized impact on art, history and fashion in America,” says Kelly. “The quilts of this locale are prominently installed in over forty (40) museums around the world. There isn’t a community of this size so recognized in the world of art. Even today, world renowned fashion designers collaborate with the quilters to forge their latest creations.”
Gee’s Bend quilters have garnered international fame for their unique quilt-making, and the festival honors the community’s history of quilt-making with interactive programming, food trucks, entertainment and live musical performances. Visitors to the Airing of the Quilts also take part in quilting demonstrations and storytelling from the descendants of generations of Gee’s Bend quilters.
Now in its fourth year, the 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival added global sportswear brand adidas as its presenting partner for an event that honors the living history of Gee’s Bend from the area’s origins to its significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement and its current fame as one of America’s most renowned artist communities.
This year’s festival also features the unveiling of an exhibition dedicated to Dinah Miller (née Jenkins), who was kidnapped in Africa and brought to Alabama in 1860 aboard the last known slave ship to enter U.S. waters, the Clotilda. The exhibit is titled “Between History and Memory: Dinah Miller’s Legacy in Gee’s Bend.”
Miller settled in Gee’s Bend in 1890 and is the earliest known quilter in the area. Her descendants rank among the area’s most renowned quilters.
“This new exhibition will clearly celebrate Dinah’s life, tell her unique and inspirational story, and honor her immense contributions to the Gee’s Bend community,” Kelly said.
This event is open to the public where they can enjoy food, live music and a full day exploring American history. Registration is free with a recommended donation of $40 to support the quilt-making community and to keep festival costs low. Additional fees apply to quilt-making workshops, demonstrations, face painting and tours.
To learn more, visit www.airingofthequilts.org.
