Bicentennial planned for 2010

From: the Wilmington News Journal
in Wilmington Ohio

First bicentennial barn quilt to go up this weekend

Dan Liggett - Editor

The first quilt of Clinton County’s barn quilt project is scheduled to go up on the horse barn at the Clinton County Fairgrounds this weekend, and the project committee is working to have more quilts completed and installed in the coming weeks. The barn quilt project is being done in conjunction with the Clinton County Bicentennial celebration, which will be observed in 2010.

So far the committee has received commitments to place a quilt on approximately 20 barns in various locations of Clinton County, Diane Murphy, committee co-chair, said. The quilt to be placed on the horse barn at the fairgrounds will be visible from West Main Street. The official unveiling of this barn quilt is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, the first day of the Clinton County Fair.

Murphy said the goal of the committee is to install at least one barn quilt in each township of Clinton County. Commitments have been received from barn owners in the majority of townships, but the committee is hopeful to reach agreement to display a quilt on at least one barn in each of Vernon, Adams, Washington, Marion and Jefferson townships.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the positive response received so far,” Murphy said. The barn quilt project was initiated as a way to show all who travel around the county, including visitors and tourists, the pride that Clinton County has in its agricultural history, families and land. Other counties in Ohio and other states have organized successful barn quilt projects, stirring interest among tourists to travel to those counties to view the barn art on display.

The committee seeks a business or organization sponsor for each barn quilt to help defray the cost, and commitment from barn owners to display the barn quilt through 2011. The cost of participation in the barn quilt project is $200 from the sponsor and $200 from the barn owner.

The committee will paint the barn quilts on a regular schedule for three weeks starting Wednesday, June 10, at the Clinton County Youth Council, 302 W. Sugartree St. in Wilmington. The schedule is Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 6 to 9 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to assist in painting the barn quilts. No artistic skills or experience is necessary to assist in this effort, as the work will involve applying paint inside lines of the already determined quilt design. Each volunteer may commit for one or more sessions. Or, a group of friends could commit to paint together for one or more sessions.

“We invite local residents to join in the fun of painting these quilt block designs that will be seen throughout the county and enjoyed by many for years to come,” Murphy said.

All designs will be painted on 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets of plywood.