The Rug Show Is Coming Soon

by John Aldrich

The rug show is only two weeks away and the excitement is building for the event. Last evening we had our last volunteer meeting which was well-attended and served as the final springboard leading up to the show.

The meeting served to highlight a number of the events that will take place during the show. Wendy Sanborn, Assistant Director of ANE, has devoted an enormous amount of time overseeing the organization of the show which began almost a year ago.

Serving with her have been a group of four co-chairs who have worked on a particular day of the show. Each stood in turn to present the highlights of their day starting with Gina Zimmerer who is the chair for Thursday's events.

The other co-chairs are Robin Field-Williams for Friday, Kate Stephens for Saturday, and Carla Sydenham for Sunday.

Another key player in the team is Elinda McKenna who serves as volunteer coordinator.

I suspect that no one who hasn't actually done the job can truly grasp the enormity and complexity of the task that this involves. But Elinda's exceptional organizational skills serve her well in this capacity.

Several of the special events to be held during the show were featured during the meeting. On Friday evening at the gala opening there will be two auctions this year. The first will feature a silent auction of all the special Weaving Winter Stories theme rugs. We have roughly 40 of these rugs on hand now, and they always create a stir of interest when people see them.

Linda described the background of the theme and discussed several of the rugs.

Our weavers continue to submit these special rugs, and there could be even more by the time of the show. The silent auction will start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and continue until 7:30 p.m. when the main auction will begin.

Pauline Blanchard has done a fine job organizing everything for the main auction on Friday evening. There are a host of appealing packages - perhaps the best lineup that we have ever offered. Pauline showed the Pendelton blanket that will be part of the auction. This is what Linda showed the weavers at last year's show to give them an idea of colors they might consider using in their special theme rugs.

Two of the theme rugs will be in the main auction this year including this beautiful Snowflake design by Anita Jackson.

The premier package features a Grand Canyon river trip for two. This was arranged by Fientje Allis and offered by Grand Canyon Expeditions. It has a value of $5300 and should garner lots of interest from the bidders. Just imagine yourself in this scene - - -

Among the other packages are such tempting items as a fly fishing trip on the Green River, 3 days and 2 nights at the Red Mountain Spa, and an air boat outing for 5 on the Great Salt Lake.

An important part of the meeting dealt with volunteers and helping everyone to understand their responsibilities and how the show works.

 

Elinda reported that we now have barely enough volunteers to cover all the shifts. Ideally, however, she would like to have 25 or 30 more. So, if you're thinking this might be a good opportunity, it's not too late to sign up. Volunteer information and sign up form can be had through this link. Or you can email Elinda for more information.

Another highlight for the show is the veterans' ceremony on Sunday morning. Howard Benally organizes this event and reported that our speaker this year will be Richard Yellowhammer, a veteran as well as husband of program co-founder Grace Smith Yellowhammer. It should be another moving occasion.

 

To learn more about the show and view the schedule of events, please visit the rug show page of our web site. We hope to see you there!