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All-America City Quilt Tour: Stitching Together the Fabric of Communities

mmcgrath
Explorer C

Each year, dozens of finalists in the All-America City Award are asked to submit quilt squares representing something special about their communities. The squares are stitched together into a quilt, which tours the country visiting each finalist town, city, county, or region.

First stop on the quilt’s 24-city tour is Kenai, Alaska, population 7,115; a finalist and winner in 2011. Among other things, Kenai’s award-winning application focused on a community-wide effort to clean up a local salmon fishery. Not surprisingly, the town’s quilt square illustrates a salmon leaping out of the river.

Kenai

Torrance, California, number five on the quilt tour, features a beach scene on its patch. Ann Arbor, Michigan, sports jigsaw puzzle pieces fitting together to symbolize diverse groups coming together as a community.

 “The All-America City quilt represents the spirit of the All-America City Awards—people working together to address our nation’s most pressing challenges,” explained National Civic League (NCL) President and chief quilter, Gloria Rubio-Cortés. “Think of the fabric of the quilt as something like the fabric of an American community.”

The patchwork varies from intricate needle point work—some communities enlist the efforts of accomplished quilters—to very simple and basic cut-and-paste shapes. Craft and technique, however, are less important than the sentiment and community pride.

It could be the town seal, for example, or an official city motto. It could be a local landmark, a scenic view or words expressing local values and goals, or a combination of any of the above. The patch-makers are encouraged to use their creativity.

The National Civic League, which gives the award to ten communities each year, encourages finalists and winners to celebrate their civic accomplishments all year long, and the quilt tour, which generates a surprising amount of media buzz in some localities, is one way to do it.

For the fourth year, Southwest Airlines is the Official Airline of the All-America City Awards. Southwest Airlines is launching the quilt on its national tour again this year.  The quilt will stop in each finalist community for several days, where it will go on display in public buildings and community centers.

Last stop on the quilt’s 17-state tour will be Beloit, Wisconsin. Along the way it will visit Tupelo, Mississippi; Seaside, Oregon; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Fort Worth, Texas, among other finalist cities.

You can learn more about the award program and follow events leading up to annual event via the All-America City blog at www.allamericacityaward.com. The 2012 All-America City Awards will be held in Denver, Colorado, June 30 - July 2 and will have a special focus on communities that mobilize to improve reading scores for at-risk students.