PRESS RELEASE
In celebration of its 80th birthday, the Alaska State Fair is raffling off a commemorative fair quilt, with all proceeds benefiting the fair scholarship fund. In addition to the quilt grand prize, there will be a $100 and a $50 souvenir gift certificate awarded for second and third prize. Raffle tickets are $10 for one or three for $25, and a total of 2,500 are available for purchase. The winners will be drawn on the last day of the 2016 Fair, which will be held August 25- September 5.
The quilt features the 2016 fair poster artwork designed by fourth-generation Alaskan and artist, Ruth Hulbert, who also created the 2007, 2009 and 2015 fair posters. The artwork, unofficially titled “The Work of Many Hands,” features eight squares representing significant moments in each decade of the fair, plus one square depicting the fair as an ongoing work in progress.
Hulbert carefully researched the fair’s history as part of the project, and her notes on each square are available on the fair website. “Several details in the poster, like Kennedy’s car getting stuck in the mud in 1960, and the show-stopping moonrise in the early 1980s, came from stories my parents have told me. The last three squares are full of my own memories, first as a kid going to the fair and later as a teenager and adult working there,” she said.
Local quilter, Kathy Rockey, created the queen-sized quilt from squares printed with Hulbert’s artwork. President of the Alaska Chapter of the American Sewing Guild, Rockey has been a judge and helped with demonstrations in the fair’s sewing department for years.
“I have been blessed to share my love of sewing and quilting with others, and really enjoy making things for local causes,” said Rockey, who quilts on a machine named Alice, “after my mother, who taught me to love sewing and quilting.”
The commemorative fair quilt will be on display at the daily quilt show in Irwin Exhibits during the fair. Raffle tickets are available at the main office prior to the fair, or at the Plaza and Irwin souvenir booths during the fair. The winners will be drawn on Monday, September 5 at 3:15 p.m. at the Colony Stage, and do not need to be present to win.
In addition to the commemorative quilt, Hulbert’s artwork will be featured on souvenir items available for purchase at the Plaza and Irwin souvenir booths during the fair.
For more information, please visit alaskastatefair.org or contact Dean Phipps, Fair Director of Marketing and Communications, at dean@alaskastatefair.org or 907.746.7153.