Quilt Show

2023 ByronFest Quilt Show
QuiltShow 2023 Registration Form Byron

The Byron Museum’s 36th Annual Quilt Show will be held during ByronFest July 7, 8, and 9, 2023. The museum is seeking area quilters and collectors to display their fabric works of art. Quilt Show hours: Friday, July 7 5-8pm, Saturday, July 8 10am-7pm, Sunday, July 9 11am-2pm.

First place winners in ten categories will win cash prizes. Quilt registration opens June 21 and ends on July 5 at 3:00 PM. Entries will be accepted at the museum during normal museum hours Wednesday – Saturday 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The cost to enter the Quilt Show is $5.00 for each item to be judged, there is no fee to enter Just For Show items that will not compete for awards.

Items will be selected for awards by a judge and viewers will also have an opportunity to vote on their favorite quilt or wall hanging to win a “People’s Choice” award at the end of ByronFest. The main categories include; Antique Quilts, Wearable Art, Wall Hangings, Just For Show, and quilts identified by technique, such as Hand, Machine, and Commercially Quilted. Cash Prizes and Blue Ribbons will be awarded for first place in each of categories and ribbons awarded to second and third place winners.

Volunteers are needed to help over that weekend by greeting visitors. If you are able to volunteer or have any questions, call the museum from 10am to 3pm Wednesday through Saturday 815-234-5031 or send an e-mail to director@byronmuseum.org. The Byron Museum of History is located at 110 N. Union Street in Byron, Illinois, 61010. Our website address is www.byronmuseum.org.

The mission of the Byron Museum District is to create an awareness of and appreciation for the
historical development of the Byron area through a commitment to preservation of our past for the education of our future. “Preserving Our Past for Our Future!”

QuiltShow 2023 Registration Form Byron

Exhibit: Byron Goes to War

The Byron Museum recently unveiled its newest permanent exhibit, “Byron Goes to War” on Veterans Day. This exhibit focuses on profiles of local men and women who served our country over the years. Civil War veterans in the Lucius Read family are featured as well as a World War I helmet worn by Leo Piper and a WAVE uniform worn by Joy Strub during World War II.

This exhibit also explores how war affected the citizens of Byron on the home front. Featured home front objects include local war bond advertisements, ration cards, recipes from a Victory cookbook, Red Cross memorabilia, and a nurse‘s uniform worn by Cleo Boger. Museum visitors will also have the opportunity to view an interior replica of a home front kitchen and victory garden. Quotes taken from oral histories will highlight how children and young people were also supporting the war efforts in Byron.

The exhibit unveiling also hosted World War II re-enactors from the Second Infantry Division. Re-enactors participated in living history demonstrations while dressed in authentic uniforms. The re-enactors displayed military equipment for visitors to view from their own personal World War II collections.