In honor of the nation’s 250th birthday, Visit Williamsburg announces the launch of The Great American Birthday Quilt Project, a nationwide event inviting participants to “stitch their story” into a monumental quilt to celebrate the country’s past, present, and future. This project aims to engage people from all over the U.S. to handcraft a powerful tribute to America that can be admired by generations to come. This collaborative effort will be led by Steve Prince, director of Engagement and distinguished artist in residence at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary, in partnership with Visit Williamsburg, the destination marketing organization for Yorktown, Jamestown, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
As the place where the first English settlement in America was founded, where the tenets of American Democracy took root, and where the Revolutionary War was won, the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown offers a deeply symbolic backdrop for this commemorative effort. People nationwide can participate in the project by joining quilt workshops in select cities, submitting quilt squares from home, or donating materials that will be incorporated into The Great American Birthday Quilt. No sewing skills are required to participate, as submissions for both sewn and glued quilt squares will be accepted. Each handcrafted square will reflect a personal piece of American pride, history, or hope, woven together into a shared tapestry that captures the heart and diversity of the American experience. The completed quilt will debut in Spring 2026 and be displayed at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, following a public exhibition at historic sites nationwide.
“We are inviting people not just to submit a quilt square, but to reflect—to leave a piece of themselves in a quilt that will tell America’s story for generations,” said Prince. Like America, quilting is layered, collaborative, and expressive. Each square holds a voice, a memory, a dream—stitched into the national narrative with shared threads of hope.”…