“Quilt City, USA”
Day 1
Nashville, TN
Arrive in Nashville in the afternoon and check- in around 3 p.m. to your downtown Nashville hotel, the Best Western Music Row. Meet your tour manager and other travel companions in the lobby at 6 p.m.
Tonight we will go to a nearby restaurant for a welcome dinner to meet your travel companions. After dinner some of you may opt to take a short taxi ride to Broadway for a evening of fun and entertainment on Honky Tonk Row.
The clubs of lower Broadway have long been the breeding ground for musicians, song writers and performers all yearning to make it big in Music City USA.
The entertainment is free but the performers would appreciate a tip left in the glass jar if you enjoyed their performance. (B,D)
Day 2
Nashville - Paducah, KY
Have an early breakfast at your hotel and then proceed to Paducah Kentucky, a small town of 26,000 people located in a scenic area where the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers meet.
Arrive around 10:30 a.m. at the doors of the Paducah Convention and Expo Center the location of the AQS Quilt Show. You have until 4 p.m. at the show then proceed to downtown Paducah a charming small town with a quaint historic district where we will have dinner while watching the “buzz” going on in town. After dinner depart for your hotel for the next three nights the “Kenlake State Resort” located just a short drive (30 minutes) from Paducah. (B)
***** The AQS Quilt Show *****Near the end of April each year, the American Quilters Society (AQS) hosts a quilting extravaganza that brings quilting enthusiasts from all over the world to Paducah, Kentucky. During these four days the town of Paducah eats, sleeps and breathes Quilting and extends its hospitality to thousands of visitors. Quilters and textile artisans make their trek to Paducah each year to view the finest in workmanship and creativity as the best of the best compete for $150,000 in cash rewards. In addition to the exhibits, the show includes a Merchant Mall with over 500 vendor booths offering the latest quilting supplies and gifts.
Day 3
Paducah, KY
Spend today at the quilt show.
At the end of your day make a visit to Hancock’s of Paducah a truly mind boggling store for fabric and notions. Hancock’s is a gigantic fabric store that sells and ships to 72 countries. Here you will find any kind of fabric imaginable. The mail order division with over 40 employees serves a customer list of 400,000 avid quilters now.
Tonight we will have a delicious dinner at Patti’s 1880 Settlement located a short drive from Paducah.
Patti’s is a log cabin village tucked away in the Kentucky lake country. Enjoy the beautiful gardens at Patti’s with unique gift shops and winding streams. (B)
Credit: National Quilt Museum
Day 4
Paducah, KY - Nashville, TN
Check out of your hotel and transfer to Paducah for a visit to the largest quilt and fiber art museum in the world, the National Quilt Museum. The museum showcases breathtaking exhibitions in this 30,000 square foot contemporary gallery. Their collection features a vast array of quilt art by internationally renowned artists.
Take a short walk to downtown Paducah where you can browse in the many boutiques and antique stores. Check out all the things the “quilt vendors” are selling all over town. You may find a charming courtyard restaurant for lunch or a sidewalk cafe.There is lots to see and do in this small Victorian town with its brick paved streets and walls of murals.
Depart Paducah for Nashville and check in to your hotel the Hampton Inn & Suites Nashville at Opryland conveniently located to the Grand Ole Opry.
Dinner at a local restaurant before your 6 pm transfer to the Grand Ole Opry for the show that made country music famous, the Carnegie Hall for country music. This is a true entertainment treat! (B)
Day 5
Nashville, TN - Home
Credit: Expedia Viewfinder
Breakfast at the hotel then checkout and transfer to Nashville International Airport for your flight home. (B)
