Me!! We fly in on Wed a.m. & fly out on Sat a.m. What a time you'll have. You can go to the registration floor & look out the bubble windows to get an overall view of most of the vendor floor but not the quilts. There have been meet ups in the past but I've never gone - don't want to miss anything on the floor or seeing the quilts. There is a food court that serves several kinds of food - barbque, salads, sandwiches, etc - but it is pricey - about $10 for lunch, incl drink. The up side is it is convenient & doesn't take too long. Lots of choices & plenty of room. Lots of people brown bag it & bring their own water bottles & use the food court for convenience. There's also kiosks up on the 3rd floor (where the classes are held) that are much less crowded but priced the same. Depending on where you stay, there is a shuttle from the hotel to the convention that the city operates for free. Runs till 7 p.m. (verify that time) every nite & IMHO is the best way to get around. Nothing like door to door transportation. Carry as little as possible & wear comfy shoes. I take a tote bag & only essentials - credit card, cash, phone, etc - & the program you'll get when you register. The floor is easy to get around & we study the program w/floor layout & vendor listings so we can easily find who/what we're looking for w/o wasting time & energy.

This is prob too much info but it was worth it when I went the first time 5 yrs ago. Go every year now & also to Paducah. Hope you have a wonderful first festival! Have fun, shop til you drop & then shop some more. I'll be glad to answer any other questions but they will be strictly from my point of view.

PS - you can go to the website & locate a list of vendors that might be helpful too.

Great info everyone!!! YES the shoes... I know!! EVERYONE says that, first thing!! I went to the foot dr to have a steriod shot for my nueroma in one foot...and on Friday night I seem to have cracked one of my toes pushing up on my foot while holding my granddaughter! Yikes.... black toe joint, but, with the steriod and the anti-inflammatory he had me on already, its not too painful. Yet. Whoops. need to be careful....

I would love to go infact this is my quilt dream "to go to Huston /Puducah/ Sisters". I have heard such great things about them all . One day maybe when I retire. If I came to America I'd like to see a LOT of things. For now Sydney Melbourne and Brisbane are my choices.

Yay, it is great to have goals!!! Done Paducah! I thought Sisters was going to be next, but DH is a real sweetie and decided on Houston!!!

Ask for Bev at the "Quilt in a Day" booth. Tell her Barb sent you to say Hi.

I am going to the show for the 3 rd time. I live a hour away so it is easy to drive. Hope you all have fun.

I will be there all 4 days...and taking 2 half day classes! I go every year too! Love this show its the BEST!! Will get to hotel about noon Wed and leave Sunday about 3PM. I wll be meeting up with friends!

I'll be there too. My 2nd time. I'll be hanging out at the IQFI (International Quilt Fest of Ireland) booth but I'll also be out and about. Might check to see if they need volunteers. Would be nice to get in free.

Another QB member and I are going, too.

My sister is coming in from Everett, WA for the show. We plan on doing the Preview night then attending Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Friday morning we're making a trip to The Painted Pony in La Porte before we go to the show. Great quilt shop! On Saturday we are driving to San Antonio (3 hours) to visit our 80 year old aunt. We wanted her to go with us but she can't get time off work!!! As active as she is, she would probably wear us out anyway.