Since I live in Houston, I always go to Quilt Festival in the fall. I have friends in Kentucky and Tennessee. Neither of them is too far from Paducah and the TN friend is a quilter! One of my retirement plans is to make the show in Paducah. I'll probably do the spring show.

Paducah is on my bucket list, so I will watch from afar.

I've been to the spring show twice and it's heaven. Wanting to go again soon---it's been years since I went.

I went to the Spring show with a group tour from southern NJ. We stayed at a hotel in IL and we were bused to the show each of the four days. Great show. I reserved and rented a motorized chair (back and walking issues) in the main building and had no trouble navigating wherever I needed to go - even buildings off site for fabric sales. One more thing checked off the bucket list. 2017 will have the first fall show added.

I go to Paducah every year and have been to Houston twice. If I was overseas and had to choose, I would probably choose Houston. The show is in one building (convention center downtown), more hotels, and easy air access. The trade show is the week before and the public show follows. The show is huge and there are so many vendors my head spun.

Paducah is wonderful but for a new person, it is kind of spread out and it helps to be on a bus trip or have someone along who has done it before. Hotels are at a premium!!! ( I share with someone who has a confirmed reservation) and the free bus system is not as comprehensive as in previous years. It can be very crowded at the beginning of the show but on Saturday there is more opportunity to stand and study the quilts. But it is great to shop at Hancocks of Paducah and it is on most of the free shuttle routes. They know how to staff a sale and the store is full.

If you've never been before, the Spring show is probably the best bet. As far as lodging, if you are adventurous, you can even rent a houseboat on KY Lake (30 minutes away)There are cabins (actually, small furnished houses)and a lodge with a restaurant and motel rooms as well at the KY Dam State Park. If you need to stay in Paducah there are a number of Air-B&B rooms available right in town and the hosts are quite wonderful. Call the Paducah Visitors Bureau and they should be able to help. https://www.paducah.travel/ None of us know what to expect with the Fall Show, but the way I understand it, they will be completely different quilts and can't be entered in the Spring Show. The judges will jury the quilts and the group of finalists will be the ones that the public will judge from. I'm lucky and local, so will attend both. Last year, I met up with a couple of wonderful first-time QB members and we had a fantastic day. I showed them the town and we had a blast...would love to do that again.