Written By Jan Sims
ILDERTON - Ilderton’s Heritage Park is getting a makeover that will feature a barn quilt painted on the side of the main building. And Middlesex Centre is turning to residents for ideas and inspiration for the project.
“With the Heritage Park barn being repainted this year, the timing seemed right to put up a barn quilt to add to the refreshed look. We are asking residents and local groups to suggest design ideas as they know their community best,” says Communications Manager, Heather Kepran.
Individuals and groups have until June 30th to submit their ideas. Barn quilts are found in rural areas, and tell the story of the community through images painted on the barn that are reminiscent of a quilt pattern. “Designs might speak to community, to rural life, to the history of Ilderton, and so forth. We are excited to see what people bring forward,” says Kepran.
To help people get their creative juices flowing, the municipality has links on the Middlesex Centre website to groups like Canadian Barn Quilt Trails. “We’ve been inspired by some of the barn quilts in our area, including those on Longwoods Barn Quilt Trail (which starts in Delaware), the Native Women’s Trail of Tears Barn Quilt Trail in the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, and the Barn Quilts of North Middlesex. While all of these quilts have come together differently, they have a common spirit of community, history, and rural heritage that we hope to see in the final Heritage Park barn quilt design,” says Kepran.
Submission details are posted on www.middlesexcentre.ca Once the entries are received, a short-list will be compiled, and residents will vote on a winner during the month of July. The actual painting of the barn quilt will take place in August, with a grand unveiling scheduled for September.
