Record attendance keeps Quilt Festival at top of list of Houston's largest shows

HOUSTON, Texas (November 19, 2002) - The George R. Brown Convention Center - Houston's premier meeting place - and the International Quilt Festival - Houston's largest meeting - continue to be a match made for one another.

Quilt Festival organizers on Monday announced record attendance of 53,962 for the October 31-November 2 event. That figure surpasses the 2000 show by nearly 1,000 and makes the International Quilt Festival the largest convention or trade show, attendance-wise, in Houston this year, repeating the title it held in 2000 and 2001 (source: Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau).

"We love the Quilt Festival and we're pretty sure they like us, too," said Dawn Ullrich, director of the George R. Brown Convention Center. "They require a lot of exhibit space and meeting rooms and we have all that. We also have a team of professionals that is experienced in handling the complex needs of the Quilt Festival."

Ullrich, herself an amateur quilter, said the large attendance was gratifying because the George R. Brown Convention Center is presently in the midst of a $165 million expansion project. Across the street, a $265 million, 1,200-room convention headquarters hotel is under simultaneous construction.

"The huge crowds are obviously a testament to the popularity of the Quilt Festival," Ullrich said. "But I would also like to think that our efforts mitigated some of the inconveniences associated with construction."

Ullrich said that when expansion is finalized the Quilt Festival will have countless new options, including more exhibit space and more classrooms. Three exhibit halls, for a total of seven, and more than 60 meetings rooms, for a total of 105, will be added to increase the Brown's available space to more than 1 million square feet. Construction will be completed in the fall of 2003, but it is unlikely the larger building will be fully ready in time for next year's Quilt Festival, Ullrich said.

Karey Bresenhan, president of Quilts Inc. and director of the Festival, says the future looks bright.

"We're excited about the expansion of the convention center because, to be honest, we need the space!" Bresenhan said. "It will allow us to have more classrooms, more exhibitor booth space, and more room to show the wonderful and gorgeous quilts.

"As Houston grows, so will our Festival, and attendees from all over the world will be able to see firsthand what makes our city so special."

Contact:

Pete Radowick
713-853-8077
peter.radowick@cityofhouston.net