Noord Groningen Quilt Festival

7th June – 12th June 2023

6 days from £1,699pp

Capture Amsterdam and enter the Noord Groningen Quilt Festival which attracts prominent quilters from around the world, where their work is exhibited in all kinds of historical buildings that are part of the regional heritage.

2-day entrance to the Noord Groningen Quilt Festival with private coach transport both days
Amsterdam Canal Excursion
Guided visit of ‘The Other Museum from Oldtimer to Lace’ with tea/coffee and cake.
Two full days of workshops with Carolyn Forster - kit, tea/coffee and lunch included.

An important event in the Dutch quilting calendar, the Noord Groningen Quilt Festival is just one of many highlights on this fabulous 6-day break to the Netherlands. In the company of Carolyn Forster, you’ll enjoy two leisurely days exploring the Dutch countryside visiting the towns and villages where quilts by local and international quilt artists are on display. Other textile experiences include visits to the Other Museum from Old-timer to Lace in Leeuworden and Den Haan & Wagonmakers quilt store in Amsterdam. You’ll also have the opportunity to hone your skills during two fantastic full days of hand stitching workshops with Carolyn.
Every second year the municipality of Hogeland in the Dutch province of Groningen plays host to a very special event - Noord Groningen Quilt Festival. The show attracts prominent quilters from both the Netherlands and overseas, and their work is exhibited in typical Dutch windmills, characterful churches and other historical buildings that are part of the regional heritage. We’ll enjoy two full days exploring the area to admire the many traditional, contemporary and art quilts on display

Day 1: London - Amsterdam
Meet Carolyn Forster and your Tour Manager at a London airport for your early morning flight to Amsterdam.
On arrival we’ll drive to the centre of Amsterdam and enjoy a canal cruise. After the cruise and free time for lunch, we’ll walk to Den Haan and Wagonmakers where you’ll have time to browse the fabrics at this popular quilting store in the city. In the late afternoon we drive to Groningen and check in to our hotel for a 5-night stay. Over dinner you get to know your fellow stitchers.
Day 2: Stitching Workshop
Today is your first workshop day. Carolyn will host workshops during which you can stitch a project she has designed especially for this Dutch holiday. We’ll break for an included lunch served in the hotel before continuing our stitching during the afternoon. There’ll be time to relax before dinner is served.
Day 3 & 4: Noord Groningen Quilt Festival
Two full days at the Noord Groningen Quilt Festival. We have a private coach and, following the route recommended by the show’s organisers, we’ll visit small towns and villages across the beautiful landscape of Noord-Groningen where you can admire the vast number of quilts on display. Both days you’ll have free time for lunch and each evening dinner is served in our hotel.
Day 5: Stitching Workshop
Having taken inspiration from the Quilt Festival we now enjoy another full day of stitching in a private room at the hotel. We’ll break for an included lunch served in the hotel before continuing our stitching during the afternoon. There’ll be time to relax before dinner is served.
Day 6: Leeuwarden - London
After breakfast we’ll check out of the hotel and drive to the town of Leeuwarden where we visit the Pakhuis Museum Koophandel, or ‘The Other Museum from Oldtimer to Lace’. Here we enjoy a guided tour with focus on the museum’s lace and quilt collection. After tea or coffee and traditional cake we drive to Schiphol Airport for our early evening flight to London.

TRAVEL

Return flights from London to Amsterdam with 1 piece of hold luggage
Coach transport as detailed in the itinerary

ACCOMMODATION & FOOD

5 nights Half Board at Best Western Plus Hotel Groningen Plaza 3 star
2 lunches

SERVICES

2 full days of workshops with Carolyn, kit, tea/coffee, and lunch included.
The services of an experienced Arena tour manager who will accompany the tour throughout
Gratuities for the coach driver

VISITS

2-day entrance to the Noord Groningen Quilt Festival with private coach transport both days
Amsterdam Canal Excursion
Visit to the quilting store Den Haan & Wagonmakers in Amsterdam
Guided visit of ‘The Other Museum from Oldtimer to Lace’ with tea/coffee and cake.

Carolyn Forster

Carolyn Forster is a quilt designer, teacher and author from Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Since self-publishing her first book ‘Quilting on the Go’ in 2007, Carolyn has written ten more patchwork and quilting books with Search Press in the UK and Landauer Publishing in the USA. She has been a regular project contributor for magazines in the UK, including Today's Quilter, as well as abroad.

Carolyn's quilts are an eclectic mix of fabrics, a posh way to say she makes scrappy quilts, and they always have their roots from some point in the past, being inspired by quilt makers who have gone before us. Accessibility is Carolyn’s key philosophy with her teaching, demystifying techniques to allow every quilter to discover their own voice.

Teaching for Arena travel is a great opportunity to combine her love of travel and stitching and the projects for these trips will reflect and explore techniques from Quilting on the Go.

Overview

Situated next to the nature reserve Noornsemeer on the outskirts of Groningen, the striking Best Western Plus Hotel Groningen Plaza was once a Dutch Royal Mail training centre. Today it is a comfortable, modern hotel and each of its 121 rooms enjoys a view of the nature reserve around the adjacent Hoornsemeer. Hotel facilities include an indoor pool, Restaurant Meerwold serving international cuisine using seasonal products, a lounge area with bar, and beautiful garden with patio seating. En-suite guest rooms have flat screen TV and complimentary WIFI.