Mending Wall: A Community Quilt & Storytelling Project Brings Neighbors Together on New Year’s Eve
Wednesday, December 31 | 12:00–5:00 PM | O.N.E. Community Center, Burlington
BURLINGTON, VT — This New Year’s Eve, community members of all ages are invited to gather at the O.N.E. Community Center in Burlington’s Old North End for Mending Wall, a community quilt and storytelling project centered on connection, care, and shared space.
Taking place on Wednesday, December 31 from 12:00–5:00 PM, Mending Wall invites neighbors to come together throughout the afternoon to help create a large, collective quilt by designing individual quilt squares using hand stitching, collage, and fabric techniques. Participants are welcome to come and go and may stay for a few minutes or the full afternoon. Experienced machinists will sew pieces together in real time so that every contribution becomes part of the finished work.
Community members are encouraged to bring their own fabric to work with, especially pieces that carry personal meaning or everyday history. Fabric and materials will also be provided on site. The event will include shared food and music from DJ Nyaake, creating a welcoming and celebratory atmosphere for families, elders, and neighbors to spend time together.
Alongside the quilting, participants may step into a small interview booth to share a short story about life in Burlington or be photographed as part of a growing community archive. These voices and images will form the next phase of the project. Photographs will later be woven into the quilt and recordings will be preserved as part of a future video installation.
The project is led by multimedia artists Myles and Alexandra Jewell in collaboration with AALV. AALV’s Youth Media program will help document the day, while elders, families, and community members collectively shape both the quilt and the storytelling.
Mending Wall takes its name from Robert Frost’s poem and reimagines mending not as separation but as the shared work of tending to one another. Each quilt square is a gesture of care, and each story becomes part of a larger fabric that reflects the community itself.
The event is made possible through generous support from the Vermont Community Foundation, REIB, and Champlain Housing Trust, with additional in-kind contributions from community partners and artists. Mending Wall is presented as a free, off-site collaboration in tandem with Highlight.
By the end of the afternoon, what has been made together will reflect Burlington as it is now, with neighbors showing up, sharing stories, and adding their piece to a larger whole. While this year’s gathering stands on its own, Mending Wall is envisioned as an ongoing project. The completed quilt and accompanying video installation will be presented publicly in the future, with plans to return the work to community spaces in Burlington as it continues to grow with new voices and new squares over time.
FABRIC DONATIONS
Community members with extra fabric to share, including cotton, quilting fabric, scraps, or pieces with personal meaning, are invited to pass them along to be given new life in the quilt. Donations can be picked up locally before Christmas if helpful. All contributions are welcome, with no obligation to participate.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Mending Wall: A Community Quilt & Storytelling Project
When: December 31, 12:00–5:00 PM
Where: O.N.E. Community Center, 20 Allen St, Burlington, VT
Who: Open to all ages. Free and open to the public. No sewing experience needed.
Media Contact: Alexandra Jewell
[email protected] | 802-207-4809