S. COLTON -- The Town of Colton’s annual week-long Colton Country Days festival starts with a Barn Quilt Party from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 14 at Swift Field, South Colton, or indoors at the Pavilion at Swift Field if it’s raining.

The event will be fun for barn quilt enthusiasts, those wondering what the barn quilt craze is all about, and anyone just wanting to get out and have fun with family and friends while exploring and learning about the town.

The afternoon will begin with the unveiling of the barn quilt mural titled “Celebration North and South of Sunday Rock” painted by Colton-Pierrepont Central School art students over three years. During the afternoon barn quilt painting demonstrations, sales, and storytelling will be featured, along with a raffle for chance to win four tree-themed barn quilts recently painted by CPCS students.

Elsewhere in South Colton there will be quilt displays and sales, food by the Colt’s Pride Booster Club, rock painting with CPCS art teacher Krystal Hewer, a rock scavenger hunt with prizes, music by the New Horizons Swing Band, and product sales by the town’s Tourism & Beautification Committee.

Attendees will receive the 2019 list and map of 122 barn quilts installed around the town of Colton, can report additional barn quilts installed since January 2019 when the list and map were last updated, and can learn about upcoming classes taught by Ruth McWilliams on behalf of the town’s Tourism & Beautification Committee.

This barn quilt party is the first of four parties across St. Lawrence County this summer in a Barn Quilt Tourism Project led by Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY). They and other project partners including the St. Lawrence County Arts Council and St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce will gather information and gather material for the project. Project organizers hope participants will bring photos of their barn quilts and share their stories about what inspired their barn quilts. And attendees, no matter where they live in the county, will be able to register their barn quilts for an online map of barn quilts in St. Lawrence County being created by the Arts Council.

The three other barn quilt parties are in Wanakena July 20, Hammond Aug. 3, and Massena Aug. 10.

More info: www.tauny.org, Camilla Ammirati at camilla@tauny.org or 315-386-4289.