Last year, Paducah was named the world's seventh City of Crafts & Folk Art in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Fowler Black, sales director for the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the designation signifies Paducah's important role internationally in the connectivity of cultures through creativity, particularly through quilting and the fiber arts.

Paducah, known as Quilt City USA, is the home of the American Quilter's Society, AQS QuiltWeek and the National Quilt Museum.

“The designation recognizes the rich creative culture developed through a long-lasting tradition in quilting and presence of active artisans, training centers and opportunities including the Paducah School of Art & Design, festivals that promote a diverse variety of artforms and a rich creative infrastructure including museums, galleries, craft stores and workshop venues,” Black said.

The Paducah CVB and its partners are developing five new immersive experiences that touch on the city’s heritage and culture.
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    Creating a quilt block at the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, Ky.
Photo: Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau
Creating a quilt block at the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, Ky.

At the National Quilt Museum, for example, visitors can take a behind-the-scenes tour, design their own fabric or create a quilt block.

Black said the experiences will be finalized in December and ready to market at that time.

Hotel Metropolitan, an African American hotel during segregation, comes alive through the famous musicians, entertainers and athletes who stayed on the second floor. Maggie Steed, the hotel's operator, greets visitors at the door and invites them to stay and taste authentic soul food, "Grandma's Recipe.”

River Discover Center allows groups to meet with a veteran riverboat captain and feel the rhythm of long-forgotten river songs. Dining options are available.

At Lloyd Tilghman House & Civil War Museum, walk into the 1852 Greek Revival home of the Civil War general and meet an authority on Civil War history who is also one of Paducah’s great storytellers.

Yeiser Art Center offers a Wall-to Wall Floodwall Murals Experience that shows how muralist Robert Dafford transformed something unattractive into a canvas for works of art.

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