Kelwood a barn quilt capital

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This article was published 12/11/2020 (1812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KELWOOD — A colourful collection of public art installations help Kelwood stand out as a unique destination in Westman.

Located east of Riding Mountain National Park off Highway 5, the community features a collection of 43 barn quilts and counting.

Barn quilts are public art installations that have proven popular in recent years, with countless communities across North America adopting them. They consist of quilt patterns painted on wood and installed on not only barns, but all manner of buildings.

Each piece is unique and can tell a story.

Leading the charge in Kelwood’s barn quilt effort is multimedia artist Kathy Levandoski, who has contributed most of the paintings thus far.

Of her most recent contributions are the five paintings that now don the side of Kelwood Store, which was once a general store and is now an antiques shop.

The store’s five owners over the years are represented in the barn quilts, from the most recent at the far left to the first at the right.

Lavonne Munro is the most recent owner, and requested vibrant colours in the barn quilt that represents her. To her right is Terry Ursel’s painting, which features a curling rock pattern because she was a competitive curler. Then, there’s Brian Cadle’s barn quilt, featuring a hockey jersey pattern that represents his tenure with the Winnipeg Jets. Bruce Thomson’s barn quilt features his tartan, while Eddie Becker’s is “friendly and cheerful” in tone and colour, which his daughter said reflects his character.

During a driving through the community last week, Levandoski’s pride in Kelwood was obvious. She beamed at passersby and pointed out buildings’ unique history, highlighting how precious her surroundings are.

She grew up a short drive away near the national park’s historic east gate, and has spent much of her 66 years helping build a sense of community.

The Kelwood Improvement Society — a play on the Anne of Green Gables books — was her brainchild, and later turned into the Harvest Sun Music and Arts Society.

The group’s shared vision from the start, she said, was to “bring quality arts and culture to a rural setting in an education sense — making it available to people.”

This led to the creation of the Harvest Sun Music Festival 15 years ago, which was later joined by the Eleanor Rose Outdoor Quilt Show seven years ago — an event named after her mother.

“I’ve been introduced to this whole subculture of quilting,” she said. “These people are passionate about what they do.”

The barn quilts, she said, are a spinoff from the show and help add some colour to the community in the winter time.

“It establishes a quilting presence when we don’t have the quilts out,” she said. “I don’t know, but I would venture to say per capita we would be the barn quilt capital, definitely of Manitoba and possibly Canada.

“It’s an economic thing for Kelwood because people drive into town to see it.”

The barn quilts are of particular importance this year, since the agricultural fair, music festival and quilt show were all cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It affected not only those in Kelwood, but the region’s quilting community as well, with a record-setting 400 quilts expected to be on display at this year’s event.

Displayed prominently throughout the community, the barn quilts serve as a reminder that things will return to normal one day. The society has already set Aug. 21 as the tentative date for next year’s show.

These efforts and the people who make them possible follow Levandoski’s personal motto: “Bloom where you’re planted.”

“It’s a real example of a community that’s beyond surviving,” she said. “It’s flourishing.”

Although proud of what her home community has achieved, Levandoski noted that other places have also taken to installing barn quilts, including the nearby villages of Riding Mountain and McCreary, which she has also contributed paintings to.

The Interlake Barn Quilt Trail is another Manitoba destination, featuring 51 painted barn quilts from Steep Rock to St. Andrews, Gimli to Warren in the province’s Interlake area.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB