Virginia Quilt Museum participates in Blue Star Museums program

The Virginia Quilt Museum has joined thousands of museums across America to offer free admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve, and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2016 as part of the Blue Star Museums program. This program is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense.

The program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty U.S. military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps – and up to five family members. Although the Blue Star program only requires free admission to active duty military, the Virginia Quilt Museum has gone one step further and is offering free admission for retired military as well!

In addition to offering free admission to military, the Museum is also currently hosting three exhibits with patriotic and political themes in recognition of the Memorial Day to Labor Day season: American Pride: Eagles and Stars; Presidential Connections: Quilts, Virginians and the Whig Party, and The Fallen: Remembering Our Heroes. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, please contact the museum directly.

This year, more than 2,000 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in Blue Star Museums, including dozens of children’s museums, fine arts museums, science museums, history museums, and nature centers. For the complete list of participating museums is available here.

The Virginia Quilt Museum, located at 301 South Main Street, promotes a unique blend of Virginia’s art and cultural heritage and has a mission of “celebrating and nurturing Virginia’s quilting heritage.” The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.