Members of the local arts community are inviting the public to attend a meeting about a quilt trail they hope weave through the Black Belt to honor the area’s rich quilting heritage.

The Selma Art Guild, 508 Selma Ave., will host an informational meeting about the trail Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9:30 a.m.

Jennifer Smith, an Americorps VISTA volunteer at Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center in Camden, said the she is hopeful for a larger turnout than the six people who were on hand for a similar meeting at the guild on June 16.

“We have reached out to several organizations and groups in and around Selma and they’ve all worked hard to let more people know about the meeting and the quilt trail,” Smith said. “Hopefully that will mean there will be a larger audience on hand for this meeting.”

When finished, the trail will include cell phone tours, signage, and demonstrations at important quilting locations across the 19 counties served by Black Belt Treasures.

Locally, the trail is a collaboration of efforts by the Black Belt Community Foundation, Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center, Selma Art Guild and ArtsRevive.

Selma Art Guild executive director Jo Pate said the quilt trail, and informational meetings, are a chance to honor the rich quilting heritage found throughout the Black Belt.

“We certainly don’t want quilting to become a lost art, especially because there are so many talented quilters throughout the Black Belt who are nationally know,” Pate said.

With interest growing both near and far about the talented quilters in the Black Belt, Pate said the quilt trail would be a perfect way to honor that heritage.

“Recently, we have seen so many people taking up quilting, that its almost been something of a local quilting revival,” Pate said. “In my mind, quilting is a lost art that hasn’t been lost here in this part of Alabama.

For more information about the event, call Jo Taylor at the Black Belt Community Foundation at 874-1126, or email her at jtaylor@blackbeltfound.org.