Special Events

Registration for special events opens October 13, 2025 for those who have donated $300 or more to HGA since January 1, 2025, and October 27, 2025 for those who have donated $100 or more to HGA since January 1, 2025. General registration opens on November 10, 2025.

2026 Convergence HGA_Hort_RGB
Fashion Show

Krewe of Threads: Let the Good Times Roll Fashion Show & Dessert Reception
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Tickets: $99 or FREE with CVP

Join HGA for a spectacular Fashion Show featuring wearable art designed and handmade by fiber artists from around the world. Inspired by Krewe of Threads: Let the Good Times Roll, this year’s show captures the vibrancy and diversity of New Orleans. Dance, sing, applaud, and feel the beat as each fiber artist’s work comes alive on our runway models. Supporters who have donated $100 or more in 2026 receive early access to show seating.

 

Invited Artists:

Patti Barker is an award-winning felt wear designer, teacher, and author. She earned a BA degree in studio art with a concentration in fiber at Western Washington University. Barker’s fascination with fabric and fashion is bound in her DNA. Barker’s felting journey began in 2007 with a study of simulated skins as a protective covering and identifier. She is intrigued by the way the wearable art transforms its wearer.

 

 

 

 

Dianne “Gumbo Marie” Honoré is a seventh-generation New Orleanian, cultural activist, and Big Queen of the Yellow Pocahontas Hunters. Dianne creates powerful multidisciplinary works blending art, fashion, and history. Founder of the Black Storyville Baby Dolls, her Mardi Gras regalia is in Paris’s Quai Branly Museum, celebrating Louisiana Creole traditions on international stages.

 

 

 

 

Amber M. Jensen began making backpacks as functional, wearable art, which led her to explore the durability and expressive potential of cloth. Jensen’s weaving draws from a layered mix of influences—Appalachian overshot patterns, Scandinavian restraint, and deep respect for Indigenous relationships to material and place. Her works are narrative palimpsests, reflecting her days, feelings, and evolving identity as an artist.

 

 

 

 

Margaret Roach Wheeler, a Native American of Chickasaw-Choctaw descent, merged her fine arts education with her Native American heritage to weave contemporary garments based on American Indian regalia. Wheeler is the recipient of numerous honors and awards and her work has been exhibited both regionally and nationally.

Thread Talks
Keynote: Karen Hampton
Donor Events
Guild & Nonprofit Meet & Greet
Handwoven Kitchen Towel Exchange
Jurors' Talks
Service Project with Habitat for Humanity
Small Expressions
Twilight Madness
Welcome Breakfast

Cancellations

Sessions, tours, and jurors’ talks require a minimum number of participants to run. HGA reserves the right to cancel if there is insufficient registration. If we must cancel, HGA will issue a full refund for the canceled session, tour, or juror’s talk.

Cancellation requests for sessions, evening events (Fashion Show, Thread Talks, and Keynote), tours, and meals must be made by emailing HGA@WeaveSpinDye.org. Cancellation requests received:
• By January 30, 2026 - Receive a 75% refund
• By May 12, 2026 - Receive a 50% refund
• After May 12, 2026 - Non-refundable

CVPs are non-refundable and non-transferable. Day passes, exhibit entry fees, and jurors’ talks are non-refundable.

HGA recommends purchasing travel insurance and reviewing your policy to ensure adequate coverage. Standard trip cancellation policies typically cover non-refundable expenses for specific reasons, such as sudden illness or severe weather. In contrast, a Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) benefit can reimburse a percentage of costs for almost any reason, provided you purchase it within a specific window after booking your trip.

For more information about Convergence call (678) 730-0010 or email HGA@WeaveSpinDye.org.