About 500 quilts, including the 300 in the symposium national exhibition at the Queenstown Memorial Hall, are on display at more than a dozen official and satellite exhibitions this week, and organisers expect up to 1500 participants.
Tutors from the United States, United Kingdom, Alaska, Australia and New Zealand will be taking lectures, classes and workshops, and the exhibitions and a merchants market are open to the public.
The awards presentation took place last night.
On Sunday, symposium convener Marg Arnott said about 715 people from Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the US and the UK were already registered for the classes and she expected more to register during the week.
A special addition to this year's symposium exhibition is a display of Anzac banners, which quilters were challenged to create and which will be shown until Monday.
The exhibitions are being held all week at the memorial hall, St Andrew's Presbyterian church, the Cloakroom Gallery and Art Rooms, the Queenstown Primary School hall, and satellite exhibitions at the Toi o Tahuna gallery, Vesta Design and Montford Gallery.
Some of the pieces are for sale.
The symposium is held every two years, but this is the first time in eight years it has been held in the South Island.
