A September weekend is shaping up to be a draw for out-of-towners and locals alike.

On Sept. 23-24, Washington’s events schedule is packed for the Washington Harbor District Alliance is marketing as the Fall-Fun Getaway, offering everything from arts to seafood, Sunday river cruises to mystery theater. It starts with the 21st annual Pamlico River Quilters’ Guild quilt show at the Washington Civic Center.

Slated for Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sept. 24, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the quilt show offers both displays and sales of quilted goods: bed quilts, lap quilts, art quilts, wearable ones and home décor.

At 90 members strong, the Pamlico River Quilters’ Guild will be showing off work both large and small, machine and hand-stitched, according to Jan Hindsley, who has been a member of the guild since 1983.

“There’s terrific talent in this guild,” Hindsley said. “I’m just floored by the beauty of what they do.”

Each guild member is allowed five entries into the show, and the entries will be judged by an outside quilter. This year, quilter Scott Macon returns to do the judging, an experience that not only assigns winners for certain categories, but also gives quilters valuable insight into their work.

“He tells each quilter the positive things about the quilt and then what they can work on,” Hindsley said.

It’s a fundamental part of an organization that thrives on the exchange of ideas, according to Hindsley.

“We always want to learn and share with each other. It boosts creativity,” Hindsley said.

Working together also boosts generosity, as individuals and as a group. The guild takes on many charity projects, donating quilted blankets and bags to senior citizens in nursing homes and babies in neo-natal intensive care units, as well as jointly creating a quilt each year for the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center to raffle off as a fundraiser. Other projects include patriotic quilts given to families of military men and women killed in action and for “wounded warriors” returning home, in a partnership with a quilt shop in Jacksonville.

“We’ve got people who come from New Bern and from Greenville because it’s such a great guild,” Hindsley said. “It draws people because of all the positive things this guild does.”

This year’s Pamlico River Quilters’ Guild show is called “Branching Out With Quilts;” admission is $4. Other events taking place on the Fall-Fun weekend include: Pickin’ on the Pamlico, a steamed crab and shrimp festival on the waterfront; “Stay as Dead as You Are,” mystery theater at the Turnage Theatre; Hands on Arts Fall Festival, an all-day arts festival hosted by Arts of the Pamlico; the Farmers’ Market on the waterfront and a Sunday brunch cruise on the Belle of Washington. Each will be featured in a future About Town.

For more information about the Fall-Fun weekend, visit www.washingtononthewater.com/washingtonnc-fall-fun-getaway/.