The city will mark Women’s History Month with an event highlighting textile crafts like weaving and quilting that sustained local families in the 19th century. The event, “All Was Done by Hand: Home Production of the Nineteenth Century,” will take place on Saturday, March 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kingston City Hall, 420 Broadway.

The event, which will include displays and demonstrations of 19th century textile arts and trace their evolution into modern-day crafts, is a collaboration between the city, the craft group Woodstock Weavers and the Arts Society of Kingston. The exhibition will feature demonstrations by crafts groups and artisans of techniques like weaving, spinning yarn, wool processing, quilting and lacemaking that defined women’s household work prior to the industrial revolution. Among the displays will be a “fleece to shawl” showcase breaking down the transformation of raw wool into clothing through carding, spinning and weaving.

The event runs concurrently with and complements another City Hall exhibition “Sojourner Truth: First Step to Freedom.” That exhibit is built around a sculpture commemorating the 19th century abolitionist and feminist leader’s 1826 flight from slavery. Like other women of her day both free and enslaved, Truth would have been familiar with textile arts and the event will feature educational materials detailing the historical context and importance of in-home textile production during her lifetime.

“We are proud and honored to continue our programming around the Sojourner Truth: First Step to Freedom statue’s installation at City Hall and are pleased to host this special Women’s History Month event,” said Mayor Steve Noble in a statement announcing the event. “This showcase provides a rare opportunity to explore the craftsmanship and labor that sustained homes and communities in the past while recognizing its continued influence today.”