Event Calendar
International Leather Show & Competition
Illinois Valley Leather Guild NFP (IVLG) is excited to announce that the 2026 International Federation of Leather Guilds (IFoLG) Show and Competition is returning October 6th – 11th and will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in East Peoria, IL. IVLG last hosted the IFoLG Show in 1968 and it is time to once again showcase the amazing world of leathercrafting for our community. The 2026 IFoLG Show theme is “Traditional Meets Modern.”
Leathercrafting in general is the slow, hand-driven art of cutting, shaping, stitching, and decorating animal hides to create durable and unique goods. Traditional leathercrafting may bring to mind — saddle tack (saddles, bridles, rein, stirrups et al) in a floral western style while modern leathercrafting may envision armor, cosplay, steampunk and more. Over one hundred (100) leather artisans, with a combined 1,500 + years of leathercrafting experience will be teaching and attending leather workshops throughout the week. These leather artisans hail from the United States, Europe and Asia and will exhibit their spectacular leather creations which highlight their awe-inspiring talents as they compete and advance through ranks in the Open, Advanced, Masters and Grand Masters Divisions. Community members are invited to participate during the week in various workshops to learn leathercrafting from leather artisans, some of whom have individually been doing leathercrafting for fifty plus years.
To register for these workshops, please go to https://ivlg.org/workshops/.
Saturday, October 10th is the 2026 IFoLG Show’s “Community Day”, where community members are invited to participate in a variety of FREE events. 8 am to 4 pm ·
Workshops for Youth (ages 8-17) and Adults (18+) that are either hands-on or demos will be available. Floral carving, Tooling a Kitten (Demo), Braiding a Simple Keychain, Intro to Carving Q&A (Demo), Cut & Lift Techniques for Fur and Feathers, Petal Lifting (Demo) and Intro to Hands-on Stitching. Please bring a pen and paper for notetaking. Hands-on Workshops – leather and supplies will be provided and use of any tools during the workshop as well.
Pre-registration is recommended. Please arrive fifteen (15) minutes prior to workshop starting time and check-in at the registration desk. To register, go to https://ivlg.org/workshops/ – Scroll down to Saturday, October 10th workshop listings to complete your ‘FREE’ workshop registration. Day-of registration based on availability.
“On-the Go” Make and Take Leather Station – make a leather item on the go, while supplies last. [No registration needed]. 10 am to 5 pm · Competition and Guild Display Rooms – Spectacular leather creations featuring the works of leather artisans ages 5 to 90+ where different skill levels will be on display with a special ‘America 250’ Competition. [No registration needed]. ·
Vendor’s Hall will be open to purchase finished goods from Artisans and Leather Guilds as well as leather, supplies, tools and equipment.
