AIDS Memorial Quilt on view May 9-12

The nation's largest display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt this year will take place at the Grand Valley Fieldhouse Arena this week. More than 1,500 panels will be available for viewing May 9-12.

Opening ceremonies on Thursday feature quilt originator Cleve Jones, who founded the NAMES Project Foundation in San Francisco 15 years ago. The event begins at 7 p.m., when names of the deceased memorialized on the quilt panels will be read as the panels are unfurled on the Fieldhouse Arena floor. Following the ceremony, spectators are free to walk among the hand-made panels, which pay tribute to many West Michigan AIDS victims along with well-known people such as Ryan White and Rock Hudson.

Public viewing times are 7-10 p.m. on May 9; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 10 and 11; and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday, May 12. There is no admission charge.

Closing ceremonies and the dedication of new panels will take place at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

In its entirety, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is made up of more than 44,000 hand-sewn, 3-by-6-foot panels, each commemorating one or more loved ones lost to AIDS. According to the Names Project Web site (www.aidsquilt.org) the quilt now covers 792,000 square feet and would stretch for 50 miles if panels were laid end to end.

For more information, call the West Michigan AIDS Memorial Quilt Display committee at (616) 453-1735.