Fundraisers have been organised to raise money needed to fix Minerva Arts Centre’s roof following the discovery of a devastating leak.

The leak from a flat roof is causing considerable worry for the trustees and volunteers of the Llanidloes-based building, which is well-known for quilt exhibitions, vintage fairs, annual Christmas Craft Fair and this year’s first Chocolate Festival of Wales.

Over the last month or so water has been pouring down an interior wall where the flat roof at the rear of the main gallery joins the two storey front of the building.

Quotes to repair the roof and make good the interior wall amount to around £20,000, which the trustees are now seeking to raise funds to pay.

Although The Quilt Association, which owns the building, was awarded a grant earlier this year by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, that money is ringfenced for two specific projects.

A venue spokesperson said: “Paying for the repair would seriously deplete reserves and make the association very vulnerable at a time when the Heritage Fund award has enabled us to start building the charity’s reach to develop our membership, engage with the community more actively and set up a Textile Trail in the area.”

A series of fundraising events are in the pipeline, starting with a Raise The Roof event on Saturday, 7 February, from 2pm-7pm.

During the event there will be an opportunity for visitors to look behind the scenes, view some of the important heritage quilts in the collection and chat to trustees and volunteers over tea and cake. There’ll be a raffle with some great prizes too. Finally, the brilliant Skinny Cat Blues Band will be performing for us followed by chilled and upbeat music by DJs Conan and Freed.

The Quilt Association is both a charity and a company limited by guarantee and was established in 1998 to care for a growing collection of antique quilts, many of which are from the local area. It has over 270 in its collection, which are documented, photographed and conserved.

The association holds two exhibitions a year, and a programme of textile-related workshops.

The Quilt Association is managed by a board of trustees, all of whom are volunteers, who work tirelessly to ensure that the collection of quilts is cared for and added to and, secondly, maintain the building so that visitors and users have a safe, healthy and enjoyable experience when visiting us.

The Minerva Arts Centre building was bought in 1998 with the help of funding from the European Union, Powys County Council, Llanidloes Town Council and private donors.

It is made available to organisations for hire for events such as The Wool and Willow Festival and The Christmas Craft Fair and by textile and craft groups such as by Welsh Heritage Quilters, Mid Wales Textile Artists and the Visual Arts Collective, Llanidloes who meet there throughout the year.

For more information, visit www.quilt.org.uk or follow @thequilt association on Facebook and Instagram and use #thequiltassociation #minervaartscentre.