The Arts Council of Kern on Tuesday displayed panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt as part of Kern County’s World AIDS Day events.

The exhibit followed a candlelight vigil and march held on Monday, during which participants walked from Truxtun Avenue to the Arts Council. 

Organizers said both events were designed to mark World AIDS Day and highlight the continued effects of HIV and AIDS in the community.

During Monday’s vigil, Bakersfield AIDS Project founder Audrey Chavez spoke about several of the quilt panels.

Chavez explained that each quilt panel measures three feet by six feet, the same size as a grave, and represents a life lost to AIDS. 

She said the Bakersfield AIDS Project has about 180 names of local residents who died from AIDS-related complications.

The quilt panel honoring Frances Hernandez, signed by Delano High School students who heard her speak about HIV, is displayed Tuesday at the Arts Council of Kern. 

Chavez mentioned a panel honoring Frances Hernandez of Delano, who, she said, spoke to students about her experience living with HIV. 

The quilt includes signatures from Delano High School students who heard her story.

Another panel honored April ‘Apple’ Rogers, who Chavez said died nearly two years ago around World AIDS Day. 

Chavez said Rogers was one of the organization’s “Positively Speaking” volunteers and “leaves behind three children who love their mom very much.”

Among those attending were Jackie Sullivan, a former Bakersfield city councilmember. Sullivan’s daughter, Joyce, died of AIDS in the 1990s and  her daughter’s photo appears at the center of one of the quilt panels.

“I’m one of the many moms across the country who have lost children to AIDS,” Sullivan said.

She said World AIDS Day brings back memories of her daughter, Joyce, who she described as one of the first young women in Kern County to contract HIV.

“AIDS does affect everyone, and you don’t have to look the type,” Sullivan said. “If you put yourself in a position to get infected, you just might be one of the ones that get infected. There are no do-overs.”

Sullivan said Joyce was infected at 21 and died eight years later at age 29.

“She took good care of herself,” she said. “She tried very hard to stay well.”

Sullivan said her daughter married one year before her death and described the moment as important to Joyce.

“She had the thrill of buying her wedding dress,” Sullivan said. “I’m happy for her that she was a wife for one year.”

Sullivan also recalled visiting local schools with quilt panels to speak to students about HIV.

“We always went to Highland High School and let the students know that AIDS does affect everyone…” she said. “Unprotected sex, of course, is the enemy. Don’t take chances because there are no do-overs.”

Ortencia Cabral, a Bakersfield resident who grew up during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and early 1990s, also attended the display.

“Watching these quilts is so touching because it’s a way to keep these individuals’ memories alive,” Cabral said. “Each quilt is so unique. It shows you a little bit about who they were as a person.”

The Bakersfield AIDS Project offers free HIV testing and can be reached by texting 501-3844 or calling 661-742-3611.