Empty Bowls Dinner

Our Empty Bowls Dinner is an annual charity event that brings together artists in our community to raise funds for local non-profits to feed the hungry in our community.   It was started as a grassroots effort by an art teacher in 1990 and has grown into an international effort that has raised millions for the food programs of local charities.  Ceramic Designers Association (CDA) held their first one in 1997 and has raised over $325,000 over the years.  Our goal this year is $20,000.

 

Each year, we donate over 800 hand crafted bowls from local artists along with items for the silent auction.  Area garden clubs donate flower arrangements in soup cans that people can take home at the end of the evening for a small donation; even the woodturners fire up their lathes to make beautiful wooden bowls. But the evening wouldn't be complete without the soup, bread, desserts & paper goods that are generously provided.  There are lots of moving parts & people to stage this event, but it is the mainstay of our organization and the most rewarding.

 

The ticket includes your choice of one bowl, a simple meal to remind you of people who go to bed hungry each night, music & a large selection of items to bid on in the silent auction, as well as the flower arrangements. 

The soups are:  Chili (gluten-free); minestrone, and seafood all provided by VWU.  The bread, desserts, and paper products are all donated by local businesses.  Our partnership with Virginia Wesleyan University also provides us with an outstanding venue.  

 

​All money raised, less approximately $200 for expenses, is donated to the following organizations' food programs:  FoodBank of Southeastern Virginia, Judeo Christian Outreach Center,  Samaritan House, Union Mission, Oasis Social Ministries and The H.E.R. Shelter.

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Be part of the solution to hunger in our local community. 

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For more info email us: 

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