In preparation for the fifth annual Empty Bowls Project, Little Miss Plant City court members and Florida Strawberry Queen Samantha Sun painted bowls to be auctioned off during the event Saturday, Nov. 14.
Empty Bowls benefits the United Food Bank of Plant City. For $5, guests can pick one glass bowl out of a wide array and receive a soup lunch. The bowls are painted by students in area schools and symbolize the many empty bowls that do not get filled every night for families living in poverty.
“This project promotes the arts in the schools and community, while bringing attention to hunger and to the Food Bank,” chair Silvia Dodson said.
The event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30p.m. at the historic Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum in downtown Plant City. Ticket price increases to $10 beginning Nov. 1.
The Junior Women’s Club of Plant City will be providing a bake sale during lunch. Also, a one-of-a-kind clay fountain, handcrafted by a Pottery Artist in Asheville, North Carolina, will be raffled off at the end of the event. The retail value of the fountain is over $180. It is being donated by the artist.
Artist David Dye helped the Little Miss Plant City Court make their own bowls on the potter’s wheel. Besides the court members, other artists will have their bowls auctioned off, including Ken Buchman, Debra Bryant, Gary Gessford, Jossie Azorin and Jules Burt.
Various local churches have already committed to providing soup for this project. They include:
Evangelical Presbyterian Church – broccoli cheese
St. Clement Catholic Church – vegetable
St. Mary’s Community Church – smoked pot roast
Woman’s Club of Plant City – Spanish bean
Hope Lutheran Church – chicken or turkey
Trinity United Methodist Church – to be decide
On the day of the event, there is a hope of at least 20 groups providing their specialty soups. Interested group or church wishing to be involved can contact the UFB office.
Live entertainment will play throughout the event beginning with the Plant City Community Chorale at the open ceremonies, followed by a performance by NRG (Next Radical Generation), and ending the event with Ace Jackson and the Jump Kings Band.
Becky Hartmann is leading the Empty Bowls Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest. Interested participants need to sign up in advance. The deadline line is Oct. 1. The cost is $1.
For more information on the Empty Bowls Project or to volunteer, please contact UFB at (813) 764-0625.