The United Food Bank of Plant City will be hosting the nationwide Empty Bowls Project Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
For the fifth year, Empty Bowls will be held at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum in downtown Plant City. A $10 ticket will provide a participant with a decorated bowl of their choosing, a soup lunch and live entertainment. The event is run by volunteers, and all proceeds go to the food bank.
“It’s grown so much,” Silvia Dodson, Empty Bowls committee chair, said. “Everyone got together, and the bowls are really beautiful.”
All of the nearly 900 bowls are handcrafted by members of the community. Twenty-four area schools, Christian Home Educators of Plant City and The Plant City troop of American Heritage Girls contributed painted bowls to the event. Pottery artist David Dye brought his pottery wheel, as well as his skills, to teach home-schoolers to create the bowls.
“The bowls are reminders of the empty bowls that do not get filled every day,” Dodson said.
There will be seven bowls that will be auctioned off to buyers. Five professional, local artists — Ken Buchman, Debra Bryant, Gary Gessford, Jossie Azorin and Jules Burt — glazed, decorated and donated one bowl each to the auction. Dye also assisted the Little Miss Plant City and Florida Strawberry Festival Queen courts with making two bowls for auctioning.
At 1 p.m. there will be a raffle for a decorative fountain handcrafted by a North Carolina artist, who made the fountain specifically for the fundraiser. There also will be a chalk art contest from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the sidewalk at the north end of the train station.
No Plant City event is complete without music. Lunch will open with a few patriotic tunes from the Plant City Community Chorale, followed by Next Radical Generation. The event will close with jazz swings by Ace Jackson and the Jump Kings.
At least 20 specialty soups, such as buttermilk squash soup by the Publix Apron Chefs and Spanish bean soup by the Woman’s Club of Plant City, will be served.
IF YOU GO
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14
WHERE: Historic Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum, 102 N. Palmer St.
PRICE: $10 per ticket; includes soup and souvenir bowl.
PIONEER HERITAGE
The Empty Bowls Project isn’t the only tradition happening this Saturday. It works together with Pioneer Heritage Day to bring people to downtown Plant City.
WHAT: Pioneer Heritage Day
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14
WHERE: 1914 Plant City High School Community Center, 605 N. Collins St.
PRICE: Free
INFO: Plant City’s 38th annual Pioneer Heritage Day includes food, live entertainment, arts and crafts, a hay ride and vendors.