Saturday, December 14, 2024

2023 Upper Valley Empty Bowls Gala and Artist Bowl Auction

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For the past 23 years, the Upper Valley Empty Bowls Festival has been a fusion of feeding the hungry, promoting the arts and celebrating community. The event brings talented artists, local restaurants, and the community together to share a simple meal of donated soup and bread. Proceeds from ticket sales and artist bowl auction are a substantial source of funding for the Community Cupboard Food Bank, a program of Upper Valley MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity).A key part of the Upper Valley Empty Bowls Festival is the Artist Bowl Auction.  From 8 a.m. March 13 through 10 p.m. March 22, twenty bowls and platters designed and created by local artists and potters will be available for bidding online at the Upper Valley Empty Bowls website www.uvemptybowls.org .  Each bowl is a work of art, from its’ creation at the hands of skillful potters, to the hours of time it takes to painstakingly hand paint the designs, and then the final careful firing of the masterpieces.  Each bowl is also available for immediate purchase with a “buy it now “price.  Most of the bowls are ceramic serving bowls or platters thrown by local potters, but there is also a wood turned bowl by Scot Brower, an etched glass bowl by Teri Zimmerman, four handmade mugs by Momi Palmieri and many other colorful works of art featuring birds, plants, and local landscapes.  While the contributions of the artists’ time and talent are sizeable, so too is the financial impact of the auction of their bowls.  The money raised by the artist bowl auction is a significant portion of the total Empty Bowls profit, each year raising more than $7,000 for the Community Cupboard.  $1,000 of the proceeds also supports small art grants that benefit local youth.

If you would like to view these spectacular bowls in person, you can attend the Upper Valley Empty Bowls Artist Showcase and Gala Reception. This event will be held Sunday, March 5 from 5:30-7:30.p.m. at the Icicle Ridge Winery in Peshastin.  Join your fellow community members for an evening of art, wine, appetizers, and music, as well as an opportunity to meet the bowl artists and potters. Admission is suggested $20 donation at the door. Event attendees will have an exclusive chance to view the artists’ bowls, bid on a live auction bowl, and enter raffles for other bowls.

The auction bowls will also be on display at the beginning of March in the Leavenworth shop windows of Benchmark Jewelers, Der Sportsmann, Inside & Out, Icicle Ridge Winery, Ganz Klasse !, Icicle Brewing Company, Jubilee Global Gifts, Posy Handpicked Goods and the Plant Ally. They will also be featured at the March 23 Soup Supper at the Leavenworth Festhalle, so that the community may view the finished bowls as everyone gathers to celebrate and eat together.


 

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