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Making art to feed the hungry: Hub City Empty Bowls 2016

Hub City Empty BowlsHub City Empty Bowls is gearing up for Soup Day, its annual arts-based fundraiser to feed hungry people in Spartanburg County. Each year, the public is invited to make the hand-crafted pottery bowls that are featured on Soup Day. Three bowl-making events are scheduled:

  • Saturday, July 16, 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. in Spartanburg Art Museum’s studios at Chapman Cultural Center
  • Thursday, July 21, 6-8:30 p.m. at West Main Artists Co-Op
  • Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. in Spartanburg Art Museum’s studios at Chapman Cultural Center.
These free, family-friendly events provide the experience of working with clay at any level of experience, including no experience. The clay, facilities, and instruction are all donated. Members of Carolina Clay Artists and volunteers will be on hand to instruct participants in bowl-making techniques. “People look forward to our bowl-making events every year,” said Nancy Williamson, publicity leader for Carolina Clay Artists. “I see some of the same faces and families come back each year. It’s fun, easy, creative, free, and, of course, it is for a good cause. I am truly amazed at some of the raw talent I see. Even more amazing is to see all the finished bowls laid out on Soup Day for the public to take home. It’s almost like an art exhibit – a huge art exhibit with every color of the rainbow and shape imaginable.” Soup Day takes place Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chapman Cultural Center. For every $15 donation, a donor gets to keep a bowl of his or her choice and enjoy a simple meal of soup, bread, and tea. Patrons can enjoy soup donated by some of the best restaurants in Spartanburg, listen to live music and share in the fellowship of helping to feed local citizens. A silent auction of donated items and a drum circle are part of the event. TOTAL Ministries will receive the proceeds to help feed the needy in Spartanburg County. Last year’s campaign allowed Hub City Empty Bowls to make an all-time high donation of $26,000 to TOTAL Ministries. Empty Bowls was started by a high school teacher in Michigan in 1990 as a student project to help feed the needy and has grown into an international phenomenon. There are hundreds of Empty Bowls projects around the world, raising millions of dollars to feed the hungry. Each Empty Bowls organization is independent and self-governed. 2016 marks the eighth year that Carolina Clay Artists has spearheaded the Spartanburg effort. Thus far, this year’s sponsors are Spartanburg Regional Foundation Healing Arts Fund, Carolina Clay Artists, West Main Artists Co-Op, Action Printing, Milliken & Company, Wheresville Productions, Chapman Cultural Center, Spartanburg Art Museum, and Chris Williams. The project is seeking more sponsors: companies and individuals willing to donate funds; restaurants to donate soup, bread, and tea; other businesses to donate eating utensils; individuals and businesses to donate silent auction items; and potters to make the bowls. Those willing to donate should contact Traci Kennedy at Director@TotalMinistries.org or (864) 585-9167. For more information about TOTAL Ministries, visit TotalMinistries.org. Hub City Empty Bowls, a component fund of the Spartanburg County Foundation, was established to increase awareness about the issues of hunger and food insecurity and to help local organizations fight hunger. For more information, visit HubCityEmptyBowls.com or Hub City Empty Bowls on Facebook. Via: Hub City Empty Bowls  

Soup Day: Hub City Empty Bowls to feed the public and the needy

Hub City Empty Bowls’ seventh annual Soup Day will be Saturday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Chapman Cultural Center with a goal to feed both the socially responsible public and the community’s most needy citizens. On Soup Day, more than 15,000 handmade pottery bowls will be available for purchase for donations of $15 each. Participants will then enjoy unlimited gourmet soup provided by more than 20 local restaurants. In addition, the event will feature continuous live music, a silent auction, and drum circles throughout the day. They money raised will be given to TOTAL Ministries, a faith-based nonprofit agency that provides assistance to Spartanburg’s most needy citizens. Last year, Hub City Empty Bowls, which is spearheaded by Carolina Clay Artists, gave a record-breaking $22,500 to TOTAL Ministries. “This is one of Spartanburg’s most respected and enjoyable fundraisers,” said Nancy Williamson, Empty Bowls’ chairwoman. “It touches people in so many personal ways. It appeals to the creative community because of the pottery bowl-making. It appeals to shoppers who want unique handmade pottery for a great price. It appeals to foodies, who want all-you-can-eat gourmet soup. And it appeals to the socially responsible citizens who see this as a grassroots way to help make the world a better place. Plus it is a lot of fun on every level. What better way to spend a Saturday than coming together for a good cause, hearing great music, eating the best soups to be found in the city, banging on a drum, and taking home a few pottery bowls? The fellowship is amazing.” For the past three months, Carolina Clay Artists led public bowl-making sessions in Spartanburg Art Museum’s Art School and at West Main Artists Co-op. These have been free events, where anyone could make pottery bowls for Soup Day. The clay and professional instruction were free. Those bowls were then glazed and fired. Come Saturday, Sept. 26, more than 1,500 colorful bowls of all shapes and sizes will be laid out in the lobby of Chapman Cultural Center’s theater. “When we open the doors, there is a bit of mad rush by some people to get first dibs,” Williamson said. “It all depends on what you are looking for. If you want primitive child-like bowls, we have them. If you want professional bowls, we have them. And we have everything in between, and some people get stacks of them for Christmas presents. It is an impressive sight to see all of the bowls laid out on as many tables as we can cram into the lobby.” After you get your bowls, you are invited to eat all of the soup you want, provided by restaurants stationed around the room. “You are discouraged from eating out of the pottery bowls,” Williamson said. “They are clean but just not clean enough to eat out of until you take them home and wash them. We’ll have plenty of paper bowls to eat out of.” Also provided will be bread, tea, and water. Throughout the day, various local musicians will provide continuous live music. There will also be a silent auction of donated items, many of which are pottery. Everyone is invited to participate in the drum circle. “It is just a fun day,” Williamson said. “It is a very important day for the community’s needy,” Traci Kennedy, Executive Director of TOTAL Ministries, said. “When someone gives us $20,000, we know we can feed a lot people who need it. In Spartanburg County about 43,000 people each day are in danger of going hungry, many of whom are children and elderly. With the money that Hub City Empty Bowls raised last year, we fed nearly 10,000 people. That’s a pretty good dent in the problem. We cannot thank Hub City Empty Bowls enough.” This year’s sponsors are Chris Williams, Carolina Clay Artists, Chapman Cultural Center, West Main Artists Co-op, Spartanburg Art Museum, Action Printing, and Wheresville Productions. The musicians will be Daniel Z, Fayssoux McLean and David Ezell, 2 Daves, mark Miller, Frank Walker, and drum circles led by Melisa Emkjer. The restaurants and food providers will be Willy Taco, Fatz, Sun King, Cribbs Kitchen, Cribbs Catering, Gerhards, Farmer’s Table, Sparks Fire Inspired Grill, II Samuels, Palmetto Palate, Lime Leaf, Moveable Feasts, Renato’s, Basil’s, McClellan’s Urban Eatery, Andre Nguyen, Garner’s, NuWay, Wild Aces, Mon Amie, Southern BBQ, Episcopal Church of the Advent Young Adults, The Beacon, Cakehead Bakery, Little River Roasting Co., Long Horn’s, Chick-fil-A, and Wade’s. This program is supported in part by The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, its donors, the County and City of Spartanburg and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina. For more information, please contact Williamson at (864) 621-2768 or visit HubCityEmptyBowls.com. Via: Chapman Cultural Center

Hub City Empty Bowls: make a bowl, help feed the hungry

Hub City Empty Bowls is gearing up for its 2015 bowl-making sessions and Soup Day, a fundraiser to help feed hungry people in Spartanburg. The first two bowl-making sessions will be Thursday, June 18, during ArtWalk at West Main Artists Co-Op, 6 - 8:30 p.m., and Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m. - noon and 1 - 3 p.m., at Spartanburg Art Museum’s Art School at Chapman Cultural Center. The money raised through the public’s making of handmade pottery bowls will be donated to TOTAL Ministries, a charity dedicated to feeding local citizens who don’t have enough to eat. Hub City Empty Bowls is a project of Carolina Clay Artists. Hub City Empty BowlsEmpty Bowls is an international fundraising project that has taken root in many communities as a grassroots effort to feed local and needy citizens. Over the course of a few months, citizens are invited to make handmade pottery bowls at no cost. Bowl-making sessions are always fun and family oriented events. Those bowls are then professionally glazed and fired. At the end of the project, the public is invited to Soup Day, where citizens may pick out the bowls of their choice for a $15 donation each and then enjoy unlimited soup donated by local restaurants. Other activities on Soup Day include live music, silent auctions, drum circles, and fellowship. Hub City Empty Bowls’ Soup Day will be Saturday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., at Chapman Cultural Center. Additional bowl-making sessions will be July 18, 10 a.m. - noon and 1 - 3 p.m., at Chapman Cultural Center; Aug. 20, 6 - 8:30 p.m., during ArtWalk at West Main Artists Co-Op; and Aug. 22, 10 a.m. - noon and 1 - 3 p.m., at Chapman Cultural Center. All supplies and instruction are provided by Carolina Clay Artists. The public need only bring enthusiasm, creativity, hands willing to get dirty, and a canned food donation for TOTAL Ministries. This is the seventh year that Carolina Clay Artists has sponsored Hub City Empty Bowls. Last year, the recipient of the funds was TOTAL Ministries, and the record-breaking net donation was $22,500. “Empty Bowls has become one of Spartanburg’s most favorite and most inclusive fundraising events,” Chairman Nancy Williamson said. “I think the keys to the success are the grassroots approach – making sure the money we raise gets to the people who need it, the public’s opportunity to make pottery bowls, and the accessibility of Soup Day. Where else can you donate $15 and get a nice pottery bowl to keep, all the gourmet soup you can eat, listen to live music, and socialize with like-minded people? It’s just a good deal; a win-win for everyone.” This year’s sponsors of Hub City Empty Bowls are Chris Williams, Carolina Clay Artists, Chapman Cultural Center, West Main Artists Co-Op, Spartanburg Art Museum, Action Printing, and Wheresville Productions. “We always need sponsors,” Williamson said. “If anyone wants to help or if any business wants to contribute, please contact me.” For more information about Hub City Empty Bowls, contact Williamson at (864) 621-2768. More information can be found online at HubCityEmptyBowls.com. The project can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Proceeds from this event will be directed to the Hub City Empty Bowls Project Fund, a component fund of The Spartanburg County Foundation established to increase awareness about the issues of hunger and food security, and to raise funds to help local organizations fight hunger. This year’s beneficiary organization is TOTAL Ministries.

Make a clay bowl, help feed the hungry

For the fifth year, Carolina Clay Artists will sponsor Hub City Empty Bowls, a grassroots fundraiser that helps feed the hungry in Spartanburg. Empty Bowls Everyone in the community is invited to help make more than 1,000 handmade clay bowls to be used on Soup Day -- Saturday, Nov. 9 -- when hundreds of people will donate cash in exchange for the colorful and creative bowls filled with soup donated by local restaurants. No experience in pottery is required, and all materials and instruction are provided free of charge. Public bowl-making events will be held at two locations:

  • Saturdays: July 20, August 17 and September 14, 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. at Spartanburg Art Museum School at the Chapman Cultural Center, 200 East Saint John Street, Spartanburg
  • Third Thursday Art Walks: July 18 and August 15, 6-8:30 p.m. at West Main Artists Co-op, 578 West Main Street, Spartanburg
Soup Day will be held in the lobby of the David W. Reid Theatre and in the plaza of Chapman Cultural Center on Saturday, Nov. 9, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. In addition to soup, bread and tea, live music, and fellowship are provided for a community event that generates a groundswell of grassroots charity, as well as much-needed funds. Patrons especially enjoy taking home the clay bowls as sentimental reminders of how they have contributed to Spartanburg's advancement. Traditionally, patrons donate $15 per bowl. The soup is all you can eat, and there will be a variety of restaurants providing soup throughout the day. Empty Bowls is an international phenomenon that is virtually administrative and overhead free. All work is done by local volunteers, most of whom are potters. All of the money raised stays in the local community. Last year, more than $12,000 was given to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen. This year's recipient of the funds will be TOTAL Ministries of Spartanburg. Sponsors of the 2013 Empty Bowls fundraising event include: Carolina Clay Artists, Spartanburg Art Museum, Chapman Cultural Center, the West Main Artists Co-op and Chris Williams, owner of local pottery supply house Clay-King.com. For more information about Hub City Empty Bowls, call (864) 621-2768. Via: Hub City Empty Bowls

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