Get ready to fill bellies and bowls with delicious soup to support a great cause at the 10th annual Auburn-Opelika Empty Bowls event this Saturday, March 25, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Kiesel Park.
For a decade now, Empty Bowls has been fighting hunger in the Auburn community by bringing potters, craftspeople and educators together to create handcrafted bowls filled with warm soup and bread, “reminding us of the many empty bowls in our community,” according to AuburnAlabama.org.
Empty Bowls is an international grassroots movement initially founded to fight hunger, promoting artists and art organizations in the area. The original creators of Empty Bowls were called The Imagine Render Group, created in 1991. They were a non-profit organization that has now been transformed into expanding support for food-related charities worldwide.
Their mission is straightforward, Empty Bowls was designed to gather artists and educators to create hundreds of handcrafted bowls for every Empty Bowls gathering to combat hunger in the Auburn area with donations in exchange for a keepsake bowl from the event.
Each year, Auburn and Opelika take turns hosting the Empty Bowls event, and this year it will be held at Kiesel Park in Auburn.
The city of Auburn’s Dean Road Ceramics Studio and the city of Opelika’s Denson Drive Recreation Center will host this sentimental 10th annual event. All the proceeds raised at the Empty Bowls event are donated to the East Alabama Community Food Bank for the Auburn and Opelika communities.
Tickets were open for sale on Feb. 6, 2023, at $20 per person on the city of Auburn’s MyRec website. A few walk-up tickets will be available during the event, but guests can ensure their spot online if the walk-up tickets are sold out by the time of arrival.
With a ticket purchase, guests will receive a take-home bowl of their choice, filled with soup and bread with entertainment and tables showcasing Auburn-Opelika local businesses. In the event of unforeseen bad weather, Empty Bowls will be held at the Dean Road Recreation Center.
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Jolie Bishop, culture editor for The Auburn Plainsman is a senior in marketing with a minor in journalism. She has been with The Plainsman since summer of 2022.
