BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Clayworks is preparing for the 14th annual Empty Bowls Dinner with a Bowlerama event on Saturday, June 10.
Bowlerama offers an opportunity for those who have little or no experience working with clay to create a bowl to donate to the dinner, held each Columbus Day weekend at Landmark College as a fundraiser for the Groundworks Food Shelf.
Bonnie Stearns, Alan Steinberg, and Annie Lauterbach will be available to help bowl-makers get started, provide basic instruction, and troubleshoot if assistance is needed.
Clayworks has hosted a “Bowlerama” every year for Empty Bowls. “We always get a crowd,” Steinberg said in a news release. “Often, bowl-makers then go to the dinner and it blows them away. We are feeding each other through our art.”
Space is limited to 15 participants per session, so Clayworks asks interested parties to sign up in advance for the morning or afternoon sessions: 10 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 3 p.m. Call Brattleboro Clayworks at 802-254-9174 to reserve a place for your party. Children age 10 and older are welcome, accompanied by an adult.
Clayworks is donating instruction, clay, glaze, and firing costs. There is no charge to participate, but monetary donations are always welcome.
The Empty Bowls dinner is a collaborative event. Local potters contribute bowls, local eateries donate home-cooked soups, and musicians share their talents. For a $25 donation, participants will enjoy live music and a delicious meal in a handcrafted bowl they take home afterward.
The Empty Bowls Dinner will take place Saturday, Oct. 7, at Landmark College. All proceeds support the Groundworks Collaborative Food Shelf, which has already served 2,159 people across 483 households from January through April this year.
The Food Shelf is currently in need of volunteers able to work daytime hours Monday through Friday to help check people in and stock shelves. Contact Rosie or Jenna at 802-257-5415 if you're interested in volunteering.
Groundworks Collaborative is the agency created by the merger of the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center and Morningside Shelter. The organization continues to operate the region's largest and busiest food shelf, a 30-bed shelter for families and individuals, the Seasonal Overflow Shelter and Day Shelter, while providing housing case management, and a Representative Payee service. To learn more about Groundworks Collaborative, visit GroundworksVT.org.