The Pine Tree Potters Guild is hosting their 12th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser next month.
Tickets are now on sale for the event which offers participants a beautiful handmade bowl and some delicious local food.
The Aurora-based artist group has partnered with local restaurants in Aurora and Newmarket to raise funds for Newmarket’s Inn From the Cold and Welcoming Arms in Aurora.
Artists are currently making more than 500 handcrafted bowls out of clay donated by Tucker’s Pottery Supplies Inc. in Richmond Hill.
“The success of this event requires so many hands and so many hours of love, I can tell you it is an absolute joy for our members to donate their art for Empty Bowls each year,” Lisa-Marie Oliphant, Empty Bowls chair with the Pine Tree Potters Guild said in a Facebook post.
Event participants will receive their choice of one of the bowls and in past years they were immediately filled with homemade soup from local chefs at an in-person dinner, however, the pandemic has forced the event to pivot for the second year in a row.
For the 2021 Empty Bowls event, people will be able to pick up their bowl at Old Town Hall at 460 Botsford St. in Newmarket.
In order to maintain physical distance and limit the number of people inside the building, there will be three different bowl selection dates on Nov. 18, 19 and 20, with new bowls being added on each day.
People aged 12 and up must be fully vaccinated in order to enter Old Town Hall.
Along with the bowls people will receive a coupon book that offers free soup or other goodies from partner restaurants in the area. The list of participating businesses will be announced at a later date.
The coupons will be good for a whole year so people can choose when they want to use them.
Tickets for the Empty Bowls fundraiser must be purchased in advance and can be purchased at Meridian Credit Union at 296 Wellington St. in Aurora.
“Meridian sponsors our Empty Bowls event via their Good Neighbour Program and we are very grateful for their continued support,” Oliphant said online.
Tickets are $40 with all the proceeds going to Inn From The Cold and Welcoming Arms. In 2020, the Empty Bowls event raised $16,000.
The fundraiser is held in communities across North America every year to raise awareness and funds for local organizations that are working to address hunger and homelessness.
