Kenyon Collegian

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Features

After two years and $4,600 raised, the third annual Empty Bowls dinner and auction will be held this Friday, Nov. 6. This year's event will feature more than 185 painted bowls handmade by students, faculty members, community members and local children, all made in workshops at the Kenyon College Craft Center. The dinner will be simple but delicious nonetheless. Many members of the Kenyon community have donated assorted soups, and Associate Professor of Drama Andrew Reinert and several other families have donated homemade bread. AVI Food Services will provide cider and apples.

The Empty Bowls program was created in 1991 by a potter in Michigan, who, according to Craft Center Manager Audrey Bebensee '10, challenges students to create a service experience to raise money to fight hunger and raise awareness of the arts. Each bowl acts as a reminder that there are always empty bowls in the world, according to the Empty Bowls Web site.

"I think it's a great cause," said Bebensee, who is the student organizer of the event for the second consecutive year. "I taught fifth grade students at Wiggin Street [Elementary School how to wheel throw]. That was a lot of fun," she said. "There are some interesting pieces that have come from that."

In its first year, the Empty Bowls Dinner in Gambier attracted 90 people and raised $900, but since then, those numbers have risen dramatically. Weaving, knitting and woodworking projects made at the Craft Center will be auctioned off at the end of the dinner. Other bowls and assorted pottery will also be for sale.

Proceeds from the event, along with those from the Writers' Harvest public reading, will go to Food for the Hungry in Knox County, a nonprofit organization that provides food and money to Interchurch Social Services and the Salvation Army. The event will take place in Peirce Hall's Alumni Dining Room on Friday, Nov. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A donation of $5 for students and children and $8 for adults is requested.

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