By Morgan Bryce
Editor
The “Empty Bowls Event” will be held Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Denson Drive Recreation Center in Opelika.
Following a highly successful Empty Bowls pre-sale in November and December, there will be more handcrafted bowls made by the Potters of Rocky Brook and Dean Road Recreation Center available for sale during the event, with some of the nicer pieces available as raffle items. There will also be pottery-making demonstrations.
Bow and Arrow, Cafe 123, Chicken Salad Chick, I Love Juice Bar, Niffer’s On the Tracks and Zazu Gastropub are among the already confirmed vendors, with others expected to confirm in the days leading up to the event. Jim Bob’s Chicken Fingers in Tiger Town is donating chicken.
One-hundred percent of the proceeds from this event will benefit the work of the Food Bank of East Alabama which serves seven nearby counties, including Lee.
“With every dollar that we receive in funding, we are able to distribute the equivalent of seven meals, and so it has a pretty tremendous impact on our ability to acquire food and distribute it to people in need,” said Food Bank of East Alabama executive director Martha Henk in a 2017 interview with the Observer. “I love the concept of an empty bowl … I’m literally reminded everyday that somebody in my community has an empty bowl that needs filling, but also that there is something very concrete that can be done about making sure people have enough to eat. I’m very mindful of the fact that every one of those bowls, someone has handmade, put their time into creating the bowl, and through this event, are able to fill other people’s bowls.”
Those who purchased tickets during the pre-sale were given tickets to this event. Bowls will cost $10 on the day of the event. Raffle tickets will be available but cost separately.
For more information, call the Denson Drive Recreation Center 334-705-5558 or 334-705-5547.