Empty Bowl event aids nonprofit’s goal of feeding homeless
Green Valley High School junior Zach Grogan doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty for charity.
Covered in wet clay, he focuses on shaping a bowl during a ceramics class. The slight humming of his pottery wheel breaks the silence between his classmates.
“This is my third year in ceramics and my third year helping out the Empty Bowl event,” Grogan said. “My favorite part is trimming because you get to look at what you made.”
The 15th annual Empty Bowl benefit is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 21 in the school’s cafeteria, 460 Arroyo Grande Blvd. The event includes live and silent auctions of artwork.
The event is a collaborative effort among the high school, the Nevada Clay Guild and other artists that allows individuals to purchase a handcrafted bowl in which they can try a homemade soup, according to Julia Occhiogrosso, founder of the Las Vegas Catholic Worker.
“We try to make 110 gallons of soup and offer a variety of vegetarian, vegan and meat-based soups,” Occhiogrosso said. “The time and ingredients for the soups are donated by our volunteers, and the labor and materials for the bowls are donated by the artists.”
All proceeds are set to benefit the Las Vegas Catholic Worker, a nonprofit that assists about 3,500 homeless and low-income individuals each month.
“We have a soup line four mornings a week, and we run a food pantry to deliver food boxes to families once a month,” Occhiogrosso said. “We also have hospitality days where we bring people in off the streets and let them take showers and do laundry. Then we make a sit-down meal and eat together.”
Green Valley ceramics teacher Fernando Agreda’s students have been sculpting, trimming and glazing bowls since January.
“We expect thousands of people, so we try to make more than 3,000, bowls,” Agreda said. “We try to have extras because we ran out one year, and that was not pretty.”
Agreda, a former Green Valley student, has been involved in the event for more than 10 years and contributes bowls in his spare time. He said he has prepared as many as 32 in one day.
In order to create a bowl, artists must center the clay on a pottery wheel and shape it. After opening the bowl, they add a base and let it dry before throwing it in the kiln to bisque at about 1,850 degrees.
“The bowls are then glazed and placed back in the kiln at about 2,200 degrees for a final firing,” Agreda said. “In the kiln, the glaze and clay become one. It makes them microwave-, dishwasher- and oven-safe for future uses.”
Empty Bowl started in 2000 and collected about $9,000 for the Las Vegas Catholic Worker. Last year, the event raised about $28,000.
“The event brings people together from all walks of life,” Occhiogrosso said. “It’s a positive way to cultivate community and do something good for those in need.”
Admission for the event is $15 for adults and $12 for children 12 or younger.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit lvcw.org/emptybowl or call 702-647-0728.
Contact Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.
