Due to COVID-19, the beloved annual “Empty Bowls” event was postponed from its usual spring date this year; however, dedicated community members are making sure the event still takes place, “COVID-style.”
The Ferrum College campus community and public are invited to enjoy a modified Empty Bowls event on Sunday, November 15, 2020 from 12 – 4 p.m. The event will be held in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall.
Attendees must pre-register for one of eight 20-minute time slots with each time slot offering a unique assortment of 100 handcrafted bowls, along with beautiful works of art. Each time slot will feature a different array of bowls so not time slot is better than any other. Twenty guests at a time will be allowed to view the bowls and artwork widely spaced within the room.
Tickets are free and there is no advance purchase required. Use this link to pre-register.
The bowls, handcrafted by Ferrum College students, community members, and professional potters from Floyd and Ferrum, VA, may be purchased for $15 each. The Blue Ridge Potters Guild and other local artists also generously donated 57 bowls and numerous original works of art, including a gorgeous large ceramic totem, paintings, pottery, jewelry, and more, which will be featured in a “set price” silent auction.
“I have been involved with Empty Bowls for many years now and am honored to be part of what is truly a community event,” said Nell Fredericksen, local potter and jeweler and co-coordinator of the event. “From the patrons that attend with warm hearts and open wallets, to the students making bowls, the support of Ferrum College, and the regional community of artists that are so generous with their time and talents – it is truly humbling. Through the efforts of everyone involved we have been able to support the food insecure children right here in our community for more than ten years.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a meal will not be served and attendees must wear masks. Tables will be sanitized between each time slot and restocked with new bowls by National Honor Society volunteers Atticus Cooper and Lily Fredericksen.
All proceeds from the event support Panther Packs, a program at Ferrum Elementary School that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food.
Following is list of original art donated to the event, and the artists who created it:
In addition to the bowls made by the Ferrum College ceramics classes, professional potters and community members handcrafted more than 200 bowls for the event. We are grateful for the talents of: Hona Knudsen, Steve Mitchell, Ron Sutterer, Wendy Werstlein, Josh Manning, Nell Fredericksen, Liz Cooper, Atticus Cooper, Neil Fredericksen, and Lily Fredericksen.
On Sunday, March 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ferrum College invites members of the community to enjoy homemade soup and bread served in
handcrafted ceramic bowls during the Empty Bowls event in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall, 215 Ferrum Mountain Road, Ferrum. For $15 (or $10 with a valid student ID), attendees are invited to choose a bowl to fill with soup, enjoy fellowship with others, and take their special “empty bowl” home. Proceeds from this event support the Panther Packs program at Ferrum Elementary School, which sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food.
Students, faculty, professional potters, and other area volunteers made hundreds of unique bowls for this year’s event. In addition, there will be a silent auction featuring original works of art, including paintings, jewelry, quilts and pottery, generously donated by Blue Ridge Potters Guild members and other talented local artists.
“This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Empty Bowls event,” said Nell Fredericksen, local potter and jeweler and co-coordinator of the event. “It is a true partnership between the College and the community, working to provide much needed food to children right here in our own neighborhood. I, along with Josh Manning, Ferrum College ceramics professor and Jake Smith, Ferrum College art professor, would like to express our gratitude to the students that helped make bowls, the group of professional potters that came and helped throw close to 200 bowls, all the artists that have so generously donated to the silent auction, and the sponsorship of the Blue Ridge Potters Guild. This event would not be the success it is each year without so many in our community coming together to make a difference.”
The Empty Bowls event raises over $6,000 each year and is the sole fundraiser for the Panther Packs program. It is designed to educate Ferrum College students about how they can make a positive difference in their communities through service.
To learn more about the Empty Bowls event, please visit here and here.
Ferrum College students have been working hard this semester to get ready for this year’s Empty Bowls event. Atenoya Morris photographs.
The Ferrum College campus community and the public are invited to enjoy camaraderie, good food, and the opportunity to help children in need during the popular Empty Bowls event on Sunday, March 11, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall. For $15 (or $10 with a valid student ID), attendees enjoy a hot meal of soup and bread served in a handcrafted bowl of their choice, and then can take their “empty bowl” home. Proceeds support the Panther Packs program, which provides food for hungry children of Ferrum Elementary School.
Students, faculty, Blue Ridge Potters Guild members, and other area volunteers made hundreds of unique bowls for this year’s event. In addition, there will be a silent auction featuring original works of art, including paintings and pottery, generously donated by members of the Blue Ridge Potters Guild and other local artists.
Panther Packs is a program at Ferrum Elementary School that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food. The Empty Bowls project is designed to educate Ferrum students about how they can make a positive difference in their communities through service.
The Ferrum College campus community and the public are invited to enjoy camaraderie, good food and the opportunity to help feed the children in need with the return of the popular Empty Bowls event on Sunday, March 12, 2017, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall. For $15 (or $10 with a valid student ID), attendees enjoy a hot meal of scratch-made soup and bread served in a handcrafted bowl of their choice, and then can take their “empty bowl” home. Proceeds support the Panther Packs program, which provides food for hungry children of Ferrum Elementary School.
Assistant Professor of Art David Eichelberger, who organizes and facilitates Empty Bowls along with local artist Nell Fredericksen, says that college students, professors, Blue Ridge Potters Guild members, and area volunteers made around 400 unique bowls for this year’s event. In addition, there will also be a silent auction featuring original works of art, including paintings, larger bowls, platters, casseroles, and vases, generously donated by members of the Blue Ridge Potters Guild and other local artists.
Panther Packs is a program at Ferrum Elementary School that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food. The Empty Bowls project is designed to educate Ferrum students about how they can make a positive difference in their communities through service.
“It is a special opportunity, for students, professors, area artists, and many more volunteers to come together to contribute to an event that benefits our immediate community. Our efforts parallel Ferrum College’s motto, ‘Not Self, But Others’, and it feels like the right way to help our young neighbors at Ferrum Elementary,“ said Eichelberger.
