Tickets are now available for the the 25th Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser scheduled from 5 to to 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Central Middle School cafeteria, 725 Seventh St. in Columbus.
Advance tickets for all-you-can-eat soup, bread and cookies are $15 and available at the event website at classy.org/event/empty-bowls/e442695.
Organizers announced in the fall that it would return to an in-person event after two years as a drive-thru fundraiser at Donner Center. They currently are seeking more volunteers to total about 50 workers.
They also are seeking donations to support the cause.
“We’re checking first with the people whom we have had in the past,” said Richard Boyce, among the organizers.
Lynne Hyatt and Judy Kiesow are event co-chairs. The fundraiser involves people buying volunteer-made soups, breads, desserts and more while listening to live entertainment and brief messages about the need to support struggling families locally.
This year, Mayor Jim Lienhoop, Jim Bickel, president and chief executive officer of Columbus Regional Health, and Jim Roberts, superintendent of Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp., are scheduled to be among soup servers dishing out selections made by people from their organizations or administration.
A eight-person volunteer organizing committee hopes to attract at least 500 people and generate at least $20,000 for six local pantries or shelters that help feed the hungry: Love Chapel, Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, the Salvation Army, the Community Center of Hope, Thrive Alliance and Horizon House.
Tickets priced at $30 are also available and include a guest’s choice of purchasing a ceramic bowl crafted by local artists, teachers, and students. Longtime local married musical duo Dan and Linda Mustard, known for everything from pop to jazz tunes, including originals and instrumentals, will provide the entertainment.
“We will do a mix of pop standards,” Dan Mustard said. “That is what we call it, since it runs the gamut of all styles of pop music.”
Representatives from all six agencies receiving the proceeds from the event will be present at the event with information to share.
Through the years, Empty Bowls has raised more than $220,000 total, according to organizers. Local sculptor Robert Pulley launched the event, a spin-off of a national push to fight hunger, via the Columbus Peace Fellowship. Some years, such as in 2011, more than 1,000 people have attended in person.
Pulley will be among those creating souvenir, homemade bowls for the gathering.
Tickets
Available at classy.org/event/empty-bowls/e442695
