On a snowy February morning, with just two weeks to go until a soup dinner for nearly 500 people, the Aspen Community School’s art room was bustling with activity.
Students giggled and sang as they painted dogs, watermelons, and Keith Haring-style dancing people on ceramic bowls for an upcoming community dinner. All of their work — plus hundreds of additional bowls — will be sold during a fundraiser at Buttermilk Mountain Lodge on March 6. A local food bank, LIFT-UP, will get the proceeds; the event typically generates about $5,000.
“I like that we're making bowls to help other people,” 8-year-old Kalvin Fisher said as she painted a blueberry on one of her dishes. The idea that her art will have an impact on her community is her favorite part of this program, she added; other kids in the class said it feels good — “joyful,” even — to be creative for a good cause.
This project, called “Empty Bowls,” is part of an international initiative that combines art and community dinners in an effort to address hunger and food insecurity. Wednesday night marks the 20th anniversary of the program in Aspen, with a soup dinner provided by local restaurants.
Fisher’s art teacher, Hilary Forsyth, launched the local edition in 2005 with fellow teacher Rae Lampe from Aspen Middle School. Forsyth said that students at the community school participate every year, from kindergarten through eighth grade.
“I think it's an important part of the message that when you help somebody, you don't just help them once,” Forsyth said. “You keep helping, and you keep being part of the community.”
Tonight’s Empty Bowls dinner takes place at the Buttermilk Mountain Lodge from 5 to 7 p.m. It’s $10 for soup and a dish to take home; the empty bowl at the end of the meal is meant to be a reminder that people around the world struggle with hunger.
