Gonzales Noon Lions set for third annual Empty Bowl Project

Soup is on when the Gonzales Noon Lions hold their third annual Empty Bowl Project on Tuesday, March 28 at the Gonzales Elks Lodge, 1222 E. Sarah DeWitt Drive.

This is a come and go event that will be serving from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Choose a beautiful handcrafted bowl by area potters, artists, and other creative community members.

Delicious soup prepared by area restaurants, bread, drink, and a dessert all are included in the $25 ticket price. Options available to dine in, drive thru or take out. There will also be live music, cash bar, and a silent auction.

All proceeds go to the Gonzales Christian Assistance Ministry (GCAM) and the Gonzales County Senior Citizen's Association, which operates Meals on Wheels.

Empty Bowl Project history

Ever wondered how Empty Bowl projects got started around the country? In 1990, a high school art class in Michigan wanted to do food drive and they decided to do something different. They made bowls and served a simple meal of soup and bread.

The bowl was to serve as a reminder that some people have empty bowls. It was so successful that it spread nationally and into 14 countries. To have an event with bowls, the only requirement is you have to serve agencies that help the hungry.

Gonzales Noon Lions, with the support of so many community partners, is proud to have this event. Why is it called Empty Bowl? When you go home with your bowl and you see it is empty, remember there are people in this community that have empty bowls.

More than 500 bowls have been made with love by potters from Red Hen Pottery, Luling Ice House Pottery, Purple Cactus Potteri, First Baptist Church, Gonzales Boy Scouts, Spade and Trowel Garden Club, Gonzales Art Group and the Victoria College ALL Program.

A lot goes in to making a pottery bowl. First, the bowl needs to be made either on a wheel or with a slab of clay. The clay must be centered on the wheel just so or it will wobble and you won't have a beautifully shaped bowl. It takes practice and precision.

These bowls then are ready to be covered in plastic and dried to leather hardness. This can take up to a week. Then the bowl is carefully trimmed and then dried a few more days.

The bowls are carefully placed in the kiln to be bisque-fired at 1,888 degrees. This takes 12 hours. Before glazing. the bowl is carefully washed and then the bottom is waxed to prevent glaze from sticking on the kiln shelves.

After the bowls have been glazed, they are glaze-fired in the kiln. The kiln reaches 2,270 degrees for 15 hours! The glaze-fired bowls are now finished. A lot of time has gone into each bowl. They are each unique and functional as well as microwave, dishwasher and oven safe — beautiful pottery to take home.

Soup makers and sponsors

The restaurants that are making soup are:

• Gonzales Bistro — Lobster Bisque,

• Gonzales Healthcare — Pozole

• Come and Crepe it — Mexican Chicken and vegetable

• Fire City Grill — Brisket Stew

• La Bella Tavola/Come and Take It Grill — Chicken and Vegetable

• Yang’s — Egg Drop Soup

• Cow Palace — Potato Soup  

• Running M — Chicken Noodle

• Gonzales Elks Club — Taco soup

Sponsors include Christian Kids, Docs 4 Kids (Dr Humberto Rivas), GVTC, Sudz Car Wash, State Farm Insurance, Come and Organize It, The China Basket, Lindemann Fertilizer Service, Guadalupe Valley Vet Clinic, Jackson Properties, Schmidt and Sons Security Storage, BYK, Beta Sigma Phi, Kloesel’s, David Tucy, Sage Capital Bank, HEB, Walmart, DuBose Insurance, Gonzales Inquirer, Gonzales National Bank and First National Bank of Shiner.

Tickets can be purchased at Gonzales Chamber of Commerce, Texas Farm Bureau, and from any Gonzales Noon Lion. For further information call Kristi Posey at (713) 419-5279 or

Kris McLain at (830) 263-1114.