The second round of the Pottery Games kicks off this Saturday at CinderCone Clay Center in Bend. The three-hour event brings together potters of all skill levels to create one-of-a-kind soup bowls for NeighborImpact’s annual Empty Bowls event in November.

“This is a fun opportunity for the community to engage with local artists and help NeighborImpact prepare for our signature event of the year,” says Sandy Klein, NeighborImpact’s food resource specialist. “The bowls made on Saturday will be sold and filled with gourmet soup during the Empty Bowls event.”

The event is a collaboration with John Kinder from John Kinder Pottery and CinderCone Clay Center, who is providing the clay and wheels. All potters from the community are encouraged to come out and the public is invited to cheer on the potters as they compete for medals in categories such as best and biggest bowl, best bowl blindfolded, and best bowl thrown with no hands.

“I am proud to be a part of this important event. It is a great way for local artists to be able to give back using their time and talent, while providing all the bowls needed for the Empty Bowls Event in November,” exclaims John Kinder.

Empty Bowls raised over $42,000 for NeighborImpact in 2013. The annual event is internationally recognized and helps increase awareness about hunger issues. 850 bowls were hand-crafted by both local artists and amateur potters last year, and those who bought tickets received a bowl and a simple meal of soup and bread created by the Cascade Culinary Institute at Central Oregon Community College. Attendees keep their bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls around the world.

The event is free and open to the public.