Carlow University’s annual pottery marathon, Bowls in the Night, will take place on February 5, from 5 pm until 1 am.

University Communications	For Immediate Release
Drew Wilson, Director, Media Relations	February 03, 2015
412.578.2095 (phone)
412.260.6807 (cell)
412.578.2080 (fax)
agwilson@carlow.edu

Media Advisory

“Bowls in the Night” to Give Annual Donation to Hunger Awareness Dinner

PITTSBURGH, PA – Artists who get together to “throw clay” aren’t necessarily slinging mud at each other. At least, that’s not what they’re supposed to do.

Instead, on Thursday, February 5 at Carlow’s Annual “Bowls in the Night” Pottery Marathon, local artists and art students will sit at pottery wheels from 5 PM – 1 AM to make clay bowls for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest’s Empty Bowls Hunger Awareness Dinner.

“This event not only benefits an incredibly worthy cause, but it is also an opportunity for the students to learn how to use their talents outside of the classroom to serve others,” says Dale Huffman, who hosts the marathon each year.

The artists spin the clay around and around, using their hands and other tools to craft the clay into beautiful bowls. The slow transformation is an intriguing process to watch, with the clay’s shape molding at the slightest touch. About 200-250 bowls are made at just one “Bowls in the Night” marathon.

The bowls are used to serve meals at the dinner and patrons can take one home as a reminder of the charitable cause.

Huffman, an internationally renowned potter, has been teaching at Carlow since 1996 as an art professor. He was mentioned in the September 2014 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine in an article about the best professors and classes in the region for his generous donations to Empty Bowls.

This year will mark the 20th annual Empty Bowls dinner so far. At the dinner, a modest meal of soup and bread is served to remind the community that millions of Americans go hungry every day.

Last year’s Empty Bowls dinner had almost 1000 people in attendance. Local celebrities such as Miss Pennsylvania Annie Rosellini, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and Mayor Bill Peduto helped to serve food provided by top restaurants across the country. Jimmy Fallon, Martin Sheen, and players from Pittsburgh’s major sports teams were among the famous celebrities who autographed bowls to be auctioned.

Since its start, Empty Bowls has raised over half a million dollars—over $40,000 last year alone—to help fight hunger in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. This year’s dinner will be held on March 29 at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Oakland. For more information on Empty Bowls, contact Just Harvest at 412-431-8960 or visit online at http://www.justharvest.org/event/empty-bowls-2015/.

Members of the news media are welcome to cover Bowls in the Night.  There are a lot of good visuals as many expert potters work pottery wheels and novice students make bowls by hand.  Please contact Drew Wilson on his cell phone – (412) 260-6807 – to arrange convenient free parking.

About Carlow University

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carlow University was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1929. Offering both undergraduate and graduate programs, Carlow University is a comprehensive master’s institution dedicated to learner-centered education at the collegiate levels and at the elementary school level in the Campus School of Carlow University.