The Leavenworth Echo
Ward Media

LEAVENWORTH — The 2026 Upper Valley Empty Bowls Festival will begin in early March with an artist reception and the launch of its annual online bowl auction, two key events that raise funds for the Community Cupboard Food Bank.

The Upper Valley Empty Bowls Artist Reception is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at Icicle Ridge Winery in Peshastin. The evening will feature art, wine, appetizers and music, along with an opportunity to meet the bowl artists and potters whose work supports the fundraiser. Admission is by a suggested $40 donation at the door.

Attendees will have an exclusive opportunity to view the auction bowls, bid on a live auction item and enter raffles for additional bowls.

The festival’s Online Artist Bowl Auction will open at 8 a.m. March 9 and continue through 7 p.m. March 26 at www.uvemptybowls.org. Twenty-one bowls and platters created by local artists and potters will be available for bidding. Each piece reflects hours of craftsmanship, from forming and firing to detailed hand-painted designs. All items will also include a “buy it now” purchase option.

Most of the featured works are ceramic serving bowls or platters made by local potters. The auction also includes a wood-turned bowl by Scot Brower, an etched glass bowl by Teri Zimmerman and four handmade mugs by Momi Palmieri, along with other pieces highlighting birds, plants and local landscapes.

The bowls will be displayed in early March at several Leavenworth businesses, including Kris Kringl, Der Sportsmann, Ganz Klasse! Posy Handpicked Goods, The Plant Ally, A Book for All Seasons and Inside & Out. They will also be on display March 26 during the Soup Supper at the Leavenworth Festhalle. Online bidding will close at 7 p.m. that evening.

Proceeds from Soup Supper ticket sales and the Artist Bowl Auction provide substantial funding for the Community Cupboard Food Bank, a program of Upper Valley MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity). The artist bowl auction alone raises more than $7,000 annually for the food bank. An additional $1,000 from the proceeds supports small art grants that benefit local youth.

The fundraiser began 30 years ago when local potters Jeff Hilton and Nancy Peterson-Hilton launched the Empty Bowls tradition. In a 2014 interview, Nancy Peterson-Hilton reflected on the origins of the event.

“We loved the idea of working with clay and community. I thought, ‘What can we do in the wintertime to get our friends together, have a big potluck and make money for the Community Cupboard?’” she said.

The first gathering in 1996 brought 50 people together for a potluck dinner at Icicle River Middle School. By 2025, the event had grown into the Community Soup Supper, drawing 600 participants and featuring food donated by seven local restaurants and two local bakeries.

For more information about the 2026 Upper Valley Empty Bowls Festival, visit www.uvemptybowls.org.



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