Proceeds from the event, to be held Sept. 17, will go to Inter-Faith Treasure House to help feed the hungry in Washougal and Camas

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Organizers are counting special bowls this week, works of art created from the heart, in anticipation of an interesting fundraiser in Camas on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

Empty Bowls Camas will feature food from five Camas restaurants. Guests will also be able to take home one of hundreds of handcrafted ceramic bowls created by local artists, all in an effort to raise funds for Inter-Faith Treasure House, an organization that feeds hungry families in Camas and Washougal.

“Artists are cool people. They like to give back,” said Anna Norris, owner of Norris Arts Studio and Gallery in Camas and one of the organizers of the event.

Norris said she gets to do the fun part of Empty Bowls Camas. She is in the creative department, as she and fellow potters create the bowls.

Jamie St. Clair, meanwhile, is the one who put most of the plan together, an experienced event administrator who helped align all of the partners for this event.

In quite the coincidence, St. Clair ran an Empty Bowls program in McKinney, Texas, for 10 years before she moved to Clark County.

It turns out, there was one Empty Bowls event in Camas just prior to the pandemic, but there was no momentum to continue the operation. A few years later, and with the help of St. Clair, the event is returning.  

Back in Texas, St. Clair was simply an organizer. She didn’t know any potters. She was not into pottery herself.

“I was always amazed at what they were able to do,” she said.

After moving to Camas, St. Clair started taking pottery classes.

“I love it. It channels my creativity in a way I haven’t had in a long time,” she said.

Now, she is a potter and organizer.

Empty Bowls Camas is capping tickets at 300 this year, and St. Clair said earlier this week there were only a handful of tickets remaining. The event will be held at the AWPPW Local 5 Building, 514 NE Dallas Street, in Camas.

Tickets are $30. Guests will be able to sample soups from five Camas restaurants: Natalia’s Cafe, Feast@316, Nuestra Mesa, Tommy O’s, and Grains of Wrath. 

Guests will also be able to vote for a People’s Choice Award for their favorite soup. Voting is done by dollar bills. $1 is one vote and multiple votes are allowed. It is a fundraiser, after all.

There will also be a raffle. And there will be a small selection of limited edition bowls, larger bowls, available for purchase.

And, as a reminder, every guest will be able to bring home a smaller bowl created by a local artist.

Bringing home an empty bowl is a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world due to hunger.

All proceeds from Tuesday’s event will be donated to Inter-Faith Treasure House, which has been providing food and assistance to Camas and Washougal residents for more than 50 years.

For more information on this event, and to see if there are tickets remaining, go to: https://www.emptybowlscamas.org