Empty Bowls
Thank you Laredo for another successful Empty Bowls event!
Special thanks to platinum sponsors Arturo N. Benavides Sr., A.R. Tony and Maria J. Sanchez Family Foundation, gold sponsors Tano Tijerina, ANB Cattle Company, Judge C.Y. Benavides, AETNA Foundation.
Thank you to the Laredo Energy Arena for hosting the event in their great facility and all Laredo media outlets for their coverage.
Thank you to all the artists who contributed over 100 art pieces for the silent auction.
Thank you to all the volunteers from H.E.B., the Laredo Job Corps, St. Augustine High School, and Commerce Bank as well as all the STFB Board members and staff who worked long hours to make this event a success!
To read more about Empty Bowls V, check out Salo's blog. (Click here)
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Empty Bowls V Artwork
Why attend Empty Bowls V? Besides the great time and the suave music of five-time Grammy winner Christopher Cross, how about getting some great artwork for all your decoration and gift-giving needs?! If you are looking for the perfect gift for your wife, husband, friend, or boss...or a birthday or Christmas gift...you are bound to find a beautiful art piece at Empty Bowls V. You are going to find a wide range of art genres and media. Everything from post-modern, urban, ethnic, regional (western/folk), religious, and retro in pencil,watercolor, acrylic,oil, and other media! There will also be original photo prints and a sculpture by acclaimed tejano artist, Armando Hinojosa.
Click on the painting to view some of the artwork that will be available at this year's event:
"Memories of Downtown Laredo " by Pancho Farias
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The South Texas Food Bank-Laredo Energy Arena Empty Bowls event and concert will take place Thursday, August 11, 2011. This year will mark the fifth edition of this staple Food Bank fundraiser.
Empty Bowls V honorees will be longtime South Texas Food Bank board members and supporters Odie Arambula, Erasmo Villareal, and Galo Garcia.
Five time Grammy winner and 1980's music icon, Christopher Cross, will be this year's event concert headline. For more on Christopher Cross's music you can visit his official website: www.christophercross.com
Empty Bowls is the only event in Laredo that annually showcases the artwork of dozens of artists under one roof. This year South Texas Food Bank’s resident artist, Pancho Farias, seeks to bring together the best selection of artists ever assembled in Laredo. A longtime Laredo talent, Farias is collecting art pieces for auction from well-known Laredo, Mexico, Texas, and national artists and personalities, including: artists Armando Hinojosa a, Amado Pena, Mary Bausmann, Jessica Diez-Barroso, Ginger Richter and Amando Chapa; Rafi Anteby of Bullets 4 Peace jewelry; globally renowned artist Daniel Maltzman; BCBG designer Tiffany Blake; writer- photographer Deborah Cloyed; actors Jaclyn Ferber, Elena Evangelo, and Dan Panosian of Marvel Comic Books fame. Also leading a group of Houston artists is Diedra Lizcano.
For a complete list of this year's artists, click here.
The artwork will be on display during an artists’ reception on July 14 at 7:00 P.M. at the Laredo Center for the Arts in downtown Laredo. The Artist Reception is open to the media and by invitation only. For artist reception press release and/or media advisory, click here.
About this year's honorees
Odie,a 1954 Martin High School graduate, has been a chronicler of the border for more than 50 years. With more than 30 years at the Laredo Morning Times, Odie officially retired in 2005; however, he continues to be a regular editorial columnist for The Times.A civic workhorse, he has served and worked in numerous capacities with many civic organizations that include but are not limited to: the Kiwanis Club, Border Olympics, Laredo Boys and Girls Club, LULAC, Laredo Development Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce just to name a few. He was one of the founders of the South Texas Food Bank.
Another Food Bank founding member is Erasmo Villareal. He is a 1969 St. Joseph's graduate nd a 1973 Texas A&I graduate. Upon graduation, he started working with the Texas Employment Commission until 1990 when he joined the City of Laredo Building Development Department as their director. Compassion for others has been Erasmo's most influential force in his life and career. Whether it was through job training or creaint affordable housing for low income familes, he has dedicated his life to improving the quality of life in our community.
Galo Garcia is a long-standing Food Bank member. He graduated frm San Antonio Peacock MIlitary Academy in 1959. Galo, who grew u in Zapata County in the family ranching business, ran a janitorial and paper supply business in Laredo for several years. He was actively involved in the first H.E.B. Feast of Sharing, that provides a Thanksgiving Day meal to thousands of Laredoans every year. Among his civic endeavors, Galo was among the first supporters and contributors of the Food Bank's most recent donation initiative program, Ranchers for the Hungry.
Tickets are already on sale! Tickets for the auction, dinner, and concert are available through the South Texas Food Bank. Concert only tickets are available through the Laredo Energy Arena and Ticketmaster.
All proceeds benefit the South Texas Food Bank programs.
About Empty Bowls
Consider by many as "the social event of the summer," the South Texas Food Bank -Laredo Energy Arena Empty Bowls Event and Concert has quickly become one of the city's most look forward to event.
Setting the bar high when it comes to fundraising, the event is filled with delicious appetizers and dinner; colorful exhibitions and special presentations to outstanding community leaders and/or members who support the Food Bank's mission as well as live music entertainment by renowned musical acts such as America and Three Dog Night!
Of course, an Empty Bowls event wouldn't be complete without a silent auction. Spearheaded by our own very talented, noted regional resident artist, Francisco "Pancho" Farias, the bowls and artwork feature original art by well-known local, regional, national and international painters and artists who Farias personally invites to participate to this event on behalf of the Food Bank. Among the many unique pieces of art that go up for auction are celebrity autographed bowls. Past celebrities bowls have included Robert Duvall, Shakira, George Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Daddy Yankee among many other actors, entertainers, and sports athletes.