LETTER TO THE EDITOR 2025

 

On behalf of the Pine Tree Potters’ Guild (PTPG), I would like to express our gratitude to everyone who supported our 16th Annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser at Newmarket’s Old Town Hall.

 

Empty Bowls events are held by potters in communities throughout North America to raise funds and awareness for local charities that work to relieve hunger and homelessness within their community. The two local charities Pine Tree Potters’ Guild Empty Bowls fundraiser supports are Welcoming Arms, Aurora, and Inn From the Cold, Newmarket. For 2025, we are thrilled to report that our event raised $28,500. Therefore, Welcoming Arms, Aurora & Inn from the Cold, Newmarket, have each received $14,250. 

 

For our core fundraising event, we hosted a bowls with lunch and dinner (seating 120 each time) on Thursday, Nov. 20th, and then sold bowls on Friday and Saturday in our designated bowl room, as part of our guild’s annual Holiday Sale.  It was amazing to see how many people from our community came out to purchase bowls from our designated bowls room, in fact, we sold so many that we could not open that room on the Sunday!  THANK YOU!

 

During the lunch and dinner events, patrons choose a soup bowl from the hundreds on display in our bowls room. Pine Tree Potters work all year to create approximately 600 bowls, which are all donated so patrons entering our bowls room are captivated by the sheer artistry. After selecting a bowl, they proceed to our dining auditorium where local culinary establishments are ready to serve a ladle of their signature gourmet soups and artisan breads, all donated as well. After guests enjoy multiple dishes of these delicious soups, they take their selected handmade bowl home to serve as a gentle reminder that not everyone has a full bowl every day.

 

We are so grateful to the following culinary partners who donated gourmet soup and bread for our meal event:

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• Catharina's Kitchen

• Dorio's Kettleby Italian Bakery

• Hungry Brew Hops

• Hurst Bakery

• Inn From The Cold

• Joia on Main 

• Luna Ristorante

• Ma’s Best

• Marche Marie

• Orchid Thai Cuisine

• Piazza Italian Eatery

• Poached Dreams Diner

• Ristorante Orsini

• Romy's Restaurant and Lounge

• State &  Main

• Sweet Dutchess Kitchen and Café

 

We extend a heartfelt thank you to Meridian Credit Union for a very generous grant and support in selling tickets ahead of the event. Thank you to the staff at Newmarket’s Old Town Hall for their assistance to ensure our event went off without a hitch. Thank you to Joy Gannicott and Anthony Kubelka, the pianists who played beautiful music while patrons enjoyed their soups.

 

Thank you to our sponsors, Tucker’s Pottery Supplies, for donating the clay used by our potters crafting the bowls, to David Schembri Design for his artistry and to Allegra Print Aurora for donating our printed materials. 

 

Thank you to our dedicated volunteers who donated their time and skills to ensure the success of our event. Finally, thank you to the members of our communities who continue to purchase tickets and bowls, enabling our guild to raise these much-needed funds for Inn from the Cold and Welcoming Arms.

 

Stay tuned into Pine Tree Potters’ Guild Instagram, Facebook, and Website for information on 2026’s Empty Bowls event and sales, which will again be at Newmarket’s Old Town Hall. We always have a small Empty Bowls table on our sale floor too where potters donate various types of work and all the money raised goes to our fundraiser too. 

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Lisa-Marie Oliphant
Chair, Empty Bowls Fundraiser
Pine Tree Potters’ Guild

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2025 EB Letter to the Editor