Donkey Mill Art Center presents the 11th annual Cool Fusion: Festival of 1,000 Bowls, celebrating ceramic, musical, and culinary arts, on Sept. 23 at Keauhou Shopping Center.
The event will run from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tickets are $25 presale or $30 at the event. Ticket includes a handmade bowl of your choice heaping with refreshing, home-style, Japanese Somen noodles, live music by Green Machine, dance performances by Kona Dance and Performing Arts, and ceramic demonstrations by Big Island artists.
For more than a decade, Cool Fusion Festival of 1,000 bowls has supported art education at the Donkey Mill Art Center, a community art center in Holualoa. Each year, renowned ceramic artists from across the island come together to create uniquely beautiful somen noodle bowls as a fundraiser to support the Donkey Mill’s programming. These skilled volunteers meet every weekend for the preceding months until 1,000 bowls have been created, fired, glazed and washed. The assortment of handmade ceramic bowls are then arranged on tabletops where guests can carefully consider their selections before indulging in a lunch of noodles.
Kona’s own Gypsea Gelato will be on-site, providing a complimentary scoop of gelato when you purchase a beautiful handmade gelato bowl. Additionally, handmade ceramic items are available for as little as $10 each, with many other pieces of ceramic art, including larger bowls, vases, and cups available for purchase.This year for the first time, the donated work of several notable mainland ceramic artists will be offered for sale alongside work by local talent.
The Donkey Mill’s ceramic department offers year-round classes for children and adults in pottery and sculpture, as well as special workshops taught by visiting artists from around the world. A former coffee mill, the art center now functions as a gathering place where people can develop as creative, conscious, and healthy human beings through art education and experience.
Info/tickets: Visit www.donkeymillartcenter.org or call 322-3362. ■