2023 EmpTea Bowls Fundraiser Black Mountain, NC
The 2023 Event will be on June 3 from 4 pm – 7 pm at the John Wilson Community Garden
Join us for the 2023 EmpTea Bowls Fundraiser! On June 3, come together with local artisans, businesses, and musicians to support the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden – a vital resource in our community that provides food security through bountiful harvests of fresh produce distributed each year to hundreds of families in need. There will be plenty of fun activities including live music and delicious herbal tea while you explore over 100 fruit or nut-bearing trees, native plant trails & lush greenways plus get your own handcrafted bowl as an unforgettable takeaway reminder that every little bit helps fill someone’s empty bowl!
Here is the scoop… local area potters make bowls for our event. You will get to choose one, drink your freshly brewed tea, and then take it home as a reminder of folks whose bowls are often empty–and your opportunity to keep our community’s bowls filled. Proceeds are used for Garden Internships and Educational Programs. This event is also one of the best ways to support the community garden and keep it up and running for years to come.
More About the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden
Founded in 1997 by Dr. John Wilson, the Black Mountain Community Garden moved to its current site on town property in 2004. in 2011 the garden was officially named in honor of its founder.
Providing food for 100’s of local families, the garden is a vital resource in helping reduce food insecurity in the Swannanoa Valley. Each year, over 100 local residents and hundreds of volunteers come together to grow fresh produce that is distributed to families in need through Bounty and Soul. The garden relies heavily on the work of seasonal interns to assist in the growing process, and to educate the public on sustainable growing techniques.
About 75% of the garden plots are available for individual rentals, the other 25% are used to grow crops solely for donation to those in need through a partnership with Bounty and Soul. Membership has grown steadily each year from 12 members in the beginning to ?? With the help of many volunteers, over 3,000 pounds of food are grown annually for donation within our community. Additionally, each member of the garden grows 10% of his or her plot for donation.
This garden has a substantial infrastructure, including gardening tools, running water, free manure & mulch, and other gardening supplies which makes it easy to start your own garden plot with little tools needed to bring with you.
The garden also includes over one hundred fruit or nut-bearing trees, bushes, and vines. A greenway trail encircles the garden and connects with the greater greenway system of Black Mountain. Along one border of the garden and paralleling the greenway is a three-hundred-foot-long native plant and medicinal at-risk species trail. The trail is on the United Plant Savers national registry of Botanical Sanctuaries.
