The Rose Garden opened its doors on Oct. 24 to host the second annual Wausau Area Empty Bowls.

The proceeds from the event, coined “part art, part soup, and all heart,” will benefit The Neighbor’s Place. With the purchase of a ticket, event-goers got to pick out a handmade bowl to take home and enjoyed a meal of soup, bread, and desert.

Music was performed by Parker Siems and Dr. Barry Liss and many artsy items were up for bid in a silent auction, featuring bowls signed by celebrities such as country music act Little Big Town, Senator Russ Feingold, and Elliot Gould.

And it seems that Empty Bowls couldn’t have come at a better time. “It’s been a really difficult year,” Tom Rau, director of The Neighbor’s Place, said. “We’ve seen a 23 percent increase in visits to our food pantry this year.”

In 2008, The Neighbor’s Place saw 250 families every week at their food pantry. In 2009, that number has jumped to over 300.

2009’s Empty Bowls was truly a community event. The bowls themselves were crafted and donated by students from local schools and all of the soup served was donated by Wausau area restaurants, such as Allister Deacon’s, The Mint Café, and The Chang Garden.

“It just shows that the community really does care when they respond the way they have today,” Rau said.

This year’s turnout was much more than was expected. The 800 pre-made tickets sold out three hours into the event. Rau guessed that he would see over 1,000 people before the event ended.

“This is beyond our expectations,” Rau said. “The Neighbor’s Place is going to have food to give to families… to address the problem of hunger in Wausau. We’re very thankful to live in a place like this that has consistently supported us.”