Bowls and Spoons Harvest Feast

A celebration of community through food and art

The Bowls & Spoons project is a deeply rooted collaboration that brings together art, food, storytelling, theater, music, and healing in the heart of George Floyd Square. Led by Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC), Mudluk Pottery, Pillsbury House + Theatre, City Food Studio, Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization (CANDO), Healthy Roots Institute, and a growing network of community partners, this initiative is about creating spaces where people can connect, create, and get nourished together.

At its core, this collaboration is about nurturing relationships—between artists, organizers, businesses, chefs, farmers, writers, sound healers, and community members. Through a series of hands-on workshops leading up to the Harvest Feast on October 4, 2025, we are weaving together existing programs, skills, and traditions to craft something deeply meaningful. From forging, carving, and shaping bowls and spoons to writing, preparing nourishing meals, curating music, and creating collective art installations, each step is an opportunity for creative expression, reflection, and shared experience.

The Harvest Feast will be a sacred celebration—a community meal served at a long dinner table stretching down Chicago Avenue between 37th & 38th in George Floyd Square, where attendees will share a meal in handmade bowls with hand-forged spoons. The event will begin with a sound healer offering a blessing over the food, using singing bowls and other healing instruments to set an intention for nourishment, healing, and community connection. The evening will also feature live DJing and potential broadcasting by KRSM Radio, culminating with a performance of A Lesson in Love at Pillsbury House + Theatre. Leading up to this event, community members will engage in a series of workshops that center art-making, music, writing, social justice, cultural storytelling, and healing conversations.

 

Community Workshops and Events

As part of the lead-up to October 4th’s event, Bowls & Spoons partners are hosting a huge range of workshops and events! Join in art-making, seed sorting, cooking, fermenting, storytelling, and more with Mudluk Pottery, CANDO/Plant-Grow-Share, City Food Studio, Pillsbury House + Theater and CAFAC.

CANDO/Plant, Grow, Share events

Seed Circles with PLANT-GROW-SHARE

  • Date/Time: Tuesday, September 9th from 5-7pm

  • Location: Hosmer Library, 347 E. 36th St.

  • Details: FREE EVENT! Join us for SEED CIRCLES, an ongoing event where you can join PLANT-GROW-SHARE at Hosmer Library to sort and repack seeds to share with the community. Masks are strongly encouraged. Contact PGS Program Coordinator Charls@thecentralneighborhood.com for more info.

Seed Circles with PLANT-GROW-SHARE: Seed Keeping and Cleaning

  • Date/Time: Saturday, September 20th from 1:30-3:30pm

  • Location: Hosmer Library, 347 E. 36th St.

  • Details: FREE EVENT! Let's learn how to save seeds from Hosmer Library's Reading Garden together! Masks strongly encouraged.Contact PGS Program Coordinator Charls@thecentralneighborhood.com for more info.

CAFAC events

Community Spoon Making

  • Date/Time: Saturday, September 6th from 1-4pm

  • Location: Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Avenue

  • Details: Free community event to help us work our way towards our 200 spoon goal. Taught by Dani Sanchez. Register using this form.

City Foods Studio Events

Signs of the Hearth Workshop 3: Enamel Painting Session

  • Date/Time: Saturday, August 16th from 2-5pm

  • Location: Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Avenue

  • Details: Join us for Signs of the Hearth, a hands-on enamel art-making series where community members will help design and create a large-scale, illuminated enamel sign for City Food Studio. In this session, community members will begin painting enamel letters and artistic utensils that will become part of a glowing sign for City Food Studio. Led by artists from CAFAC , you’ll work in small groups, enjoy music and light snacks, and take part in this collaborative creation process. No experience needed! Register on Eventbrite.

Signs of the Hearth Workshop 4: Backdrop & Lighting Build Day

  • Date/Time: Saturday, August 23 from 3-6pm

  • Location: Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Avenue

  • Details: Join us for Signs of the Hearth, a hands-on enamel art-making series where community members will help design and create a large-scale, illuminated enamel sign for City Food Studio. We’re bringing it all together! This session focuses on painting the large cityscape backdrop, assembling the mount structure, and testing soft-glow lighting for our 3’x10’ enamel sign. Come help us shape the final vision with brushes, lights, and teamwork. This is your chance to tinker, paint, and prep for the grand reveal. No experience needed! Register on Eventbrite.

Signs of Hearth Workshop 5: Installation Day & Dedication Circle

  • Date/Time: Saturday, September 13th from 2-5pm

  • More information coming soon!

Feast Makers Series

Feast Makers is a hands-on, multi-day culinary activation where community members come together to prepare and serve a nourishing Harvest Feast at George Floyd Square. Hosted at City Food Studio and led by Healthy Roots Institute, this series invites youth, volunteers, home cooks, and culinary artists to work side-by-side in the kitchen—chopping, simmering, fermenting, storytelling, and building community through food.

Participants will help process fresh produce from CANDO’s Plant-Grow-Share & Frogtown Farm, craft healing dishes inspired by ancestral foodways, and contribute to one of the most meaningful community meals of the year. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just passionate about food and healing, there's a role for you at the table. Register for each event individually on Eventbrite.

Tuesday, September 30: Kitchen Activation Day 1 – Inventory & Ingredient Intake

  • Time: 2:00–7:00 PM

  • Focus:

    • Intake produce from Frogtown, Plant-Grow-Share, Sabathani

    • Wash, sort, label, and store

    • Build ingredient list and recipe board

    • Assign stations or recipes to volunteers

Wednesday, October 1: Kitchen Activation Day 2 – Base Preps & Stocks

  • Time: 2:00–8:00 PM

  • Focus:

    • Chop aromatics, start soups/stews/sauces

    • Fermentation station (quick pickles, kraut, drinks)

    • Roasting, marinating, spice blends

    • Label, date, and store in cold space

Thursday, October 2: Cooking Circle + Healing Table

  • Time: 4:00–8:00 PM

  • Focus:

    • Community-building dinner prep

    • Group storytelling + playlist

    • Partial assembly (grain salads, braised dishes)

    • Check equipment, rentals, signage prep

Friday, October 3: Final Assembly & Packing

  • Time: 12:00–6:00 PM

  • Focus:

    • Reheat/reduce sauces

    • Portion dishes for service

    • Pack hotboxes, coolers, garnish kits

    • Team check-in and logistics briefing

Saturday, Oct 4: Feast Day

  • Morning (9 AM–2 PM): Reheat, plating, garnishing, setup

  • Evening (5 PM–7 PM): Feast

  • Post-feast (7 PM–8 PM): Cleanup & gratitude circle

Mudluk Pottery events

Bowls & Spoons Harvest Feast Workshops

  • Dates/Times: Wednesday, August 20th from 6-7pm or Wednesday, August 27th from 6-7pm.

  • Location: Mudluk Pottery, 2951 Bloomington Ave

  • Details: Join us in the studio to craft bowls and spoons for our Harvest Feast at George Floyd Square—a community celebration of nourishment, creativity, and care. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll make two pieces: one to keep and one to donate for the feast. All materials and guidance are provided. No experience needed—just come ready to create and connect. $35 per participant. Includes clay, tools, and firing. Make one for yourself and one for the feast! Register at Mudluk Pottery’s website.

Pillsbury House + Theater

A lesson in love

  • Date/Time: Saturday, October 4th at 7pm

  • Location: Pillsbury House + Theater, 3501 Chicago Avenue

  • Details: A Black rom-com that blends heart, humor, and sharp dialogue. When Monique and David unexpectedly cross paths, what begins as a simple conversation unfolds into something layered, tender, and complicated. Set in real time, this intimate story asks what it takes to truly see someone—and be seen in return. Play by Nubia Monks. Sliding scale pricing. Buy tickets online.

 

Key partners: