Worcester, MA- With the promise of good food and good company on the horizon, the Worcester Center for Crafts excitedly announces its 14th annual Pasta Dinner fundraiser at 25 Sagamore Road, Worcester, MA on Saturday, March 7, 2020.
With a hand-crafted ceramic plate specially made by the Center in hand, community guests from far and wide can come enjoy a hearty pasta dinner and side salad, catered by local Italian restaurant Ciao Bella. A VIP early entrance ticket ($65) gives guests the opportunity to enter at 5:30pm and to receive first choice of the handmade plates, festive appetizers, and a libation. Regular admission commences at 6:30pm with tickets being sold for $45 per person/plate, and $10 per child/paper plate. Vegetarian and gluten-free options will be available, along with beer and wine for purchase at cash bars. Tickets are available 24/7 online at www.tinyurl.com/WCCPASTA20 or by calling 508-753-8183, x 301, Tues-Fri, 10-5.
“It is an absolute joy to host this event each year. Witnessing the lively exchange of stories and life snippets between community members young and old, new and familiar is heartwarming,” says Candace Casey, organizer of the Pasta Dinner. “And to see this taking place at tables laden with the beautiful plates that our Ceramics community has worked so thoughtfully and tirelessly to craft over these last few months is gratifying, too. These plates, albeit crafted with techniques steeped in centuries-old traditions, are now timeless treasures to be passed down for generations to come.”
In addition to the dinner’s promise of good food and good company, this year’s fundraiser will feature nearly two hundred plates made by the Center’s talented students, faculty, associate artists, and Artists-in-Residence! A lively auction of creative gift packages, and NEW features of Beer and Wine Walls for guests to win and bring home will add to the evening’s fun. Ceramic studio Artists-in-Residence will also be selling home-made baked goods to help fund their trip to the annual National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference.
Whether a devoted regular of this event or a newcomer to the Craft Center, Ceramics Department Head, Tom O’Malley, urges all to attend and to join in the fun. As the person who spearheads the plate-making mission each year leading up to the Pasta Dinner, Tom wants to share in the stories of your plate. “For us, it begins on cold wintery evening in December as the plate makers and I gather in the warm and cozy Ceramics Studio. Through our efforts, the plate transforms from a clay blob thrown down to evolve into a unique ware. However, the part of a plate’s life that is spent with us, being formed, decorated, and carefully fired—all done with the caring touch of dozens of creative hands—is relatively short compared to the life they go onto live with its owner. Come join our Pasta Dinner table this year and begin or share your plate’s story with us!”
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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:
The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.
The Craft Center's mission is "to inspire and build a creative community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
