Cool Fusion Festival of 1,000 Bowls Celebrates Arts

Handmade bowls featured at Cool Fusion. Courtesy photo.

The 11th annual Cool Fusion Festival of 1,000 Bowls, presented by the Donkey Mill Art Center, will take place on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Keauhou Shopping Center.The festival celebrates ceramic, musical, and culinary arts.

Tickets are $25 presale or $30 at the event. A ticket includes a handmade bowl of your choice served with home-style Japanese somen noodles. In addition, there will be live music by Green Machine, dance performances by Kona Dance and Performing Arts and ceramic demonstrations by local artists.

For over a decade, the Cool Fusion Festival of 1,000 bowls has supported arts 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.

For more details and to purchase pre-sale tickets visit donkeymillartcenter.org.