AMHERST — The Empty Bowls event that benefits the Amherst Survival Center will mark its 10th year on Monday.
From 4-8 p.m., celebrity waiters, including members of the Select Board, will serve guests soup in handcrafted bowls, along with bread and salad, at The Pub restaurant, 15 East Pleasant St.
Tickets are $40 in advance and can be bought in advance online at amherstsurvival.org/emptybowls or at A.J. Hastings, 45 South Pleasant St., and The Pub. Tickets are also available at the door.
Bowls are made by local artists and students. This year, 150 of the bowls were created under the guidance of ceramic artist Tiffany Hilton of Florence, who led a bowl-making marathon in October in conjunction with National Clay Week Open Studios.
“Every year, the potters in the region are so generous to this event, and many of us have Empty Bowls collections in our kitchens as a result,” said Survival Center Executive Director Mindy Domb.
The event also includes a raffle to win one of three bowls made by contemporary glass artist Josh Simpson.
A dozen soups are donated by local restaurants and cider is contributed by Atkins.
An election to fill a vacancy on the Amherst Housing Authority, caused by the death of Stephen Jefferson last month, will be filled by a joint vote of the commission and the Select Board April 2.
Jefferson, who taught history and sociology of sports and was the director of the undergraduate program in sports management at UMass Isenberg School of Management from 1999 to 2013, was elected to the commission in 2016.
Residents interested in serving must submit a letter of interest to the Select Board office no later than 4 p.m. March 29, and be present for the election.
Letters of interest can also be sent by email to selectboard@amherstma.gov or by mail to Select Board, Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave., Amherst, 01002.
The person elected will serve until the next town election.
Residents on both sides of the charter debate continue to reach out to residents in advance of the March 27 vote.
The Vote No on the Charter group recently launched a channel on YouTube that includes its first video, a 15-minute film which includes the voices of 15 residents who say they will vote against the charter. It can be viewed at www.youtube.com/channel/UC2ERCqTy4TJ5jSgZEhB4P-g.
The campaign is also holding a “Rally for Real Democracy” on the Town Common Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. The Doug Hewitt Group will perform live music and several people will speak.
Carol Gray, a spokeswoman for the group, said the rally is to save the town’s democracy and the checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches, and to minimize the influence of money in Amherst politics.
Amherst for All, the pro-charter group, is holding house parties, doing canvassing by going door-to-door throughout neighborhoods and has two more mailings planned, one a postcard and the other a letter, said campaign chairwoman Johanna Neumann.
“The final stretch is talking to the last few undecided voters there are in town,” Neumann said.
The campaign already has 500 lawn signs distributed and has ordered another 100 due to a surge in demand from those who support changing Amherst’s government, she said.
Candidates for Town Meeting at the March 27 election will meet the public at forums Saturday at the middle school.
The Town Meeting Coordinating Committee is organizing the event, moderated by the League of Women Voters of Amherst, which will have candidates present positions and backgrounds, and field questions.
Forums for precincts 1 to 5 will run from 10 to 11:30 a.m., while precincts 6-10 will start at noon and end at 1:30 p.m.
For more information about the event, contact Adrienne Terrizzi, amterrizzi@gmail.com, or Chris Riddle, riddlecer@gmail.com
MONDAY: Select Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
TUESDAY: Public Shade Tree Committee, 5:30 p.m., First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Dog Park Task Force Rules and Regulations Subcommittee, 6 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall; Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, 6:30 p.m., high school library.
WEDNESDAY: Planning Board, 7:05 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.
THURSDAY: Joint Capital Planning Committee, 8:30 a.m., and Finance Committee, 7 p.m., both at First Floor Meeting Room, Town Hall; Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m., Town Room, Town Hall.