Hand-made soups & bowls at annual Soup-R-Bowl

TOME — It’s the Soup-R-Bowls Sweet 16.

Since 2009, artists at the Tomé Art Gallery have come together every year to create scads of hand-made ceramic bowls and support art scholarships for local students by tying together the biggest football game of the year — the Super Bowl — and everyone’s favorite cold-weather dish, soup.

This year’s Soup-R-Bowl will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 9, in the Student Community Center at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus, 280 La Entrada, Tomé.

The hand-made bowls can be purchased for $20 before the big event at the Tomé Art Gallery, 2930 N.M. 47, or the bookstore at UNM-Valencia Campus. Bowls will also be available for purchase on the day of the event. The price of the bowl includes a ticket to the Soup-R-Bowl.

At the event, there will be six homemade soups — Tex Mex, avgolemono (a Greek lemon chicken soup), Rocking Moroccan (a vegetarian and gluten free soup), split pea, cream of potato and leek and Italian sausage soups — plus breads and desserts.

“I’ve already made about 130 (bowls) for this year,” said TAG potter and UNM-Valencia instructor Jan Pacifico, noting several other artists at the gallery as well as some of her students have also made bowls as well. “It’s a group effort.”

Proceeds from the Soup-R-Bowl fund art scholarships for local students. From 2009 to 2024, the Super Bowl Sunday gathering has raised just more than $65,000, which is matched dollar-for-dollar by federal funds, resulting in nearly $150,000 raised. The money is put into the university’s endowment fund and allows the gallery to disburse five $1,000 scholarships every year.

There will also be a silent auction during the event on Sunday to raise additional scholarship funds.

Pacifico said the day wouldn’t come together as well as it does without help from UNM-Valencia faculty and staff.

“We get a lot of help from the campus. We’re getting older,” she said with a chuckle. “We’re very glad to have the help of the folks at the campus. This is a wonderful event that brings together the community, university staff and students.

“The food is amazing, No. 1 and No. 2, a lot of people aren’t interested in football and this is something where we can come together for a great community event. Plus, it’s over by 2 p.m., so you can come have lunch and watch the game, too.”