Souper Bowl 2014-by Joe LedvaDeliciousness returns by the spoonful at ArtsQuest’s 7th annual Souper Bowl, taking place Jan. 23 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks’ Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling. Tickets for the popular fundraiser, which sells out in advance, is on sale  www.steelstacks.org and 610-332-3378. Regular tickets cost $30 for ArtsQuest Members and $35 for the public. VIP tickets, which include an hour of exclusive access to the soups and chefs, are $55 for ArtsQuest Members and $60 for the public.

The Souper Bowl, which features restaurants and caterers presenting their most delicious and creative soups in an effort to win the title of Souper Bowl Champion, runs from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Attendees can taste each soup before voting for their favorites using a ballot they receive at the door, and the restaurant that receives the most votes will be named the Souper Bowl Champ.

A panel of judges will also be on hand to sample all soups and present awards for the Best Cream-Based, Best Ethnic, Best Vegetarian, Best Seafood-Based, Best Meat-Based and Most Original soups. In addition, a raffle including prizes donated by participating restaurants, live auction and entertainment by the Mike Lorenz Trio will be part of the afternoon.

Restaurants and caterers already confirmed for the 2016 Souper Bowl are below; the complete list of participants will be announced later this fall.

Cathy’s Creative Catering (Catasauqua)
Forks Mediterranean Deli (Easton)
Iron Lakes Country Club (Allentown)
McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub (Bethlehem)
Meals on Wheels of Northampton County (Bethlehem)
Penn Pizza Mill Creek (Allentown)
Volpe’s Sports Bar (Emmaus)

Proceeds from the Souper Bowl support ArtsQuest’s Arts Education Programming Fund, which provides quality art and education programs for area students. Since the first Souper Bowl in 2010, more than $85,000 has been raised to support local arts programming.

The Souper Bowl is supported by media partner 100.7 WLEV. For more information, visit www.steelstacks.org or call 610-332-3378.