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Master Potter and Award-Winning Chefs Collaborate to Raise Funds for Oct. 23 Lucy Daniels Center Event

Bookmark and Share Cary, N.C. - April 26, 2016

The Lucy Daniels Center (LDC) has announced the names of the artist and chefs who will combine their expertise for one of the most unique fundraisers in the area.

Master Potter Ben Owen III of Seagrove along with award-winning chefs Mike Lata of Charleston, Curtis Duffy of Chicago and Steven Devereaux Greene of Cary will headline Expressions VI, A Celebration of Food and Art on Sunday, October 23 at The Umstead Hotel & Spa. Cocktail hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and live auction to follow at 6:30 p.m.

The one-of-a-kind event, now in its sixth year, raises funds for the Lucy Daniels Center, the region’s largest nonprofit children’s mental and emotional health agency.

Owen is the 2016 Expressions featured artist and belongs to a family of multi-generation master potters. His forefathers came to North Carolina from England in the late 1700s to make a new living and learned how to make pottery and other wares to sell to early settlers. His pottery reflects a foundation in traditional early American designs and incorporates influences from Asia, Europe and Persia.

Singer/songwriter James Taylor and retired Professional Golfer Arnold Palmer are among the notables whose collections include works by Owen. His pottery can be found in many museums nationwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Smithsonian Museum of Art in Washington, D.C.

Chefs Lata, Duffy and Greene come to the event with national recognition by the James Beard Foundation (JBF). Lata’s restaurant FIG in Charleston was nominated for 2016 Outstanding Wine Program by JBF, which also awarded him the Best Chef, Southeast award in 2011. Duffy is a 2016 JBF nominee as Best Chef, Great Lakes for his culinary creations at Grace in Chicago. In 2014, the designers of the restaurant received the JBF award For the best restaurant design or renovation in North America since Jan. 1, 2011, 75 Seats and Under. Greene is a 2016 JBF semifinalist as Best Chef, Southeast, for his culinary artistry at Herons in The Umstead Hotel & Spa.

The three chefs will collaborate with Owen to create a five-course menu that will combine unusual artistry and vision. Students from the Lucy Daniels School – part of LDC – will also get to tour Owen’s Seagrove pottery studio during a field trip this summer.

Last year’s Expressions event raised more than $100,000 for children’s mental health programs, thanks to individual donors, corporate sponsors, a live and silent auction and the sale of artwork by the 2015 Featured Artist Beverly McIver.

Individual tickets for the 2016 culinary and artistic event will be available beginning August 1 and can be purchased online at www.lucydanielscenter.org. For more information about sponsorship opportunities including tables of eight, please contact Ellen Fort, director of development and communications, 919.677.1400 x.120 or efort@lucydanielscenter.org.

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Contact: Angela Jamison
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