Farm Fest @ Maple Farm Sanctuary 2011

This past Sunday, Maple Farm Sanctuary in Mendon, MA hosted Farm Fest, a festival-fundraiser and celebration where the rescued animals are the stars for the day. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness and money to help provide veterinary care, housing, food , and a peaceful life for the animal residents, who have come from factory-farm conditions and/or were previously abused, neglected or abandoned. 

The event featured music, yoga sessions for kids & grown-ups, children's activities, reiki/massage/healings, vendors from various animal welfare organizations and other non-profits. VegWorcester was among the groups tabling, handing out outreach literature, selling vegan books, pins and t-shirts. A VegWorcester-led group even rode their bikes from Worcester to the event! *high fives* Some of the same folks who were at Worcester VegFest were also at Farm Fest, including Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition, Vegetable Circus doing a fun kid-friendly show, and Like No Udder vegan soft-serve ice cream truck, just to name a few.

Whole Foods (Bellingham, MA) gave out free plates of healthy vegan food to FarmFest attendees. The highlight was a colorful salad with greens and berries, topped with tofu and a strawberry dressing. They also served up what I think was a quinoa/eggplant mix, cannellini beans and veggies, bread with two choices of hummus, and completed it with PopChips Salt & Pepper potato chips, and bottles of Adina Holistics Herbal Elixir. 

Some of us got a chance to visit with the baby chicks the sanctuary just received from a local post office where someone had mailed them. Its scary to think that live birds can be legally shipped through the mail and what might have happened in transit. The chicks were so small, sweet and fragile! They ran around excited and eager, happy to feel the freedom of their new peaceful farm life.

Some of the residents on the farm include animals like goats, cows, pigs, llamas, chickens and even a mini horse! It was inspiring to see how happy and relaxed the animals were, and inspiring to see the important work going on at Maple Farm. I encourage you to like their Facebook page, visit the farm, donate and volunteer! I am definitely excited to visit the farm again soon and find a way to help out.

Here's a video I shot at Farm Fest. Music is live audio from Brief Awakening's performance at the event, and also Nick Drake's "Horn" towards the end, following a quick thank-you message from Cheri, (co-founder of Maple Farm Sanctuary.)

Worcester's Veg-Friendly StART On The Street: Spring 2011

Worcester's own stART On The Street art festival is one of the best events in Massachusetts hands-down. The festival occurs several times throughout the year: Fall (stART On The Street) being the largest, Winter (stART At The Station), and Spring (stART On The Street: Spring Edition.) With so many talented local artists, musicians, and DIY-ers in one spot, its hard to go wrong. Its great that they have a non-profit area for local groups as well. 

This past weekend I set up at the Spring Edition for a few hours reppin' for VegWorcester, selling homemade vegan baked goods made by Erin, Aurora and yours truly. It was great to hear the huge response to VegFest and also to hear what a splash we made with the vegan bake-sale shutdown and subsequent reversal to make our "cupcake parties" legal! Lots of people who came to the table had interesting stories this weekend... One man told me that he had witnessed first-hand factory-farm cruelty (20 years ago?) while doing some carpentry at a local Worcester-County farm that prompted him to go vegetarian. I also heard from a man who said he was struggling with health issues such as high cholesterol and pre-diabetes and was considering cutting down on his meat intake. 

The stART festival featured several vegan vendors besides VegWorcester. Like No Udder was serving up their delicious vegan soft serve, Loving Hut had the usual tasty asian food and the hot dog truck had veggie dogs w/ avocado & tomatoes. Its comforting to go to a street fair and not be stuck with only sausage & fried dough carts for a change. 

Thank you stART On The Street for being AWESOME.

Rise Against @ Boston House Of Blues

I baked some tasty vegan chocolate chip cookies for the guys in Rise Against last night for their show with Bad Religion at the Boston House Of Blues. Rise Against are known for their activism, support of animal rights, affiliation with PETA, rad videos, and being damn cool veg dudes.

They put on a fun show and I had a sweet backstage view, over-looking the entire sold-out venue.  I was treated to free drinks on the tour bus, a look at their stage set-up, anndddd they loved  the cookies so it surely was a fantastic evening out in Boston!

Plus- some awesome kid gets 5 vegpanda-stars for braving the mosh-pit heat in a full-body cow costume and crowd-surfing the ENTIRE time even after he lost his cow-head and cow-feet several times. ;) Whoever/wherever you are, kid- you rule.

VEGFEST 2011!

Worcester VegFest 2011 was last weekend, and it was just as we predicted- AWESOME. There was some great promotion this year and it definitely contributed to getting the word out. We started off the festivities with a pre-VegFest "get psyched" meeting the night before the event to start setting up. Coordinators and volunteers had a chance to go over details and chow down on  vegan pizza from Flats while unpacking all the books and merch.  Then it was time for the big day... VegFest! As a VegFest organizer and the exhibitor coordinator, I got to Worcester State University at 10am to start signing in and greeting vendors. The event was scheduled to begin at noon, but we had attendees lining the hallways by 11:30am. Huge crowds starting showing up around noontime. From 1pm~3pm, the exhibitor areas were so packed with humans, that it was actually getting a little tight in there. Among all the tons of free samples from exhibitors, VegWorcester's own free sample tables had Primal Strips, Odwalla bars, Chreese packets, Quick Gravy packets, 40 lbs of ecoVegan mock meat samples, coupons for Gardein, coupons for Follow Your Heart products and 15 cartons of vegan "milks" like  soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc. If you're curious where to get certain products found at the Worcester Vegfest, follow the exhibitor links below for online stores, or try your local Whole Foods Bellingham/Framingham locations are the closest locations to Worcester (about 20 miles), Living Earth on Park Ave, or Shaws Wild Harvest (several Worcester locations).

VEGFEST 2011 SCHEDULE:
12:15-1:00pm: BRUCE FRIEDRICH
1:15-2:00pm: TRACYE MCQUIRTER  

2:15-2:45pm VEGETABLE CIRCUS  

3:00-3:45pm: TERRY HOPE ROMERO 

4:00-4:45pm: WILL POTTER 

Since I was occupied with coordinating tasks, I wasn't able to watch the entire speaking sessions, but did try to catch a few minutes of each one. Bruce is the man. I'm familiar with his work and he always does an amazing job. Tracye... I respect that she is into the healthy aspects of going veg because it’s important to remember that many people enter the vegetarian world for health reasons. Tracye's samples were raw-vegan inspired and I love me some greens.

Terry Hope Romero arrived early and I got a chance to chat with her and help make some arrangements for transportation so she could go make her samples for the cooking demo. She is definitely a rad chick, and she even indulged my geek-ness by signing a copy of Viva Vegan and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar for me. Terry's seitan tacos were to die for!

Will Potter's presentation was certainly eye-opening for many. I was most curious to hear from him since this was the first time I had been exposed to his work. I'm really pumped to read Green Is The New Red. Unfortunately his books didn't arrive in time for VegFest, so hopefully I can score a copy soon.  The speaker room was packed during all the time slots, and we got heaps of positive and valuable feedback from all.

I was also impressed with Vegetable Circus. Tons of kiddos showed up to watch and participate in their show, and there were tons of smiles and happy dances going on. I would definitely recommend this group. They were professional, easy to work with, and so much fun. VegWorcester also had a kid's table with face painting and other children's activities.

There were so many important non-profit exhibitors as well as yummy food vendors. I spent a lot of time walking around to make sure they had all of their needs met and things were going well. Everyone seemed to have a lot of positive feedback. Like No Udder's ice cream truck was a huge hit and so was Coconut Bliss's free ice cream samples. There were huge lines all day for the vegan ice cream! Next time we'll need like 5 ice cream vendors maybe..? haha. I can't wait for another vegan soft serve! X's to O's Vegan Bakery had some tasty cupcakes and vegan twinkies- they seemed busy with customers all afternoon. I was also happy to try Wilderness Poet's nut butters for the first time. Mm. I noticed they sell Wilderness Poets at The Living Earth on Park Ave. Try the pistachio.

Here is a full list of all the exhibitors with links to their websites for reference. Definitely check them out, visit, buy stuff, donate, volunteer, and so on...

VEGFEST 2011 EXHIBITOR/SPONSOR LIST:
* Artichoke Food CoOp
* Autonomie Project (sponsor)
* Belmont Vegetarian
* Boston Vegan Association
* Cedar Foods - Hummus
* Chartwells
* Cloa's Ark Animal Sanctuary
* Coconut Bliss
* Compassion Over Killing
* Duck Yao
* ecoVegan (sponsor)
* Falafal Republic (sponsor)
* Galaxy Nutritional Foods (sponsor)
* Humane League of Boston
* Humane Society of US
* Humane USA - MA PAC
* Isador's Organics (sponsor)
* Keifers Kettle Korn
* Like No Udder Vegan Ice Cream Truck
* Loving Hut (sponsor)
* Maple Farm Sanctuary
* MA Animal Rights Coalition (MARC) (sponsor)
* New Paris Books & Zines
* Peace Abbey
* Peace O' Pie
* PETA
* Quan Yin/Supreme Master Ching Hi
* Queenie Foundation
* Revitalive Health &Wellness
* Spirit Of Change Magazine (sponsor)
* Sproutman
* Sterling Animal Shelter
* Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue
* The Universal Spirit
* United Poultry Concerns
* Vegan Metrowest Network
* VegNews Magazine
* Woo Daddy Waffles
* Wilderness Poets
* Worcester Earn-A-Bike
* Worcester Magazine (sponsor)
* Worcester Natural Foods
* VegFund
* VegWorcester
* X's to O's Vegan Bakery

All in all, VegFest 2011 was a huge success! I'd be willing to bet we had almost 3,000 people come through the doors. With the huge crowds, 40+ exhibitors, 4 national speakers, entertainment and tons of free samples, it was amazing to see it all finally come together last weekend. Although it was definitely a busy few months in the planning stage, it was a great experience to see this event go from just ideas on a piece of paper, to a full on Veg-Fest! Can't wait to see what we can do next year...

More Vegfest Photos @ VegWorcester's Facebook.

Valentine Pop-Up: an Evening of Romance and Vegan Cuisine, Review

“The Burnside Fountain” Valentine Pop-Up dinner was over a week ago, but we think it’s never too late to impart reviews of local veg-food events! The pre-Valentines Day dinner was boasted as fine pop-up style vegan dining with a scrumptious mash up of Asian flavor and American comfort food. Curious Worcesterites, good friends, and romantic couples all came out to enjoy the 3-course meal. Friendly hosts and hostesses volunteered to help with preparations and serving of the meal, while the chefs worked behind the scenes. Dishes were served upon candle-lit tables adorned with earthy Valentine-inspired table decorations and bottles of wine.

The appetizer was a kick-ass Philly spring roll with a wedge salad and bleu cheese dressing. The spring roll was delicate, yet fried crispy (yeah baby!) with a hearty flavor that worked well in contrast with the crunchy fresh lettuce and nutty-cheese dressing. 4 out of 4 stars on this one.

After some romantic and sexy conversation amongst the guests, the hosts came out to announce the main entrée, Southern-baked “chicken” and wasabi-infused potatoes with brown miso gravy. The “chicken” had a delightfully crunchy breading that gave it an authentic texture. It was the highlight of the entrée since unfortunately the tang of the wasabi seemed slightly masked somewhere beneath the wholesome texture of the potato and gravy. Though it’s really just too hard to go wrong with mashed potato, so there’s no bad grade there! Roasted brussels sprouts were a savory entree side, soft and almost caramelized, perfect to pop into your mouth. Mmm

Dessert was sliced bananas over a ball of coconut sticky rice, smothered in a Thai peanut sauce. Although it honestly wasn’t the most visually attractive dessert (had to say it!), it had a unique blending of eye-opening flavors. A few suggested that it may not have been particularly “dessert-like,” though, c’mon now- do we really always need over-sweet typical concoctions to scream dessert? The over-ripe banana was pleasant and soothing as a follow-up to the previous dishes, and the sticky rice and creamy peanut sauce really brought it together as a more exotic treat!

With some experience to draw upon, the hosts were able to serve more effectively and the evening had a relaxing and enjoyable flow to it. The last pop-up had almost too much food, and this pop-up was just right, though I’d surely have loved to take home some left-overs. Some guests suggested they could have eaten double of the entrée. Even though the heartiness of the amazing bread from the autumn pop-up was arguably the catalyst for the over-filled bellies at the last event, it had a place in our hearts and was missed at the Valentine pop-up.

With two scrumptious and successful events under their belt, The Burnside Fountain team just HAS to come back for a third event, and show us their staying power. More vegan pop-ups, please!

Visit the The Burnside Fountain’s Facebook page, and their Twitter page to get updates.

Also, check out VegWorcester’s review of the previous pop-up dinner.

 cross-posted @ vegworcester.com

SAAVY Free Vegan Post-Thanksgiving feast @ Clark

The Student Alliance of Vegetarian and Vegan Youth (SAVVY) at Clark University and VegPolytech from WPI organized a tasty free post-Thanksgiving vegan feast tonight @ Clark!

A variety of food was offered- multiple Tofurkeys, mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, cornbread, green beans,carrots, vegan mac & cheeze, pumpkin pie, cupcakes, etcetera. My favorites were the stuffing and the green beans. I'm glad we headed over there early because there was a long line at the door, and it seemed as though the delicious spread of Thanksgiving veg goodness was devoured in minutes!

Loving Hut Buffet Anniversary In Review

 Last Saturday, VegWorcester celebrated the one year anniversary of VegWorcester vegan buffet fundraisers held at the Loving Hut on Chandler Street. It was one of the the busiest vegan buffets since the location began their partnership with VegWorcester, back when they were still called Buddha Hut. With customers waiting at the door to be seated, and staff scrambling to find tables to seat all of the guests, it was a jam-packed afternoon.

Drew Wilson presented The Loving Hut owner and staff with a certificate of appreciation for one year of fundraisers and support on behalf of all of the VegWorcester community. It has been amazing to see so many people at the buffet fundraisers this year, participating in and encouraging vegan businesses thriving in Worcester. The Loving Hut has become one of the hubs for the local vegetarian-vegan community to gather, enjoy good food and promote compassion for animals. They have served food at a wide variety of local events, including Worcester’s own first annual Vegfest last Spring.

There were all kinds of fun things going on at Saturday’s $10 all-you-can-eat fundraiser. As usual, 10% of all the buffet sales were donated to VegWorcester and the buffet spread was well rounded with rice and noodle dishes, a variety of delicious mock meats, fresh veggie roll-ups, soup, and fruit. Many took part in the free raffle and won a host of goodies like vegan recipe books, gift certificates, t-shirts and more.  The former Barely Legal Treats vegan bakery made yummy free vegan cupcakes in a variety of flavors for guests who arrived early enough to snag one!

You may have noticed Supreme Master TV representatives were on location, filming portions of the event. They were hard to miss! “Supreme Master Television is an international, non-profit channel airing constructive news and programs that foster peace and promote healthy, green living.” Their motto is “Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet!” The TV reps interviewed several VegWorcester members, asking questions about the buffet fundraisers, their personal interest in going veg, community events, environmental issues and animal welfare.

VegWorcester would like to thank everyone who came out to show their support for The Loving Hut, and who continue to spread the word about local vegan eateries, outreach and community events. We couldn’t do it without you!

previous post: (celebrate-1-year-of-vegan-buffet-fundraisers-at-loving-hut-this-saturday-event)

cross-posted @ (http://vegworcester.com/2010/11/17/loving-hut-buffet-anniversary-in-review)

Vegan Harvest Pop-Up In Review

A few dozen came out last Thursday to enjoy a delicious and mysterious 4-course vegan harvest "pop-up" dinner in Worcester. The local chefs worked behind the scenes to create not only a hearty fall-inspired menu, but also to offer a delightful candle-lit evening with old friends, new friends and plenty of suspense.

Though the multi-functional location of the pop-up might be better known for its showcasing of underground music, it transformed nicely into an atmospheric and imaginative dinner venue. The room was complete with long white-clothed tables and mis-matched wine glasses.

Guests were invited to enjoy their choice of wine while waiting for the hors d'oeuvres of spinach, onion marmalade, walnuts and 'vegan feta' in endive leaves. The endive appetizers served to share amongst each table were an inventive choice with a unique variety of flavors and textures that one could find inspiring.

The second course was an ode to the season, a butternut squash and sweet potato soup served with loaves of warm fresh bread. Slicing the bread as a group was a fun conversation starter and the pieces were perfect for dipping.

There was quite a wait in between the second and third course, which gave time for guests to relax, chat, and enjoy the wine. Although the intriguing pauses in between dishes weren’t too much of a bother, it was easy to fill up on wine and delicious bread!

When the main course was ready, it came out in shifts, straight out of the oven and served with pot-holdered hands. The bowls of shells in mascarpone béchamel with caramelized mushrooms and onions were pleasantly creamy and had a baked crispy topping. Scrumptious and filling, yet almost overwhelming in its size, the shells dish was worth the wait.

As a sweet ending to the evening, the chocolate and pumpkin bread pudding was flavorful, holiday-inspired and left nothing to be desired. Following the dessert, the distinguished chefs for the evening came out to thank everyone for attending what hopefully was the first of many “pop-up” dinners to come.

Atmosphere, creativity and good vegan food made for an interesting and enjoyable evening in Worcester. Congratulations to the organizers of this event for the success of this first-time occasion, and the delectable choice of food. It can’t be said for sure where or when this tasty endeavor might return, but suffice it to say, this 4-course meal was more of an event than simply a dinner, and one that shouldn’t be missed next time it pops up.

  
previous veg-worcester post: mysterious-new-vegan-restaurant-pops-up-in-worcester

cross-posted @ vegworcester.com: vegan-harvest-pop-up-in-review

The 15th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

The  Boston Vegetarian Food Festival is upon us again! 

 

Looking for some vegetarian fun Halloween weekend? The 15th annual festival is being held Saturday, October 30th (10am-6pm), and Sunday, October 31st   (10am – 4pm) at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center on Tremont St. in Boston, MA. The event will feature vegetarian and vegan food vendors, products, cooking demos, free samples, exhibits, speakers, children’s activities and more. Before you do yourself an injustice by consuming all that unhealthy Halloween candy, check out some of the cruelty-free vegan food vendors and speakers at this great two-day educational celebration of veg culture in Massachusetts.

There is a great lineup of presenters to check out! A few that you shouldn’t miss- On Saturday the day starts off strong with a vegan cooking demo by Terry Hope Romero, co-author of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and more recently a solo cookbook Viva Vegan! If you’re into vegan cooking or baking, you’ve surely tried some of her recipes and she won’t let you down! Are you interested in the environmental aspects of cutting meat from your diet? Be sure to catch Martin Rowe of Brighter Green at noon, discussing the ill effects of animal agriculture on our planet. For those of you who attended Worcester’s first Vegfest this past spring, you’ll remember the very riveting Michael Greger, MD from our speaker panel. Greger will be speaking on both Saturday and Sunday in a two part presentation covering The Latest in Human Nutrition.

Sunday also features a rad cooking demo called Who Knew Vegetarian/Vegan Cuisine Could Taste this Good? at 1:30pm. It will be presented by acclaimed celebrity vegan Chef Tal Ronnen, who has cooked vegan meals for Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, among others!  At noon on Sunday, Brenda Davis, R.D. will address health-conscious festival-goers with a talk on diabetes, a very real concern for our community.

Be sure to let VegWorcester know which speakers and vendors you’re most interested in checking out. Your feedback after the event will also help us to get ideas for our next hometown Vegfest!

The festival is hosted by the Boston Vegetarian Society, and with sponsors such as VegNews magazine, Loving Hut, Vegan.com, and more, there will be a lot to see (and eat) at this years Boston Vegetarian Food Festival!

Cross-posted @ Vegworcester.com Blog

VegWorcester members join MARC Ringling Circus Protest

Animal cruelty issues are a local topic this week with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus returning to Worcester over the weekend (and heading to Springfield and Boston throughout this week.) Several VegWorcester members joined up with Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition (MARC) to protest the DCU Center event this past Saturday and bring light to the cruel practices that continue to go on under the guise of entertainment.

Over 35 people attended the Worcester protest, holding eye-opening signs at DCU Center entrances before both circus showings and passing out literature that noted the many instances of animal cruelty by Ringling. Some circus attendees passed by and tried not to look, but many were extremely curious and affected by the images of elephants in chains and accepted our info sheet. Some of us have attended the circus in the past and now that we are becoming aware of the harsh reality, we are choosing to not only skip the circus for other cruelty-free events, but spread the word in the hope that animals will no longer be forced to endure lifelong suffering.

Children love animals and many attending Saturday’s Ringling event pointed or asked their parents why we were there, which hopefully prompted some thought and dialogue on the subject. Awareness is one of the first steps in creating change for the animals that are suffering in silence.

Circus animals are not the type of entertainment that will foster compassion. There are more humane and educational ways to appreciate animals and have fun with your family. Some things to do instead could be a visit to a farm sanctuary (such as the Maple Farm Sanctuary), volunteering at a local animal shelter, watching wildlife documentaries showing animals in their natural environment, having your own “animal”-show where your kids can dress up in animal costumes, make arts and crafts or cookies decorated with their favorite exotic animal faces, and complete it with a nature-walk to look for and photograph local wildlife in their natural habitat.

Helen Rayshick, MARC Executive Director, said “MARC’s Ringling protest’s mission in Worcester Saturday was to get the public to realize that this circus is not family entertainment and to stop supporting its cruelty. Ringling circus has been cited over 100 times for failure to adhere to the Animal Welfare Act and has paid fines of up to $20,000 for their mistreatment of animals.  Baby and adult animals endure violent training sessions with ropes, bullhooks, and electric shock prods. Three former employees have testified in court or before Congress that all the elephant handlers beat the elephants, and in 2009, their CEO admitted this was true in federal court. In 2004, a lion died of dehydration and heatstroke on a train in the Mojave Desert solely because Ringling officials wouldn’t stop the train to provide water. Ringling has a long track record of animal abuse and neglect, and if good people knew the truth, they wouldn’t allow their children anywhere near this circus. Circuses are not “good clean fun” for anyone.”

Previous VegWorcester Post: Circus Protests this Weekend In Worcester

Upcoming: Boston Ringling Circus Protest @ TD Garden (Wed Oct 13th, 2010, 5:30pm – 7:15pm) Facebook Event Page

Upcoming: Springfield Ringling Circus Protest @ Mass Mutual Center (Thur Oct 14th, 2010, 5:30-7:00 pm & Sat Oct 16th, 2010, 12:30pm - 3:00pm.) Facebook Event Page

Press: Telegram & Gazette – Animals focus of protest

Cross-posted @ Vegworcester.com Blog

October Loving Hut Buffet w/ members of MARC

                                                      The October Loving Hut (Chandler St) VegWorcester fundraiser buffet was on Saturday. After the first circus showing protest (which I'll blog about later,) we all headed over for the $10 vegan meal. Our group arrived around 3:30pm and the place was packed! In fact every seat was filled and we had to wait a few minutes for people to finish eating to have a table cleared. It was great to see so many people out supporting veg businesses in Worcester. (The next Loving Hut buffet is Sat, Nov 13.)

I got a chance to hang with some friends and talk with Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition (MARC) Executive Director Helen about how she started the group and some of the current events they're hosting. If you're in MA definitely check out their website massanimalrights.org.  From the website: "MARC is a volunteer group that works to end suffering for all animals: "food animals", animals in laboratories and entertainment, companion animals, fur animals and other wildlife. MARC is the largest and most active animal rights group in Massachusetts, with over 2600 members."

Also be sure to check out Helen & Steve of MARC's animal sanctuary, Sunny Meadow Sanctuary. Join the Sunny Meadow Sanctuary Yahoo group and the MARC Yahoo group  to get email updates on upcoming outreach events!

Natural Living Expo

The Natural Living Expo came to Sturbridge, MA for the weekend of Sept 25-26, 2010. It is New England's largest holistic event with a huge variety of exhibitors/vendors, speakers, and cooking demos covering aspects of healthy mind, body spiritual, and green living.

I headed down Route 20 West to spend the weekend at the Natural Living Expo.  There were so many exhibitors there I found interesting but I'll just mention a few of the veg-oriented ones I checked out that relate to this blog. So, firstly I stopped by to visit Sproutman and buy a sprouting chart. Then I checked out the Hippocrates Health Institute exhibitors juicing up wheatgrass. One guy took a sip and was like "Yup, tastes like grass." Haha. I grabbed a freekin huge bag of samples from Go Mambo (Healthy and Natural Samples On The Move,) munched on some free vegan granola bars, and then washed it down with a sample of Mona Vie Superfruit Juice. I talked with the women of Revitalive Health & Wellness and Revitalive Cafe (Newburyport, MA) about raw & vegan foods and it reminded me of how damn anxious I am to visit the cafe! I wish I had  money to do a retreat at one of many health centers promoting.. Tons of yoga & meditation retreats, etc. Well, I had my own mini sensory retreat by sniffing all the amazing soaps from Sunny Window. Nancy of Sunny Window is from Southborough, MA but brings back French Lavender and also other ingredients from all over the world. I ended up buying the vegan African Black soap with Oats & Aloe because it just smelled sooo good. Green Hair Co. (538 Main St. Sturbridge, MA) was there selling organic, vegan shampoos & conditioners and promoting their new local salon where they use all of the organic products. Some other exhibitors I visited were The Peace Abbey (cruelty-free multi-faith retreat center,)  Mass Audubon (nature & wildlife conservation), Science Of Spirituality (vegetarian spiritual organization), and Leap Organics (natural vegan soaps.) I can't forget the complimentary Reiki session I had by Kelly and Ann (from Heart Of Reiki) at the Care Alternatives table. They were so kind and amazing - definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.

For my veg lunch at the Expo food court I had a vegetable wrap from The Publick House (Sturbridge, MA) with zucchini, summer squash, red & green peppers, asparagus and eggplant with olive oil. For my expo food court dinner I had some Loving Hut (Chandler St. Worcester) fried tofu with plum sauce. Instead of plastic forks & spoons at the expo food court, there was Vegware, natural starch cutlery which I found interesting. The food court area was set up right next to the cooking demos so it caught the interest of many who were eating lunch.

The cooking demos were inventive but easy to understand. Karen Masterson of Nourish Restaurant in Lexington, MA (and formerly of Big Fresh Café in Framingham) was making all kinds of delicious healthy eats on Saturday. Karen pointed out that she is frustrated with the rockstar chefs and raw "guru" types that seem to get so much publicity, when really anyone can be a star in their own kitchen with just a few ingredients. I enjoyed the 11am demo "Seasonal Salads and Easy, Fast Make-in-the-Bowl Dressing" where she made two easy salads with just a few vegan ingredients. The audience got to taste both salads and choose which add-ons they wanted such as garbanzo beans, avocado, cranberries or hemp seeds. It mirrored a lot of the salads I make at home and its just sooo easy to make something a little more fun than the typical garden salad. Sunday's cooking demo was Kripalu's Adrian Bennett making raw vegan dishes all day such as green smoothies, spring rolls, sweets and thai dishes! 

The speakers were one of the highlights for many people at the Expo. I watched 4 or 5 of the workshops/speakers but the keynote speaker I found most interesting was Brenda Cobb. I didn't end up watching her Saturday presentation because I'm already familiar with her story and her work, and although most all of the presentations were free, there were a few longer more involved sessions that cost extra to attend and hers was one of those. She spoke on both days and had a table set up with information about The Living Foods Institute. Cobb survived and healed from breast and cervical cancer without medicine or chemo, through eating a diet of vegan, raw and living foods. She has since authored nine books and shares her message about reversing aging, detoxification and healing from disease. I even saw her on the morning news recently talking about raw food. The Living Foods Institute is doing amazing work. Its reminds me much of what the Gerson Institute is doing for people with cancer.

I like chips, fries and soda as much as the next person and I eat a lot of processed and soy-based vegetarian products too, but I think its good to be aware of how these processed foods are contributing to bad health. That aside, the standard American diet is trash!!! Hence its nickname, S.A.D. People  with  these horrible diseases need to start becoming aware of how the junk they're eating is contributing to their cancer. Instead of buying dairy products, gums and candies with a pink ribbon on them to give money towards harsh medical treatments, start promoting raw living foods... just a thought.

Although the expo (sponsored by Spirit Of Change magazine) had many groups geared toward alternative avenues of spiritual living and health (psychic readings, astrology, angels, crystals, yoga & massage, etc.) there was a lot of organic and veg-talk going on. Some people are into going vegetarian/vegan for the animals, but there is definitely a growth in those who are interested solely for the benefits they're seeing from going organic and cutting out the amount of meat and dairy they consume.

The Natural Health Expo in Sturbridge is an annual event and will return in the fall of 2011.

Pet Rock Festival

Pet Rock Festival was this past weekend at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. It has been called "the largest animal expo on the East Coast," and takes place every year. I was excited to help out for a couple hours at the entrance passing out program guides and greeting human & animal guests alike.Well... Cmon, I was reallyyyyy there to snuggle dogs all day!

        Of course the stars of Pet Rock Festival are the doggies, but the animal welfare organizations doing outreach and fundraising are the true heroes! Among the many (100+)  organizations involved were Maple Farm Sanctuary, Rhode Island Vegan Awareness, New England Primate Sanctuary, The Humane Society, Worcester Animal Rescue League, Kitty   Angels, and Second Chance Animal Shelter.

        I saw more dogs in once place than I'd ever seen... all shapes, sizes, breeds, colors and personalities. There were booths with information for horse, rabbit & cat-people to check out too. Just scoping out the sweeet dogs was exciting enough, but the music, pet contests, pet parade and kids activities kept the crowd busy all afternoon. With the dog-kissing booth there was a chance to get a little romance in as well.

        The Pet Rock "food court" sponsored by the Boston Vegetarian Society included a variety of options. My picks: Cafe of India (Harvard Sq. Cambridge, MA,) and Loving Hut (Chandler St. Worcester, MA) which were both serving up the vegan goodness. For lunch I had a plate from Cafe Of India including rice and samosas with potatoes & veggies.

        Whether you are veg or just a dog lover, educating the community about responsible pet ownership and reducing the suffering of animals was an important   topic on everyone's minds this weekend at Pet Rock.

September Loving Hut Buffet

 September Loving Hut buffet VegWorcester fundraiser 

This month's Loving Hut (Chandler) buffet was great as always. The Fresh Loving Rolls and the Joyfut Satay were delicioussssness! Its always a pleasure to see familiar faces and eat the hell out of the scrumptious vegan food. Good times ;)

VegWorcester at Open Road Music & Arts Festival

When we heard Honor Roll Productions was putting together the Open Road Music & Arts Festival, VegWorcester was one of the first to jump in and take part in what is being described as "Worcester’s first sustainable and earth-friendly music and arts festival." Drew and I (Manda) were excited to partake in some vegan outreach and check out the first of what will become an annual event!

Worcester locals headed over to Institute Park this past Saturday, September 4th to enjoy a sunny afternoon of 10+ musical acts, visual arts, fun for the kids, vegetarian food and a vast array of eco-friendly vendors. Among the green-oriented goals of Open Road Festival was bio-diesel generated power for the sound system, recycle bins and organic/recycled promotional materials.

At the VegWorcester table we met many attendees and other vendors who were equally interested in environmental issues and the music as well as trying our free vegan food! At our table we gave out free samples of Thai Peanut and Teriyaki Primal Strips, a meatless vegan jerky voted best new vegetarian snack by VegNews magazine. We also handed out vegan dark chocolates by the company Endangered Species. Their chocolates are ethically-traded and 10% of net profits are donated to help support species, habitat and humanity. We even had some Oreo cookies to share with attendees, based on the thought that many people already eat them and are shocked to find out that they are veg-friendly!

Armed with brochures about reducing cruelty to animals and free vegetarian starter kits, we shared the message of living a veg lifestyle in Worcester and received great feedback and email list sign-ups. One couple said their son had become vegetarian in the past year and they were impressed by how naturally the transition had been. Other festival attendees said they enjoy veg food, but haven't made the jump to preparing and cooking the food themselves. I was excited to share my new Worcester-oriented vegan blog (http://vegpanda.blogspot.com,) hoping to inspire others to experiment with recipes or try some of Worcester's many vegan restaurant options.

Among the food vendors at Open Road were Loving Hut, a local vegan favorite, (located on Chandler St.) They served up a good mix of crispy appetizers to compliment the tasty rice & lo mein. (Be sure to come to one of the Loving Hut buffet VegWorcester fundraisers. They occur monthly and are only $10!) To add to our excitement about the veg food options on Saturday, there were delicious veggie dogs for sale at the cart parked just outside the gates! The avocado, tomato and onion toppings were a nice surprise and made for a unique vegan option that many seemed to enjoy.

Check out Worcester Mag's Open Road review online with a write-up towards the end about our table!

We are looking forward to the rest of the festival season in Worcester with Pet Rock Festival and stART On The Street later this month!

VegFest is overrrrrr!

Vegfest was awesome-ness. It was mos def a success with probably over a thousand (if not more) veg-lovin attendees. I spent most of the day workin' one of the VegWorcester tables and had a chance to talk with a lot of humans interested in veg food and animal rights. People seemed to be having a super fantastic time overall, and the sample tables were extremely busy. I took a lot of digital photos, which are being uploaded to the VegWorcester fan photos section of the facebook page.