The film focuses on the research of Dr. T. Colin Campbell from Cornell University. This year at the Worcester VegFest 2012 we had Dr. Campbell give a presentation (watch our video of his presentation). The room was packed all the way. There wasn’t even standing room left.

Watch the trailer for Forks Over Knives:

So if you still haven’t seen Forks Over Knives, now is your chance. This Shrewsbury Senior Center is located at 98 Maple Avenue (map).

We will also be announcing another screening in July in downtown Worcester, so keep checking here.

If you want to meet the VegWorcester crew, join us between 12:30 and 1:30. Don’t be shy!

In addition to our radio PSA that is running on WCHC 88.1FM and WCUW 91.3FM, we have an interview airing on WCCA TV Channel 13 in Worcester in April. Mike Benedetti (person to watch 2010, creator of the 508 podcast) and I went on Soapbox to talk to Mauro about how awesome the 2012 Worcester VegFest is going to be.

Watch the video of our conversation on youtube:

Mike and I also went on WCCA last year to talk about VegFest 2011, but this year this interview is way better. In our conversation with Mauro DePasquale, station manager at WCCA, we briefly talk about each of the 2012 VegFest speakers: T. Colin Campbell, Kathy Freston, Nathan Runkle, Marianne Sullivan, Jasmine Singer and Bruce Russell. I mention that there is going to be a moonbounce for kids and tons of vegan food for everyone. Towards the beginning, I actually mispoke. I said there will be 50 food exhibitors. There will definitely not be 50 food vendors this year, but there will be plenty. There will be 50-60 total exhibitors, with over a dozen of them offering free food samples or selling full plates.

We’re basically celebrities now. Bring your copy of this video in DVD or VHS form to VegFest on April 15 at Worcester Tech High and Mike and I will sign it for you. And for God’s sake, RSVP on facebook already.

This Wednesday, March 28 join us from 9pm-11pm, for a vegan bake sale at Moynihan’s Pub at  897 Main St, Worcester. The money raised will go towards the 2012 VegFest. The event will be happening during their regular Trivia Night.

Here’s the facebook event. And you can download the poster (pdf).

Worcester VegFest is Sunday, April 15, 2012 at Worcester Tech High from 11am-5pm. Check out WorcesterVegFest.com for more info. RSVP to the facebook event.

Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan will be speaking at the 3rd Annual Worcester VegFest!  Our Hen House, named the 2011 Indie Media Powerhouse by VegNews Magazine, produces multimedia resources that you can use in order to find your own way to change the world for animals.

Our Hen House’s mission is to “effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals.”  Our Hen House produces resources that you can use in order to find your own way to create change for animals.  Using video, audio, interviews, reviews, and the written word, it provides daily updates on what you need to create change.

More about Our Hen House…

In order to address the cruelty of animal food production, as well as other forms of animal exploitation, a mass movement is needed that reaches into the homes and working lives of vast numbers of individuals.

Currently, the work of animal advocacy organizations deals primarily with educating people about the conditions within which animals exist, encouraging followers to make individual dietary and other lifestyle changes, and providing opportunities for involvement, primarily for top-down organizational campaigns based in legislative proposals and policy initiatives.

Our Hen House builds on the work being done by those advocacy groups to truly catalyze a mass movement in which individuals do not merely follow the leadership of animal advocacy organizations, but also take personal responsibility for leading the way to a new world in which the exploitation of animals is recognized as no longer necessary for human progress and must come to an end.

With our primary goal being to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, we showcase opportunities for individuals who care to start changing the world.

Our Hen House has a daily blog, weekly podcast, a video page and more. Check it out at http://www.ourhenhouse.org

Worcester VegFest – April 15, 11am-5pm, at Worcester Tech High

Don’t miss Jasmin Singer & Mariann Sullivan of Our Hen House at the Worcester VegFest on April 15 at Worcester Tech High. 11am-5pm. Jasmin Singer & Mariann Sullivan will join Kathy Freston, T. Colin Campbell and Nathan Runkle, all speaking at the event! This is going to be amazing!

RSVP to Worcester VegFest 2012 on Facebook!

3 Simple Rules

• All dishes entered must be vegan. That means don’t use any animal products. Forego dairy, meat and eggs. Simple.
• Dishes must include some kind of pasta and some kind of cheese-like thing. The rest is up to you. Let’s see some really creative and delicious dishes.
• One entry per person. You can only enter one dish in the competition. You can enter as a group, if you want.

Judging

Winners will be decided by popular vote. Everyone gets a ballot, whether or not they are entering a dish. Voting will be further explained at the event.

Prizes – aka Bling

• First place – a diamond-studded MACNCHZ belt buckle (see above). You get the title of “The MacDaddy”.
• Second place – vegan cookbook
• Third place – honorable mention

Need more info? Check the main MacDaddy page: http://VegWorcester.com/MacDaddy

Have you RSVP’ed to the MacDaddy on facebook yet? Do it!

T. Colin Campell’s impact cannot be understated. His research has played a huge part in why veganism is being discussed on CNN, why we keep hearing that veganism is now mainstream, why a handful of public figures have recently gone vegan, and why veganism is increasingly being discussed as a healthier way to live. Campbell’s legacy, The China Study played an important role in inspiring Bill Clinton to go vegan. Campbell and his research were the focus of the film, Forks Over Knives, which got an amazing review from Robert Ebert and the Boston Globe wrote a good review of it too. Campbell has successfully introduced the health arugment for a plant-based diet to thousands and thousands people.

Read Campbell’s full bio at WorcesterVegFest.com and keep checking our blog to get updates about presenters, sponsors and exhibitors.

His bio from WorcesterVegFest.com:

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. is a giant in the field of nutrition research, with a brilliant career spanning over 40 years.  His legacy, the China Study, is the most comprehensive study ever conducted of the connection between diet and disease. The China Study was the focus of the recent film, Forks Over Knives. Dr. Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and Project Director of the renowned China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project, the largest population study in world history of the effects of diet on health.  The study was the culmination of a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine.  The results were clear: People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease, and the closer you get to eating an all-plant diet, the greater the health benefits.

read the rest of his bio at WorcesterVegFest.com

Oh and have you RSVP’ed to VegFest on facebook yet? Do it, dude!

What can I do?

Between now and April, we need peeps to help us put up posters, design flyers, set up tables at events, prepare mailings, call people, make buttons, paint banners and signs, and lots of other crafty things.

Volunteer Work-Party Schedule

All work parties will have tasty (and free) vegan snacks. We’ll have projects ready, so no need to bring anything. Feel free to drop in for one or all of these.

• Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7pm-9pm at WPI in the Taylor Room in the Campus Center – come meet some of the VegFest organizers
• Thursday, February 9, 2012 7pm-9pm at WPI in the Taylor Room in the Campus Center
• Thursday, February 23, 2012 7pm-9pm at WPI in the Taylor Room in the Campus Center
• Thursday, March 1, 2012 7pm-9pm at 23 Barber Ave, Apt 2, Worcester
• Thursday, March 8, 2012 7pm-9pm at 23 Barber Ave, Apt 2, Worcester
• Thursday, March 15, 2012 7pm-9pm at 23 Barber Ave, Apt 2, Worcester
• Thursday, March 29, 2012 7pm-9pm at 23 Barber Ave, Apt 2, Worcester
• Thursday, April 5, 2012 7pm-9pm at 23 Barber Ave, Apt 2, Worcester
• Thursday, April 12, 2012 7pm-9pm at 23 Barber Ave, Apt 2, Worcester
• Sunday, April 15, 2012 Worcester VegFest at Worcester Technical High School

Help us recruit volunteers.

Can’t make it to our volunteer work parties? Well, we could also use help printing and hanging up these flyers to recruit volunteers. Print out this PDF volunteer flyer and hang it up at your work, at coffee shops, where ever you can.

So, the new year is already in full force and you’ve likely started your new year’s resolution of cutting cheese out of your diet or turning your Meatless Mondays into Meatless Everyday. Heck, maybe you’re already vegan and your goal is to finally make that taco recipe from Terry Hope Romero’s Viva Vegan or spend some time volunteering at Maple Farm Sanctuary.

VegWorcester is setting our goals for the new year as well and we’re getting psyched to make some big announcements soon about our upcoming VegFest. It got us thinking; maybe we should briefly pause to reflect on the kick ass things that happened during the last 12 months in the microcosm of Worcester from a veg-head point of view. So, here goes…

In 2011…

• VegWorcester started the year off strong by hosting our second Mac Daddy Mac N’ Cheeze Cook-off, and the winner was WooDaddy Waffles!
• Duck Yao, the formerly underground vegan eatery made a comeback in Worcester, opening a small sit-in and take-out restaurant on Main Street in Worcester.
• VegWorcester members took trips to view veg-themed films such as Forks Over Knives in Boston and a showing of Bold Native at WPI in Worcester.
• In April, VegWorcester hosted the 2nd annual Worcester VegFest. We estimate that approximately 3,000 attendees came to the event at Worcester State University that included speakers Bruce Friedrich, Tracye McQuirter, Will Potter, and an awesome cooking demo by Terry Hope Romero. We had family-friendly performances, 40+ ethical and cruelty-free exhibitors, coverage in a variety of online/print/news media, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
• After a city-wide crackdown on curiously tasty vegan cupcakes (Okay, we’re exaggerating there,)VegWorcester’s vegan bake sale fundraiser was shut down. In response, we took it upon ourselves to legalize bake sales in the city of Worcester.
• VegWorcester started a more regular monthly general volunteer meeting where we discuss ideas for vegan outreach and invite anyone who is interested to join us and get involved.
• VegWorcester raised money with your help and created a snazzy updated Summer version of the Worcester Vegetarian Dining Guide. 5,000 copies were distributed over the summer around Worcester County. 5,000 more copies of a newly updated Fall version of the guide have also now been distributed in the thousands! …..Wow!
• Volunteers leafleted at local universities and events, and did a ton of tabling outreach at just about every summer and fall festival in out city including the 3th Annual Pet Rock Festival, Start on The Street: Spring Edition, 2011 Fall StART On The Street, King St. Block Party, Open Road Festival, 21st Century Worcester Pride, Main Street Celebrates, and more.
• As a community with many animal activists, we joined with other local groups and protested Ringling Circus, Fur as “fashion,” McDonalds cruelty, and other animal abuses.
• Local animal rights defenders such as Michael Budkie of SAEN and Alexis Fox of The Humane Society came to Worcester to educate about abuses in our own state and what we can do as a community to have the most impact.
• In the fall many of us enjoyed vegan “Thanks-living” celebrations such as the free SAVVY Vegan Thanksgiving at Clark University.
• Loving Hut celebrated 2 years of Loving Hut Buffet fundraisers, and continued to donate 10% of buffet profits to VegWorcester to support our outreach to help animals.
• Finally, to close out the year with a bang, VegWorcester hosted its 1st annual Holiday Vegan Cookie Swap complete with a vegan Santa. We had 24 entrants with bakers swapping over 1,500 vegan cookies!

If you’re interested in getting involved with VegWorcester or the 3rd annual Worcester VegFest, come to our General – Volunteer Meeting this Tuesday, January 17th @ WPI (Taylor Room – Campus Ctr) from 7pm~8:30pm and we’ll get you up to speed on what we have planned for 2012!

We’re meeting at WPI in the Taylor Room in the Campus Center at 7pm. See you then?

Here’s the fb event: https://www.facebook.com/events/254623084607588/