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.” We 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 natural 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!

]]> http://VegWorcester.com/2010/09/06/vegworcester-at-open-road-music-arts-festival/feed/ 0 http://VegWorcester.com/2010/08/30/got-any-veg-friendly-restaurant-tips/ http://VegWorcester.com/2010/08/30/got-any-veg-friendly-restaurant-tips/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:24:29 +0000 Drew http://VegWorcester.com/?p=2726 It’s time to revamp our popular veg dining guide. Got any tips on good restaurants?

Finding tasty vegan food at restaurants is rarely a problem, especially in Worcester. These days nearly every restaurant has good veg options on their menu. Last Spring VegWorcester printed a large number of veg dining guides and distributed them to curious Worcesterites. We are now on the third annual printing of the Guide to Vegetarian Dining in Worcester. Want to help? Look through our online listing at VegWorcester.com/restaurants and see if there are any good spots missing. Send any tips to info@VegWorcester.com or comment below.

2009 Edition: A Huge Success

Last year’s print edition featured 26 listings and a handful of events. We distributed a total of 8,000 copies–5,000 full color copies and 3,000 black and white copies.  These guides are a great tool for showing Worcesterites that being vegan is an easy way to help animals and the reduce our ecological impact. It’s also a great way to send some love to local biz that feature vegan items on their menus.

Over the course of a year, we handed out the 8k guides while tabling at community events, at shows, on college campuses, in Worcester highschools, at our vegan feed-in’s, and at lots of other events. You can download a pdf of last year’s guide.

Going bigger, going bolder

This year we’re going bigger with the guide. To start, we’re going to double our color printing to 10,000 copies. That means that as we get closer to publishing it, we’re going to need to ask more of y’all to step up and volunteer to distribute it. Look out for more details soon.

Post your tips!

So if you know any solid, veg-friendly restaurants, cafes, bakeries or other spots in the Worcester area, post them here. Or send an email to info@VegWorcester.com.

The Vegan Bus crew is coming to Worcester this Sunday, August 29 to give away free samples of vegan baked goods in Elm Park, play some music, then go to Loving Hut for a special lunch and short presentation. You should come out for the fun. Meet them in Elm Park at 11am or swing by Loving Hut on Chandler at Noon for a presentation and lunch. (See schedule below.)

Based out of Northampton, MA, The Vegan Bus is a big old school bus that drives around to community events, advocating veganism. They giving out free sample of tasty food (much like our vegan “feed-ins” in Worcester) and encourage people to think of the animals confined in factory farms. The bus itself runs on waste vegetable oil, collected from local restaurants.

What’s the Vegan Bus All About?

If you’ve been to Loving Hut in Worcester, you’ve no doubt caught a glimpse of Supreme Master TV (SMTV). With two giant flat-screens playing it all the time, it’s hard to miss. SMTV recently did a short film about the vegan bus that explains what the project is all about. They’ll be showing it at the Sunday event, but you can also check out the video on the TheVeganBus.com.

Coming to Worcester This Sunday

Loving Hut on Chandler is celebrating by having a a vegan feast, featuring special items that don’t normally appear on their menu. The meal will be buffet style. The bus crew will be giving a short presentation on their work and Loving Hut will be presenting the vegan bus with a $1,500 donation. Hopefully, this event will include a comically large check.

Schedule

• 9:00 AM: Leave Northampton
• 11:00 AM: Vegan Bus Activity at Elm Park with vegan treats, performances & leafleting.
• 12:00PM: Vegan Bus showing in front of Loving Hut
• 12:30PM: Lunch at Loving Hut
• 1:00PM: Donation presentation
• 1:15PM: Speech from the Vegan Bus
• 2-3 PM: Leave Worcester

Facebook event

RSVP to the facebook event, and invite your friends.

Want to help give out info about factory farming and vegetarianism in Worcester? Leave a comment here or email volunteer@VegWorcester.com. There are a couple of opportunities coming up this month.

It’s difficult to measure the progress of the social movements, but this bestseller list is a glimpse into the collective consciousness. If these books are any indication, the question, “How do our food choices impact the environment, animals, and our health?” is becoming a major priority.

It’s about time we start seriously thinking about how to end factory farming. In the United States, over 10 billion animals are confined in tight cages on factory farms and die brutal deaths in slaughterhouses.  Theses factory farms aren’t just bad for animals, they produce so much methane that they are the principal cause of global climate change.

Buying a vegan cookbook isn’t going to tear down factory farming, but the fact that these books are becoming popular is a good indication that these ideas are gaining some traction.

Giving out vegan outreach flyers is an easy way to encourage people to consider vegetarianism and consider the animals who are systematically abused for meat, dairy, and eggs.

And it can make a big impact. A number of WPI kids read through the booklet right in front of us and asked good questions about factory farming and vegetarianism. Of course most people don’t read a single flyer and decide to immediately become vegan, but even in this 1 hour we heard from people who had been impacted by the images in the booklet and the info they read. One person said she would try going veg for a month. Another student said he would try being vegetarian for two days a week: Mondays and Thursdays (yes, he told us which days).

If you’re interested in learning more about leafleting and veg outreach, you’ll definitely need to come to the Worcester VegFest on Saturday, April 17 at Worcester State College. Jon Camp, director of outreach for Vegan Outreach will be there to talk about his organization and their strategy for challenging factory farming.

Want to help us leaflet next time?
Keep an eye on the VegWorcester blog. There will be definitely opportunities to join VegWorcester members handing out flyers at shows or on college campuses.

I posted some photos from the day’s outreach on the VegWorcester flickr page.

This Thursday (February 11) VegWorcester is holding the first volunteer work-party meeting at 5:30pm (RSVP to the facebook event). We are meeting at Kaylee’s home, 23 Barber Ave, Worcester (map). We’ll spend the time preparing outreach materials, eating snacks, and making signs. Should be a fun time!

We will likely be doing many more of these volunteer workparties in the lead up to the VegFest, which is happening on Saturday, April 17. If you are interested in volunteering either in the days leading up to the VegFest or on the day-of, email our volunteer coordinator Kaylee: kaylee@VegWorcester.com.

Mike and Brendan discuss how Richard Feynman’s concept of cargo cults relates to activism and Worcester’s vegetarian renaissance. Mike’s analogy raises a question that we need to be constantly asking ourselves about VegWorcester’s organizing: Are the tactics we are employing working? The vegan feed-ins, publishing & distributing the guide to veg-friendly restaurants in Worcester, organizing a vegetarian festival, tabling at shows, working with local biz to add vegan options, the animal lib theory & action group… Are these helping us achieve our goal of building a world where animals are not abused for food? When do our tactics become empty rituals? Well, Mike seems impressed by VegWorcester so far.

If you haven’t see it yet, definitely check out this week’s 508 video podcast.

Today’s vegan donut feed-in went really well! We gave out about 100 donut samples and flyers about the campaign to get Dunkin Donuts to add vegan donuts. We were out there urging Dunkin Donuts to quit supporting animal cruelty at egg factory farms. We met some vegetarians and vegan who were excited to see us out there, some Dunkin customers were shocked to see images of the inside of DD’s egg-suppliers. Everything went really smoothly, despite a little hassle from a cop who was a tad grumpy about not getting his donuts fast enough. (No joke.)

I just posted some photos on the VegWorcester flickr page.

Greg took some sweet photos too, which I will post soon.

UPDATE: Greg’s kick-ass photos are now in the Feed-in flickr photo set.

This Wednesday morning at 9am, join VegWorcester and Compassion Over Killing for a vegan feed-in outside of one the Dunkin’ Donuts location in downtown Worcester, the corner of Main St & Pleasant St.

From 9am to 10am we’ll be handing out free samples of vegan donuts and baked goods, while urging Worcesterites to ask Dunkin’ Donuts to offer egg- and dairy-free donuts.

Leave a comment here or email drew@VegWorcester.com if you want to help out.

Why Dunkin’ Donuts?

In August 2009, Compassion Over Killing went undercover and gathered video footage at Michael Foods, the factory-farming company that supplies DD with their eggs. This is what C.O.K. investigators found:

• Hens immobilized in the wires of their cages, unable to access food or water.
• Decomposing and “mummified” corpses left in cages with live birds.
• Birds suffering from overcrowding, severe feather loss, and untreated injuries.

At the Wednesday vegan feed-in, we’ll be distributing information about Compassion Over Killing’s Dunkin’ Cruelty campaign along with yummy vegan baked goods.

What are those details?

Where: In front of Dunkin’ Donuts at 421 Main St., Worcester, MA (map)
When: Wed., Jan. 27 from 9am to 10am.
Why: Donuts!