Twin Cities Veg Fest will be here before we know it, and we hope you’ve got the date in your calendar. Just in case you need a reminder, it’s Saturday, September 9 from 11am to 5pm at Como Park in St. Paul!

You’ll be hearing a lot about the festival in the next couple months, but for now we want you to know about the opportunity to sign up to be an exhibitor. When you exhibit at the Twin Cities Veg Fest, you get to share your brand or organization with more than 5,000 people!

Also, now’s the time to sign up to be a festival sponsor. As a sponsor, your business or organization will get all sorts of special recognition and various opportunities to connect with festival attendees. Through your sponsorship, you’ll also help to make the festival a big success, and the community will appreciate you for your generous support.

If you know of a local vegan-friendly business or organization that might be a good candidate to exhibit or sponsor, please let me know. I’d love to get in touch with them.

We’re looking forward to a truly awesome Twin Cities Veg Fest and hope you are too!

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

P.S. We hope to see you this weekend at the Pride festival in Loring Park. We’ll be doing outreach there, and our booth will be #0106 in the orange zone between the tennis courts and the dog park. Stop by and say hello!

We’re very excited to share that CAA is teaming up with the Animal Rights Coalition to host a potluck picnic for the animal-friendly community on Sunday, July 2 from 11am to 2pm. Save the date! We’re calling it “Celebrate America—Vegan Style!”

Find us in the Wabun D pavilion in Minnehaha Park.

Your hosts will provide veggie burgers, buns, and all the fixings. Here’s what you can bring:

• If your last name begins with letters A-F: salad
• If your last name begins with letters G-L: side dish
• If your last name begins with letters M-S: dessert
• If your last name begins with letters T-Z: beverage

Make sure whatever you bring is vegan (no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey).

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate Independence Day than with compassionate cuisine and compassionate community. We hope you’ll join us!

RSVP on our Facebook event page and invite your friends and family—vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore. All are welcome!

Best wishes,

Justin Leaf

Hi!

While Laura is on vacation, the next few Weekly Updates will be from me, Communications & Events Coordinator for CAA.

This week, I’m sharing a list of all the CAA events for the month of June, including a vegan potluck at the home of Paula and Nathan Heurkamp on the 13th and a very special dine out with Root to Rise on the 25th. Register today for the dine out—only 8 spots left!

Also, in addition to these fun, community-building activities, we’ve got outreach. Next Wednesday the 14th, we’ll have a kick-off for weekly leafleting for the summer. Then at the end of the month, we’ve got pay-per-view and virtual reality outreach at the Pride Festival.

We hope you’ll join us for these and other upcoming events, taking action for animals all summer long.

Best wishes,

Justin Leaf

June Events

• June Potluck: Vegan BBQ
  • Tuesday, June 13, 6:30 – 9:00pm
  • The home of Paula and Nathan Huerkamp (Email Justin for the address.)
  • RSVP on the Facebook event page.
• Summer Leafleting Kick-Off
  • Wednesday, June 14, 6:00 – 8:00pm
  • Minnehaha Park
  • Sign up now!
• Bridges of Respect: Vegan Food Giveaway
  • Thursday, June 15, 9:55 – 11:10am
  • Sandberg Learning Center, Golden Valley
  • To sign up, contact Shannon Kimball at [email protected].
• Virtual Reality Volunteer Orientation
  • Thursday, June 15, 7:00 – 8:00pm
  • CAA Community Space, 2100 1st Avenue South
  • Sign up now!
• Virtual Reality Volunteer Orientation
  • Saturday, June 17, 10:00 – 11:30am
  • CAA Community Space, 2100 1st Avenue South
  • Sign up now!
• Pride Festival Outreach
  • Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25, 9:30am – 6:00pm
  • Loring Park, Minneapolis
  • Sign up now!
• June Dine Out: Root to Rise – New Orleans Vegan
  • Sunday, June 25, 6:30 – 9:30pm
  • Kellogg Square Apartments in St. Paul
  • Preregistration is required. Register today!
• Bridges of Respect: Vegan Food Giveaway
  • Monday, June 26, 7:00 – 8:10pm
  • Sandberg Learning Center, Golden Valley
  • To sign up, contact Shannon Kimball at [email protected].

I’m thrilled to share that we’ve just announced the winners of our 2017 Twin Cities Veggie Awards!

Here they are:

• Best Vegan Breakfast/Brunch: Modern Times Cafe
• Best Vegan Lunch/Dinner: Reverie Cafe + Bar
• Best Vegan Options after 10pm: Masu Sushi & Robata
• Best Vegan Sweets: Milkjam Creamery
• Best Vegan Product: Grlk Sauce

• Special Citation: J. Selby’s

Learn more about these winners on our blog, and see the list of finalists there too.

Of course, our panel had a lot to choose from, and the decision wasn’t easy. The Twin Cities vegan scene is growing, and we are happy to support that growth, making it easier for more and more people to choose delicious plant-based food and other excellent vegan products.

We know hope you’ll support these winning businesses as well as the many other vegan-friendly options in the Twin Cities and beyond.

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

We’ve got community!

What does that mean? It means that unlike bigger, nationally focused organizations, we have an ongoing relationship with individual community members.

And what’s the benefit of that? As our newest board member Abraham Rowe puts it, “CAA is in a unique position to connect with its community in a way that really addresses the critical issue of recidivism in vegan diets. We can follow up with folks after giving them a leaflet and invite them to join community so they feel support and continue moving toward a plant-based diet.” (Read more about Abraham here.)

At the same time, we have strong relationships with and appreciation for national organizations, such as Mercy for Animals, Compassion Over Killing, Vegan Outreach, VegFund, The Humane League, and the Farm Animal Rights Movement. They generously share resources with us, and we provide volunteers at local events where they’ll have a presence, such as outreach at the Warped Tour in July. I hope you’ll consider joining us there.

I feel very inspired when I think about how all of us have a place in the global movement that’s making a difference for farmed animals. Thank you for being a vital part of that movement.

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

P.S. Speaking of collaboration, please take a moment sign this petition to stop the high-speed slaughter of pigs created by our friends at Compassion Over Killing.

Recently, we’ve been digging into strategic planning for CAA, envisioning the future of our local, grassroots organization for the next few years and beyond. Read all about it here and get a sense of where we are with the process.

As we consider how we can do more for the animals, I’ve been thinking more about the power of community. Through coming together, we can surely have the biggest impact.

This teamwork was evident in the past few weeks at the MayDay Festival, Cinco de Mayo, and the Vegan Pancake Feed-In, where our dedicated volunteers connected with hundreds of people, showing them the problems with animal agriculture and how they can help change the system through choosing a plant-based diet.

Of course, expanding our reach in the community means understanding that not everyone has easy access to plant-based food. Our latest blog post features CAA volunteer Jenell Holden, who also volunteers with Sisters’ Camelot to make vegan food more available. Read all about it and imagine the ways that we can expand our reach and build a compassionate community that truly includes everyone.

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

Join us on Saturday for our annual Vegan Pancake Feed-In at University Baptist Church from 11am to 1pm.

This is a great chance to hang out with the vegan community, and it’s also a perfect opportunity to introduce your omnivore friends and family to plant-based food. Please invite them!

The pancakes are free, and we’ll also provide the coffee. We just ask that attendees bring a vegan breakfast dish to share.

We may run out of pancakes, so we encourage you to arrive on the early side to guarantee that you get some. We’ll have a gluten-free pancake option, but we can’t promise there won’t be trace amounts of gluten in the batter.

Please join us! We would love to see you (and your friends!) there.

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

P.S. We welcome more volunteers for this event. Sign up now!

I want to make sure you know about our CAA Camping Trip at Elm Creek Park Reserve, May 19-21. Join us!

Our camping trips are always a lot of fun, allowing us to spend quality time in nature with other members of our community. We’ll have a variety of activities and some good vegan food to enjoy.

Preregistration is required by Sunday, May 14. This is a sliding scale event with a suggested donation of $20 per person to cover campsite, food, and materials.

Want to bike there with me? I’ll be leading a group on Friday morning, meeting up with drivers at the site around 3pm.

Also, we could use a few volunteers. Let me know if you’d like to help out for this.

And heads up! CAA will be doing outreach at Cinco de Mayo and at the MayDay Festival this weekend. Be sure to stop by our table and say hello, and look for the CAA float in the MayDay Parade!

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

P.S. Be sure you’ve got our Vegan Pancake Feed-In on your calendar. It’s coming up on Saturday, May 13! RSVP to the Facebook event page and invite all of your friends.

Our student volunteers are so very enthusiastic that they’ve made a CAA float for the MayDay parade! Be sure to check it out on Sunday, May 7 at the parade and then visit our booth at the MayDay Festival, where we’ll be doing both pay-per-view and virtual reality outreach.

Also in May, we’ll be doing outreach for the first time ever at Cinco de Mayo. We’re very excited for that and also for our Camping Trip at Elm Creek Park Reserve and our Vegan Pancake Brunch Feed-In. More details about these and other upcoming events can be found below.

I also want to say a big thanks to all who joined us for our Annual Banquet last Saturday. We’re very grateful for everyone’s support, and there were a lot of people who gave that support, from the attendees and volunteers to our presenters and sponsors. Thank you, all!

I’m happy to share that we raised an unprecedented $9,000 at this year’s banquet! Those funds will be put to good use, allowing us to speak out for the animals, expanding our reach, and helping to create a more compassionate world for all. Check out this slideshow of pictures from the event and please continue to be a part of our community in whatever ways you can. We treasure you!

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

May Events

• Cinco de Mayo and Virtual Reality Outreach
  • Saturday, May 6, all day
  • Parque Castillo, St. Paul
  • In addition to conducting virtual reality outreach, we’ll be passing out copies of La Guía Vegetariana Para Principantes (Vegetarian Starter Guide), and we’ll need people to staff our table and transport materials to and from the event.
  • Spanish speaking volunteers are especially encouraged to apply.
  • If you’d like to help with virtual reality, you’ll need to get training for it at our Virtual Reality Volunteer Orientation on Thursday, April 27 at 6pm or to have attended a previous virtual reality training.
  • To sign up, contact Laura Matanah at [email protected].
• Virtual Reality and Pay-Per-View at the MayDay Festival
  • Sunday, May 7, 11:30am – 4:00pm
  • Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis
  • We’ll be paying people one dollar to watch a five-minute video about factory farming and conducting Virtual Reality outreach.
  • If you’d like to help with virtual reality, you’ll need to get training for it at our Virtual Reality Volunteer Orientation on Thursday, April 27 at 6pm or to have attended a previous virtual reality training.
  • To sign up, contact Laura Matanah at [email protected].
• May Dine Out: J. Selby’s – Preregistration required
  • Tuesday, May 9, 7:00 – 9:00pm
  • 169 N. Victoria Street, St. Paul
  • Preregistration for this event has already filled up, but if you’d like to get on the waiting list, please contact Justin at [email protected].
• Vegan Pancake Brunch Feed-In
  • Saturday, May 13, 11:00am – 1:00pm
  • Vegan pancakes and coffee will be provided. Please bring a vegan breakfast dish to share. (This is a first-come, first-served feed-in. We may run out of pancakes!)
  • University Baptist Church
  • Please RSVP on the Facebook event page or email Justin at [email protected].
  • Would you like to volunteer for this event? To sign up, contact Rachel at [email protected].
• CAA Camping Trip
  • Friday, May 19 – Sunday, May 21
  • Elm Creek Park Reserve, Rush Creek Group Camp
  • Help out on the trip! Can you make meals, lead activities, and haul equipment to the site? CAA will reimburse you for any costs.
  • Lend a few supplies! Do you have extra tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags? Even if you’re not coming on the trip, your extra supplies could be useful for attendees who don’t own their own camping supplies.
  • To sign up, contact Laura Matanah at [email protected].

It’s a huge week for CAA and for our compassionate community as a whole.

Not only is it VegWeek with our many outreach activities, but it’s also the opening week for St. Paul’s new vegan restaurant, J. Selby’s. Be sure you check them out and support the growing number of vegan businesses in the Twin Cities. (And don’t miss our VegWeek screening of Vegucated: The Movie, tomorrow night at Coffman Union!)

Then to finish off this week, we’ve got our Annual Banquet at the Wellstone Center. We’ll have a gourmet meal with vegan meats and cheeses generously provided by The Herbivorous Butcher. The menu is inspired by Jewish and Middle Eastern cuisine. Just take a look at the deliciousness we’ve got in store for you:

• Open-Faced Pastrami and Cheese Reuben
• Matzoh Ball Chicken Soup
• Herbivorous Butcher Brisket with Carrot-Onion Gravy
• Potato Kugel
• Roasted Broccoli with Toum (Lebanese Garlic Mayo)

Remember, that’s all vegan! Plus, you’ll have copious appetizers, desserts, complimentary wine, beer, and other beverages. Gluten-free options are available, too.

It’s sure to be a fun night with glamorous Mistress Ginger as your emcee. And there will be a silent auction that includes this amazing auction item: a two night stay at The Stanford Inn by the Sea in Mendocino, California. Also, there will be live music during the reception and an inspiring presentation by members of our community.

The banquet is a fantastic opportunity to support our organization, and just a few tickets are still available. Get yours before they’re gone!

We hope to see you there.

With the animals,

Laura Matanah

P.S. Take action for animals today! Right now, some Minnesota legislators are pushing a harmful proposal that gives sweeping legal protection to large factory farms at the expense of rural Minnesotans. HF 1717 would give large-scale hog and cattle farms, with thousands of animals, increased protection from nuisance lawsuits, leaving residents with the option of either suffering these conditions or moving. Please make a brief, polite call today to Gov. Mark Dayton at (651) 201-3400 and then please call your state senator.  Find your state senator here.