First and foremost, we would like to thank each and every one of you who took the time out this past weekend to attend our Vegan Dinner, Brunch, and Market at Avenue le Club. We hope you had as much as an amazing time as we did and we are definitely looking forward to working with Avenue in the future!
As for this weeks events, we start across the Hudson with Monday evening's The Burger Supremacy 2019. VSpot Organic will be hosting this event. New York City's fiercest plant-based burger competition includes 8+ plant-based burgers, in styles both gourmet and everyday. Come try them all and vote on your favorite.
Are you an entrepreneur? Interested in launching/running a restaurant? Tuesday brings us Conversations with Vegan Restaurateurs. Join VEGPRENEUR for an evening of networking and a panel with vegan restaurateurs running some of the hottest vegan spots in NYC. Networking begins at 6:30 and the panel will start at 7:00.
Wrapping up our trio of mid-week NYC events, Archstratus Books & Foods will be hosting a Sicilian Vegan Dinner on Thursday, March 28th. An evening of family-style food inspired by Nonna consisting of three courses. This event is NOT BYOB, but alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase. Advanced tickets can be purchased here.
We then head into the weekend with some help from Anonymous for the Voiceless. They will be hosting a Cube of Truth on Friday, March 29th. The event will be taking place at Veterans Memorial Park in Nyack, NY. The Cube of Truth is a peaceful static demonstration akin to an art performance. This demonstration operates in a structured manner that triggers curiosity and interest from the public; we attempt to lead bystanders to a vegan conclusion through a combination of local standard-practice animal exploitation footage and conversations with a value-based sales approach. Black upper clothing appropriate for the weather is essential, and please bring a fully charged laptop or tablet if you have one. Links for downloading materials can be found on the Facebook Event page. You can also see Tom Wramage's (organizer for New Brunswick and Jersey City chapters) guest blog about his experience with Anonymous for the Voiceless here.
Homemade Betty will have a Zero Waste Eco Friendly Class on Friday as well. In this class, you will learn how to make household products and learn more about living a Zero Waste life! Lessons include: dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, cleaning sprays and so much more. Rebecca has been on a zero waste journey for over 10 years. With a family of 5 she is self taught in creating easy and healthy options for the whole household. Space is limited and tickets can be purchased here.
The Rutgers Veg Society will have a 7:00pm showing of Cowspiracy on Friday night in the Cook Student Center of the New Brunswick campus. Demosthenes Maratos, who is featured in the film, will also be in attendance.
A Positive Potluck will also take place Friday night. This event is presented by the George Street Co-Op in New Brunswick. The Co-op is a vegetarian space, so please bring only vegetarian or vegan foods that are pre-made. You may use the cafe oven to heat up your dish If needed. Please RSVP at least a day or two in advance if possible and bring something to serve at least 5-10 people.
Columbia Vegan Society is excited to host a two day professional communication workshop focused on Animal Rights, facilitated by Amazing Vegan Outreach. This will take place at Columbia University on Saturday, March 30th and Sunday, March 31st. AVO provides activists with a professional communication skillset to increase success rates in one-on-one, vegan outreach conversations. Adapted from corporate sales trainings, this workshop is intended for activists who engage in street outreach, VR Outreach, and conversations with friends, co-workers, and family. If you would like to get more people to go vegan on the spot, or agree to take challenge22, do not miss this training! Registration is required and can be found on the event's Facebook page.
For those on the very southern tip of our beautiful state, Sea Shepherd Philadelphia will be hosting a beach cleanup at the Cape May Nature Center on Saturday. Volunteers will be meeting at the Nature Center for cleaning the harbor and Bay Beach. If time allows, the group will head over to the ocean for a sweep of the beach.
The New York Chapter of Direct Action Everywhere will be demonstrating and protesting against Whole Foods at the Starbucks located at 229 7th Ave. They are requesting all hands on deck for this action, which will be covered during the briefing. There will be signs, speak outs, chanting, and more. Further information can be found here.
Calling all women & people who support women! It's the Women in Veganism Market brought to you by Vegan Ventures. This market will feature 100% women owned businesses dealing with vegan/ plant-based food and products. Sunday, March 31st, 2019 is the date. 21 Ludlow St in the Lower East Side section of NYC. Doors open at 12 noon- 8pm at $6 entrance fee. Not only will you get your vegan on but you can also purchase natural body, care, and household products that are cruelty-free. In addition, there will be guest speakers, food & product demos, yoga class, a waist bead workshop, female DJ dance party segment, complimentary wine & kombucha and more! Tickets can be purchased here and 20% of ticket sales will be donated to the La Finca Del Sur, a farm located in the Bronx.
Plants for Peace will be hosting their next vegan potluck on Sunday March 31, 2019 at 12:00 PM- 3:00 PM in Magill Commons Dining, Club Dining at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. Guest speaker, Professor Randall S. Abate will be giving a presentation on Animal and Environmental Law. Each Individual must bring their own vegan meal to share. The vegan potluck will begin being served at 12:45 pm. Please arrive early to help set up, if you can. Please RSVP to Jessica Henry at s1186848@monmouth.edu to book your seat! The event is FREE and open to the public.
Finally, the Jersey Shore chapter of Food Not Bombs will be feeding those in need at the Asbury Park Train Station between 3:00 and 4:00. If you want to donate something, contact them via their Facebook page or by emailing them at jerseyshorefoodnotbombs@yahoo.com. The Jersey City chapter meets at the Journal Square plaza at noon every Sunday. For donations, contact them via their Facebook page or at foodnotbombsjc@gmail.com.
Vegan in NJ events scheduled (*must be a member of the Facebook group to view private events):
12/14 Vegan Market (coming soon)
Vegan in NJ is raising money through Crowdrise for Skylands Animal Sanctuary. We also have some new team members that can be found on our Crowdrise. If you are interested in signing up for the 5k and donating/joining our team to fundraise, please send me an email for your discount code for the race and proof of donation/team sign up! Proceeds from our apparel, which are available with our official design (thanks Lisette!) are available on Teespring!
If you are hosting an event or know of an event happening that you do not see on our events page, please send an email to cherise@veganinnj.com and I'll add it to the page ASAP and include it in my weekly breakdown.
We have started a Patreon page and we would love it if you could donate any amount you could. We will be working on setting up tiers as time goes on, but for right now, you will just get access to our feed, where we will be working through ideas and events we plan to host in the future. This will be a great place for you to have your voice heard about how we can make NJ the most vegan friendly place it can be. Proceeds from our Patreon will be going to maintain the website, brand, and afford us to be able to hire on more awesome vegans to help us on our journey to make NJ a vegan wonderland!
Thank you to those who came here via the Try Vegan email blast! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can learn more about the Try Vegan empire via their meal delivery (use that link for a free meal!), their food truck, or their clothing line. They also now have an app in the App Store or on Google Play!