It's a low key week in the Vegan Universe, but there's lots of action this weekend! Follow along, so you know what's going on!
On Tuesday, please keep Animals First on the Second in mind. This is not an event to attend; rather a monthly day of reflection and remembrance. Each day, millions of farm animals are starved on their way to slaughter. On the Second day of every month, fasting is encouraged in protest of the treatment of these sentient beings. Join us as we amplify the voices of the billions of farmed animals suffering around the world.
A Spring Luncheon hosted by American Vegan Society will be taking place at the Academy of Culinary Arts of Atlantic Cape Community College. This Wednesday, culinary students will prepare and present a meal of exceptional quality under the guidance of their Chef-Educator. Tickets are $33 for adults and $23 for students and includes gratuity. For more information or to check seating availability, please call 856. 694.2887.
On Wednesday night, there will be a protest of the UniverSoul Circus in Newark. Join local PETA supporters in protesting UniverSoul's live animal acts on their opening night in Newark, NJ. Animals are being dragged from city to city forced to perform cruel and confusing tricks often under the threat of physical punishment. Please meet at the entrance of Weequahic Park on the corner of Meeker Ave. and Empire St. starting at 5:45pm. More information can be found here.
Saturday's Vegan Curry Cook-Off will take place in York, PA from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Leg Up Farmer's Market. Hosted by DEEPER by Andrew Abaria , this competition will be in the style of the popular tv show "Chopped". Each team will have 20 minutes to shop for up to $30 worth of ingredients and one hour to make their best vegan curry dish, followed by blind judging. There is no fee to enter but space is limited. Deadline to enter is April 1 at noon. To register, email Andrew at andrew@thedeeperworld.com. There will be prizes to the winners.
Our own Vegan Shawarma Dinner Party will be taking place Saturday as well! Vegan in NJ is teaming up with The Vegan Shawarma to bring you a buffet filled with some delicious vegan food! Tickets are limited, so make sure to buy ASAP! BYOB. All ages. Gratuity included. As with all of our events, this is a social event, so don't worry if you are coming alone! Once you're there, we're all friends!
There will be two Cube of Truth sessions this weekend as well. There will be on at Rittenhouse Square in PA and the other will be at Rutgers University. 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 each location's Facebook Event page.
NJVegfest will be hosting another Vegan Pop-Up at Convention Hall in Asbury Park on Sunday, the 7th. With some of my favorite spots (Fanciful Fox, Vegan Treats, The Baklava Lady, and more!) in attendance, I am hoping to run into some of you all! Tickets are available here.
There will be another activism session in Rittenhouse Square Sunday. This time, FACT (Fighting Animal Cruelty Together) will be hosting. Join in on ”Change my mind” street activism with FACT activist, Andrew Nguyen. “You should be vegan, change my mind” “You don’t love animals , change my mind” and the like are all great ideas for signs. If there are a lot of activists , multiple signs can be made. Usually, 3-4 Activists are optimal for each sign. The signs are used to help activists engage with bystanders and lead them to the vegan message. We are non-violent and leverage the power of peaceful dialogue to veducate! Andrew will provide everyone resources to pass out to bystanders.
Om Sweet Home will be hosting a food pop-up in Hoboken on Sunday as well. Taking place at 1200 Park Ave in Hoboken, they will have everything from from baked goods, breads and buttah to Just Egg croissant sammies, vegan meatballs, sides and more!
Join Medium and Spiritual Life Coach Cassandra Bodhi for a Brunch with Spirit at Bibi‘z Restaurant and Lounge in Westwood. She will be providing validating and healing messages from your loved ones on the other side. Tickets are $80 in Advance and includes a full brunch buffet, coffee service, unlimited soft drinks, tax and gratuity. Cash bar is available and tickets can be purchased directly from Cassandra at Cassandrabodhievents@gmail.com.
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!