Karen Dawn

It was fun in the sun at the second annual Veggie Pride Parade put on by Animal Acres today. While San Diego was gray and rainy, in nearby Los Angeles the clouds moved out of the way for the event held near the Victorian Hotel in Santa Monica. In honor of Halloween tomorrow, or just for fun, some people dressed as carrots and broccoli, and others wore  t-shirts with vegan slogans like “Peace starts on your plate” and  “Vulcans are vegans.”

Guest speakers included Karen Dawn, author of Thanking the Monkey, Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals, who was also signing books. A few of the other speakers were Julieanna Hever, the Executive Director of EarthSave International, who is a plant-based dietitian, and Daniel Hauff of Mercy for Animals.

The food always adds to any veggie event, and One World Vegetarian Cuisine was selling nachos, topped with avocados, vegan sour cream, hot peppers and more. Fyi, One World is offering a full Thanksgiving Feast Special with veggie turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and other sides. Animal Acres had veggie dogs and Gardein “chicken” filets, and a few other tables were filling up event-goers with nutritious chow including baked goods from C’est La V Bakeshop.

Nutritious Nachos

Educational tables included info on World Vegan Day to be held Nov. 1, feral cats, and more. Interestingly, I met someone running the country’s first Vegan Toastmasters, a public speaking group in L.A. teaching people to be better activists. I also learned about the L.A. Veg Society, which is aiming to centralize all things veggie for the very active Los Angeles area. They plan to be the go-to site for restaurants, events, a business directory and more.

As always, veggie events are great for networking, trying new foods, and learning more, whether you are a new veghead or a longtimer!