People started rolling in around 11 am and by 11:30 I already had a room full of people who I admire, artist and Sea Shepherd activists, Stephen and Renee Watson, vegan chocolate goddess Siue Moffat, and the vegan merch queen Kelly Twomey. Siue Moffat’s “Easy Truffles” demo brought out a large crowd, excited to gorge on the fruits of the demo. Prof. Lauren Corman, who gave a talk entitled “Animal Agency and Resistance,” held the entire room silent for close to an hour, relaying stories of resistance among non human species and urging animal activists to be attentive to how best to be an ally. The award winning documentary, The Cove, held the audience on the edge of their seat (everyone was sitting on the ground!) and numerous in attendance were visibly shaken by the documentary and interested in the film’s call to action. After the film, free vegan food was served and the crowd was very excited to try Brooklyn’s Restaurant’s famous vegan pizza and vegan chimichangas. After a small break, the venue turned into a concert venue and the loud music began. Local band, Northern Primitive, started off the music with their alt-country influenced-golden era 90’s rock. Next up was the Toronto hardcore band, Black Faxes, an aptly named band for the fundraiser. To finish off the night, Ottawa’s I Refuse, played their politically charged set to a crowd of fans and friends. The day provided many great networking and outreach opportunities as representatives from CalmAction.ORG, Sea Shepherd, OPIRG, Brock Animal Rights Club and Niagara Action for Animals all had tables at the event. Overall, the day provided a very positive atmosphere for activists and the veg-curios alike; stressing the importance of working together and looking out for the community at large. In the end, the day managed to raise over $1,500 to cover legal costs for animal activists, with the majority of that going to the American Enterprise Terrorism Act 4, Nathan Pope, Adriana Stumpo, Joseph Buddenberg, and Maryam Khajavi.

Thanks goes out to all who volunteered to help out for the event, Maree Mazi, Brandee Cote, Derrick Gordon and John Sakars.

Extra special thanks to these companies who donated to the event: Herbivore Clothing, MooShoes, Sukha Yoga, Team Green, Comondi, Veg Out, Vegan Essentials, Organic Works and The Vegan Party of Canada. PLEASE SUPPORT THESE COMPANIES!!!

Extra Extra special thanks to VegFund, who helped cover food and venue cost.
Photos