The Vegan Bus

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16th!!

Time for another YUMMY VEGAN DINER NIGHT! This time we will be featuring PIZZA, BUFFALO TEMPEH, MORACCAN STEW, SWEET POTATO FRIES, NOGG, CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE, MILK SHAKES, PEANUT BUTTER CUPS, and MORE…

PLUS – A HOLIDAY GIFT SALE for inexpensive gifts to give the people you love and reduce your shopping stress! We will have vegan shirts, cards, photographs by Derek Goodwin, Christmas Cookies, Chocolates, Solstice Cards, and more..

Also CHOCOLATES from DIVINE TREASURES in CT!!!

PLUS – A DANCE PARTY featuring DJ Brando and other guest DJ’s starting at 8PM (BYOB)

CAFE EVOLUTION
22 Chestnut Street in Florence, MA 01062
413.586.0200

FOOD Starts at 5:30PM
DANCE Starts at 8:00PM (till 11pm?)
HOLIDAY GIFT SALE – All Night!

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Join us for the 3rd Vegan Diner fundraiser for the Vegan Bus, featuring seasonal vegetables along side the usual diner comfort foods. Apple/Soysage Pastry Rolls, Seasoned Squash, Buffalo Tempeh, Sweet Potato Bisquits, Tator Tots, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Home Made Pies, Milkshakes, Spiced Cider, More…

Our musical guest is Amanda Rogers “an indie-pop imagineer possessed by the spirit of beethoven, inspired by the mysteries of the universe, tamed by the pop melodies of the 60’s, and reinvented by a strange girl in her pajamas who drinks tea all day philosophizing about the 11th dimension and if her cats have already been there…”

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Food Begins: 5:30pm
Music Begins: 7:00pm (Suggested $5 donation)
Cafe Evolution
22 Chestnut St
Northampton, MA 01062

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Our first Vegan Diner night was so successful we are going to do it again! This time southern style… southern fried tofu, corn fritters, black eyed peas and collards, cajun sweet potato fries, buffalo tempeh, bisquits and gravy, milkshakes, peach cobbler, apple pie, and more….

Musical guests are Tina Collins and Jenny Bird, folksy Appalachian music, sure to soothe your summertime yearnings.

Wednesday August 19th from 5:30-9:00pm
Cafe Evolution
22 Chestnut Street
Florence, MA 01062

Music starts at 7pm with a suggested donation of $5.00

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Last year The Vegan Bus was all set to go to the Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down when our brake line broke, spilling brake fluid and making us feel sad. This year the bus has brand new brakes and brake lines, and are planning to make a spectacular stop at this year’s Hoe Down! What’s a Hoe Down? Farm Sanctuary puts it this way…

Join Farm Sanctuary for a memorable weekend at our New York Shelter during our annual Country Hoe Down! This popular event features presentations by well-known speakers in the movement providing current information on animal protection and vegan issues.

In addition to educational and inspiring lectures and presentations, guests will enjoy camping at the sanctuary with other animal-friendly folks, catered vegan meals, yoga classes, hayrides, a Saturday night barn dance, a bonfire, and (of course) guided tours of our shelter that is home to hundreds of rescued farm animals.

Registration for this event is $100 per person. Along with access to all lectures, tours and entertainment options, registration includes all meals (beginning with breakfast on Saturday and ending with lunch on Sunday).

This one-of-a-kind event is an outstanding opportunity to gain valuable knowledge, connect with like-minded people, and become a member of the Farm Sanctuary family. We hope to see you there!

We are offering a limited amount of rides with us for a donation of $40. We will be leaving from Northampton Massachusetts Friday in the early afternoon and returning Sunday evening. The ride will take about 7 hours each way. We will provide some snacks for the ride. We are willing to consider picking up people on the route if it does not cause us a significant delay (see map below for route). If you have any questions please contact us!

You need to register for the event through Farm Sanctuary, it is not included in the cost of riding on the bus. Registration deadline is July 24th! This is a camping event so be sure to read Farm Sanctuary’s Hoe down camping web page.

Round Trip $40

View Larger Map

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Flyer for the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale in Northampton, MA

On June 20 through June 28 (two weekends and the weekdays in between), groups from across the world will hold vegan bake sales as part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. Each participating group gets to choose its venue, what to sell, and how it uses the proceeds. We will be holding two separate sales in Northampton, MA with proceeds going to the Vegan Bus.

Both sales will take place on Saturday, June 27th. The first sale will be from 11am until 2pm in front of the Unitarian Church in downtown Northampton, which is in a prime location next to Pulaski Park and should receive lots of foot traffic. Whatever is left from that sale we will sell later the same evening at our Raquy and the Cavemen fundraising event.

At the sale in the park we will also be handing out literature about the horrors of animal agriculture and the beauty of the vegan diet. We welcome anyone who is interested to make some vegan baked goods for us to sell. Please contact us if you are interested. We would also love volunteers to hang out at the table with us to help with sales and talking to people about veganism.

Here are some Vegan Baking Tips…

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The Vegan Bus will be heading to Philadelphia this Fourth of July for our first road trip of the summer. We are teaming up with two different Philadelphia groups, Public Eye: Artists for Animals and Vegan Drinks Philly, to put on two very different events. During the day we will be in Clark Park with Public Eye’s Kid’s Club to have a vegan barbeque along with kids activities that teach compassion. The second event will be for adults, as we meet up with Vegan Drinks at the New Harmony Vegan Restaurant

Kids Club Vegan Barbeque July 4th from 11:00am-3:00pm

Join the Vegan Bus and Public Eye: Artists for Animals for a down-home vegan BBQ with hula hoops, lawn games, musical instruments, and art projects. The Bus will park at Clark Park, a lovely setting in University City with trees and a playground. Please bring a vegan/vegetarian picnic lunch, blanket/lawn chairs, and drinks for your family. We will provide additional items (veggie dogs, burgers, etc.) for the BBQ! Friendly dogs are welcome at Clark Park. Public Eye requests an RSVP with the number and ages of your children.

Thanks to Lightlife for donating 96 vegan burgers to us for the event! Coincidentally, 96 is the number of animals one person can save each year by going vegan… Lightlife’s headquarters are in Turners Falls Massachusetts, only about 1/2 hour from the home of the Vegan Bus!
View Larger Map	Clark Park‎ Chester Ave Philadelphia, PA 19104

Vegan Drinks 4th of July Extravaganzaa from 6:00pm-11:00pm

The Vegan Bus will be meeting up with Vegan Drinks Philly at the New Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant for a vegan dim sum feast along with BYOB drinks. The event costs $20 and a portion of the proceeds will go to The Vegan Bus and Public Eye: Artists for Animals. The restaurant is a short walk from great spots to view fireworks, and the bus will be parked nearby for the bus-curious. For more details check out the Vegan Drinks Blog or join Vegan Drinks on Facebook. Please RSVP to Ed Coffin if you plan to attend (856.803.3816 or ed(at)vegandrinksphilly.com).

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Scott Lahteine, Derek Goodwin and Jilian Oder from Vegan Radio

Scott Lahteine, Jilian Oder, Shannon Purcell and I went to the Veggie Pride Parade in NYC on May 17th. We marched in the parade along with hundreds of other crazy vegans, all dressed up and carrying fun signs. The Vegan Bus/Vegan Radio had a table set up at the end of the parade to promote our projects. We made some great connections and had lots of fun, then went out to eat with our favorite vegan networking specialist Paul Saccone and our friends from Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary at a great new place called Soy and Sake.

Check out Derek Goodwin’s images from the event.

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Vegan Radio’s favorite vegan duo Beloved Binge will be in town from North Carolina to be on VR and then to play Sierra Grille’s “Re-Animate the Baystate” Thursday night showcase. The headliner will be Aaron B. & The True Believers and Vio/Mire from Rhode Island will also play. All three bands are vegan – this will be a great show! We will have a table with Vegan Bus info available. Must be 21 or older and it is $2 bucks to get in.

We would like to thank Marc Sheehan for booking the acts. O’Brian Tomalin, owner The Sierra Grille, wants us to let you know about the vegan options:

For the vegan we carry Tempeh from Lightlife which is a local MA Company. We hold it in a lite marinade of soy, herbs, and citrus. The diner is then allowed to choose sauce and two sides. We have a separate vegetable grill. All the sauces are vegan except for one. Sauces: Citrus Salsa, Roasted Corn & Tomatilla Salsa, Mediterranean (tomatoes, capers, garlic, olives, basil), Ale Carmelized Onions & Mushrooms, Red Wine Mushroom Reduction, Thai Basil & Coconut, Fruit BBQ, Peanut Satay, as well as special Sauces. The sides options are: Asian Green Beans, Rosted Potatoes, Basmati Rice, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Veggies, Belgian Fries, and special daily options. We have other vegan APP and SMALL BITE options, and we have a separate vegetarian deep fryer. We usually have a vegan soup as well.

Sierra Grille
41 Strong Ave
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-1150

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May 19th: Louis Ledford at Cafe Evolution
Louis Ledford is a vegan singer/songwriter from Virginia who will be performing his insightful folk music to accompany a vegan shindig at Cafe Evolution. The event will be a Vegan Bus fund raiser and we will be serving specially-themed “vegan diner food”.

Doors and food at 5:30pm
music starts at 7pm (dinner will still be available).
Suggested donation of $5 for the artist
Food proceeds go to the Vegan Bus.

Louis Ledford’s music is featured on Vegan Radio 77.

Louis Ledford’s forthright, Southern tales match the songwriting craftsmanship of Kris Kristofferson with the rolling piedmont fingerpicking style exemplified by Etta Baker. Practitioner of the “no metaphor” school of songwriting, His subjects, often centered around the effects of poverty on the human spirit, paint unforgettable portraits that insinuate themselves in your memory. – Andrew Calhoun, Waterbug Records.

Diner Menu (subject to change slightly…)

• mac-n-cheese
• veggie burgers
• reubens
• fries
• buffalo tempeh
• root beer floats
• milk shakes
• apple pie
• and more!

Cafe Evolution
22 Chestnut St
Florence, MA 01062
(413) 586-0200

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Raquy and the Cavemen are coming back to Northampton to do another fund raiser for the Vegan Bus! The last sold out Raquy show we put on helped raise over one thousand dollars for the bus. This time we have booked the Northampton Center for the Arts ballroom which can better facilitate the size of a crowd Raquy draws. In addition to the show we will be using the side galleries to sell vegan treats as part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.

Raquy and the Cavemen from Brooklyn bring traditional Middle Eastern Music and Modern Drumming to a heady peak. Raquy has traveled to and immersed herself in the musical cultures of the Middle East, Egypt and India. Raquy performs with the Dumbek (Arabic hand drum) and the Iranian Kamanche, which is similar to a violin.

Tickets are $15 at the door.
Doors at 7:15PM, show starts at 8PM.
Northampton Center for the Arts
17 New South St, Northampton, MA (413) 584-7327

Raquy Drumming Workshop
Raquy will also be teaching a special all-levels Dumbek workshop (Middle Eastern drumming) at the Inspirit Common on Saturday June 27th at 4pm. Bring your own drum if you have one (we will have several extras). Workshop is $20 or $30 with concert. Workshop Tickets can also be purchased at Inspirit.

Inspirit Common
123 Russell St (Rt 9), Hadley MA 01035.

Check out these photos (by Derek Goodwin) from Raquy’s 2008 Visit:

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We are super-psyched to be part of bringing three music events to Northampton in the next couple of months. These shows will help us raise funds and bring awareness to the Vegan Bus Project as we get ready to kick off our 2009 tour season. Plus, they will be lots of fun!

May 19th: Louis Ledford at Cafe Evolution
Louis Ledford is a vegan singer/songwriter from Virginia who will be performing his insightful folk music to accompany a vegan shindig at Cafe Evolution. The event will be a Vegan Bus fund raiser and we will be serving specially-themed “vegan diner food”. Doors and food at 5:30pm, music starts at 7pm (dinner will still be available). Suggested donation of $5 for the artist, food proceeds go to the Vegan Bus.

Louis Ledford’s music is featured on Vegan Radio 77.

Louis Ledford’s forthright, Southern tales match the songwriting craftsmanship of Kris Kristofferson with the rolling piedmont fingerpicking style exemplified by Etta Baker. Practitioner of the “no metaphor” school of songwriting, His subjects, often centered around the effects of poverty on the human spirit, paint unforgettable portraits that insinuate themselves in your memory. – Andrew Calhoun, Waterbug Records.

Cafe Evolution
22 Chestnut St
Florence, MA 01062
(413) 586-0200

May 21st: Beloved Binge at the Sierra Grille

Vegan Radio’s favorite vegan duo Beloved Binge will be in town from North Carolina to be on VR and then to play Sierra Grille’s “Re-Animate the Baystate” Thursday night showcase. The headliner will be Aaron B. & The True Believers and Vio/Mire from Rhode Island will also play. All three bands are vegan – this will be a great show! We will have a table with Vegan Bus info available. Must be 21 or older and it is $2 bucks to get in.

Sierra Grille
41 Strong Ave
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-1150

June 27th: Raquy and the Cavemen at Northampton Center for the Arts!

We are very excited to be bringing Vegan International Middle Eastern drumming sensation Raquy and the Cavemen back to Northampton this year. Last year Raquy drew a sold out crowd for our September Fundraiser at the First Churches. This year we hope the additional space at The Northampton Center for the Arts will help us draw even more people. We will also be organizing drumming workshops and other events throughout the weekend.

The Northampton Center for the Arts
17 New South Street
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-7327

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ALL THREE EVENTS COMING SOON!

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The Vegan Bus is going on tour this summer and we have some tentative dates lined up. Check back as we will be adding stops and the existing ones are subject to change.

Vegan Bus 2009 Summer Tour

• May 01-02: Amherst, MA: UMASS Sustainable Energy Summit (tabling)
• May 17: NYC: Veggie Pride Parade (tabling only, no bus)
• June 13: Woodstock, NY: Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary June Jamboree
• July 04: Philadelphia, PA: Public Eye Kid’s Club Vegan Bar-B-Que
• August 01-02: Watkins Glen, NY: Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down

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Going back in time a bit, our 2007 Haunted Bus Halloween Party was a great success. The bus looked amazing thanks to the interior decorating efforts of Gina Gates and Megan LaBonte. DJ Brando rocked Cafe Evolution with his global dance beats, there were people dancing on the tables and having all sorts of fun. The one downer was that I accidentally overwrote the photos I took that night on my memory card, and the documentation of the event was forever lost. I was therefor delighted to find out a couple months ago that my friend Amy Manix had taken a few photos at the event, and at least we have these 8 photographs to remember it with… thanks Amy!

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The Vegan Bus thanks our supporters!

Thanks so much to everyone for supporting the Vegan Bus at our December 2008 Solstice Fundraiser. Special thanks to Northampton Center For The Arts
for the space and Shokazoba and DJ Brando for the music. To Chaya Grossberg, Brian Chevalier, and all the others who played during the open stage. Thanks to Jahara and the Femm Aesthetik for coming at the last minute to share their dance performance with us, it really made for a wonderful transition into drumming and dancing. It was really cool to watch artist Dana Wilde create two lovely paintings throughout the evening. Thanks also to artists Lauren Pakradooni and George W. Meyers for displaying their work.

Special thanks to Oh Sweet Mama’s Vegan Bakery and Katalyst Kombucha for providing food and drinks. We are sorry the raw pizza fell through! Gratitude Gear was selling the funky clothes everyone was trying on. A very special thanks to the donors for our raffle:

• East Heaven Hot Tubs
• Elbow Room Cafe
• River Valley Market
• Green Fields Market)
• Sid Vintage
• Tofu A-Go-Go
• Vegan Cookbooks from Leah Esrick.

We would like to REALLY thank Adam and Collective Copies for hooking us up with flyers and postcards. And lastly big hugs to Julia Handschuh for help organizing the open stage, for Leah Esrick, Gina Gates, Alisa Kowal, Sarah Peters, Wendell Rheinheimer, and everyone who volunteered and made it happen. It takes a community to raise a bus and we are grateful for every person in ours.

These photos were taken with a new camera as we were learning to use it, but there is some good stuff. If anyone reading this has photos from that night please pass them along!

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Saturday December 20th, 2008
Northampton Center For The Arts
featuring: Shokazoba, DJ Brando, Drum Circle and Open Stage.

Join us for a celebration of peace and a dance party to wake up the sun! We will begin the festivities with open stage music and poetry performances themed around solstice and renewal, transitioning into a drum circle led by Kwame from Ghana, Africa and the Shokazoba rhythm section. The second half of the evening will open up the dance floor to the global beat styles of DJ Brando, followed by an Afrobeat jam session to wake up the sun featuring Shokazoba!

Also Featuring:

• Oh Sweet Mama’s Vegan Bakery
• Raw Vegan Snacks
• Katalyst Kombucha
• Stylish shirts for sale from Veganica, Vegan Radio and The Vegan Bus (great holiday gifts for the special vegan in your life!)
• Gratitude Gear will be selling pants!
• Vegan Info table from Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

We will be having a Raffle to help raise funds featuring gift certificates and prizes from these local businesses:

• East Heaven Hot Tubs (1/2 hour hot tub)
• Elbow Room Cafe (gift certificate)
• River Valley Market (vegan gift basket)
• Green Fields Market (vegan gift basket)
• Sid Vintage (gift certificate/mug/cloth bag)
• Tofu A-Go-Go (gift certificates)
• Vegan Cookbooks
• Vegan Bus Apparel

Scheduled Open Stage Performances*:

• Gineen Lee Cooper (blog)
• Steven Solomon
• Chaya Grossberg
• Brian Chevalier

*Please contact us through this web site if you are interested in performing at the open stage.

Featuring Work by Local Artists:

• Dana Wilde will be doing a live painting throughout the evening!
• Lauren Pakradooni
• George W. Meyers

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