Our web site has been a bit quiet lately, and I apologize. The bus was taken off the road for the winter in order to save money on insurance. We found out on a trip to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in November of 2007 that the heating system was not adequate, and doing any kind of remodeling on the bus in the midst of a harsh New England winter did not seem like much fun.

Now that the trees are budding, the flowers are blooming, and the grease is becoming more viscous, we are looking forward to getting the bus back on the road!

Burning Man 2008!
The BIG news is that we have decided to go to Burning Man again this year! Last year we got the bus less than a month before we drove 3000 miles to Nevada and it made for some stress and frantic work schedules. This year we have more time to plan and more experience to contribute, so it should be a smooth ride… he he. The exact dates are still to be determined, but it will be the last part of August through the 1st week of September.

We are looking for some new riders this time around, to mix things up a bit and keep it fresh. Anyone who is somewhere between Northampton, MA and the Black Rock desert in Nevada is welcome to apply, just contact us through this site! We will provide a earth-friendly ride, vegan food and optional camping. We are willing to veer a bit off route to pick people up. Check out the route we took last year for an idea of the route this year.

August 1-3: Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down
We have a weekend trip to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY planned for people who want to take a shorter trip and see one of the most peaceful and inspiring places on the planet. Here is the blurb from Farm Sanctuary’s site about that:

Join like-minded animal advocates for an energizing and educational weekend conference at our New York Shelter. Offering up-to-date information on critical farm animal issues, groundbreaking campaigns, and effective advocacy strategies, the Hoe Down is an inspirational event for activists of all experience levels. Highlights include an exciting lineup of animal protection speakers, shelter time with the animals, delightful vegan food, and an evening barn dance.

We will provide travel and the option of sleeping on the bus, or you can bring a tent. Prices TBA.

We will also be doing some day trips to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY.

If you are interested in hearing more about upcoming events, or participating in the Vegan Bus project in any way, please sign up for our email list here:
http://groups.google.com/group/veganbustamove

No, its not the Vegan bus! But we were notified about this bus for sale, already greased and tricked out on the inside. If you don’t want it for yourself feel free to buy it and donate it to us!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

I found this photo of our friend Molly on the web wearing a Vegan Bus shirt and standing looking sultry next to a pool table. Thanks for the photo shout out Molly!

Outside my office window the snow is falling and the plows and shovelers can’t seem to keep up. This New England winter has made up for the lack of snow we had the past two winters, with one storm after the next. The fresh snow is of course quite beautiful, blanketing all the cigarette butts, sidewalks and SUVs in pristine white powdery fluff. Most New Englander’s balance their bouts of winter blahs and depression with awe and epiphany when the snow falls hard. It has the power to slow commerce and bring friends and families together to gather around fireplaces and wood stoves. Hundreds of babies are also conceived during these times as bodies snuggle together for warmth. Times like these bloggers can go on endlessly about nothing in particular, just to enjoy the feeling on typing words to the imagined pitter-patter of snowflakes landing one upon another.

It was as I sat here looking over my vegan websites that I Googled “Vegan Bus” and found a couple of hula-hooping videos from our July 18th 2007 Pizza and Beer Fund Raiser. They made me long for the days of tee shirts and sandals, hula hoops and Vegan Bus adventures. I got the same feeling a few days ago when it was unseasonably warm and I fired up the bus and let it run for a few minutes. There is something very special about our bus, a feeling of elatedness I get when I am inside.

I hope these videos will help you all feel a little breeze of summer blowing out of your monitors and through your hair.

Megan E Labonte (aka Hoopmaster Sass) hoops to RESPECT at the Vegan Bus “Pizza and Beer” Fund Raiser

Kevin works out his foot trick at the Vegan Bus “Pizza and Beer” Fund Raiser

Amanda Turk spinning glow poi at the Vegan Bus “SHOKAZOBA & L.E.D. Dance Party” Fund Raiser

And of course this one, which has become a youtube phenomenon and includes several vegan bus riders…

Getcha Hoop On!

On our way to Burning Man 2007 we stopped somewhere for something, and Star created this Polaroid photo grid of me sitting in the driver seat of the bus staring out into the evening’s golden sunlight. Photographers sometimes call this “god lighting” or something akin to that. It makes skin glow.

Check out more of Star’s grids at his Salmonboy Studios web site. Star is also the owner of a vegan cafe in Northampton, MA called Cafe Evolution, where one can see lots of his amazing photo grids up close and in person. Evolution is also the home of Oh Sweet Mama’s Vegan Bakery.