Do you have connections to and experience working with communities of color in the Twin Cities? Do you live a plant-based lifestyle? Then this position may be for you!
Read on for the full details and how to apply.
Going home for the holidays often involves finding a balance between celebrating with family, answering questions from relatives about veganism, and finding a seasonal vegan-friendly dish to eat with everyone. Read on for some of Ava’s tips to effectively share a message of compassion for animals at any holiday celebration while keeping your own wellbeing in mind.
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The traditional Thanksgiving holiday has many potentially positive elements: thankfulness, food, family, and tradition. It also encourages denial about the real experiences of turkeys and Native people.
We’ve decided to change the name of Compassionate Action for Animals’ traditional celebration from “A Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck” to “A Vegan ThanksLiving Potluck” as a way to refocus our celebration on the lived experiences, and resistance to oppression, of both human and non-human animals. Our goal is to retain many of the positive elements of the traditional holiday while expanding its meaningfulness with greater knowledge and action.
We welcomed an estimated 10,000 people to Twin Cities Veg Fest in Harriet Island Park on September 15, 2019!
We ate, learned, and celebrated compassion under beautiful blue skies beside the Mississippi River.
Here are just a few of our favorite quotes from the 10K attendees, over 150 volunteers, and over 120 exhibitors who joined us:
We want to express extra appreciation to all who joined us later than planned due to the shuttle mishap, and apologize for the issues with transportation that arose at this year’s festival. Our statement on accessibility and transportation provides additional information and ways to contact us, and also outlines plans for improvement in these areas next year.
What will next year bring? Be sure to subscribe to our email list to stay in the loop.
Many thanks to the donors, sponsors, volunteer committee members, day-of volunteers, exhibitors, presenters, musicians, and attendees who were part of Twin Cities Veg Fest 2019. Together we broke attendance records, helping a growing community to take action on their empathy for animals and to move towards a plant-based diet.
If you have any photos from the festival, be sure to @tcvegfest and #tcvegfest on social! We’d love to hear what you thought about this year’s festival (and take a peek at any of the foods you tried)!
Each year, the Animal Rights National Conference is held to connect animal activists so that we can share experiences and victories from the past year, ideas, and more with each other. We are a growing movement, and there is always room for us to work better together to change the lives of animals and the world for the better.
Read on to hear about some of the reflections and experiences our group had at this year’s Animal Rights National Conference.
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This was my second year attending the conference. I find the experience of being around hundreds of like-minded advocates incredibly energizing and inspiring. One of the most memorable pieces of the conference for me was a session by Mercy for Animals called Measuring and Evaluating our Impact. This session gave me ideas for how we at CAA can quantify and communicate the real change we are making for farmed animals. After the conference ended, we visited Poplar Spring Sanctuary to enjoy some much-needed time with the animals. It was the cherry on top of an amazing vegan sundae!
Julie Knopp
On July 25th-28th, I was privileged to attend the 10th Annual Animal Rights Conference. I mean it when I say this: it was a life-changing experience.
I’ve been vegan for over seven years now. This whole time, I felt that I was doing “enough” in my vegan lifestyle—simply by not: consuming, wearing, buying, or using products tested on animals when in fact, veganism is more than just that. There’s politics and realities behind veganism that I feel have always been right in front of me, but I never stopped to listen or acknowledge them. I’ve always been the passive activist that occasionally shares the realities in the cruelties behind animal consumption or exploitation. My friends and family know that I don’t consume any animal products, but I haven’t gotten in depth as to the the big question, “But why not?” The workshops and plenaries helped me learn how to answer those questions and how to live by it. The love and passion that other vegans shared during the conference rubbed off on me and helped me strive to be on “their level.” I used to say that we should advocate for the voiceless, but I learned that just because we can’t speak or understand an animal’s language, doesn’t mean that they’re mute. It simply means that we just need to stop, breathe, and listen. The hands-on workshops, along with the #ImNotLovinIt Campaign silent protest I participated in was exhilarating. My original reasoning behind adopting, adapting, and transforming my life into veganism wasn’t just due to the yummy vegan foods. Knowing me, I love to fight for what’s right and and thankful for CAA sponsoring my attendance at the Animal Rights National Conference. They added fuel to the fire that ignites within me for my Animal Friends and Mother Earth.
If you’re considering attending next year’s Animal Rights National Conference (ARNC), PLEASE communicate your interest to Laura Matanah, CAA Director. You will NOT regret it.Yunuén Ávila
This was my first time attending the National Animal Rights Conference. It was extremely rewarding to learn about the different facets and methods of activism in the animals rights movement. I also really enjoyed getting to meet people from different walks of life, who all shared a common passion. It is an experience that I am grateful to have had, and I hope to continue attending Animal Rights conferences in the years to come!
Lydia Green
As a first-time attendee to the conference and as someone new to the movement, I enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and sense of community that was present. I was surprised by how accessible leaders of organizations were, many making themselves available to chat between sessions. It created a sense of immediacy to their causes, such as Shirley McGreal’s International Primate Protection League, where I was able to talk with her directly about the work she’s doing with primates. I feel that after the conference I am more prepared to speak to the causes I am fighting for and left with a clearer idea of how to find my path forward as an individual activist and volunteer promoting animal rights.
Josh Truong
Surly Brewing is going vegan on August 12 for our 2019 Twin Cities Veg Fest FUNraiser! You read that right—Surly Goes Vegan. This August.
You can choose to join us just for happy hour and appetizers, or buy a full event ticket for a scrumptious sit-down meal with karaoke afterward.
Surly Brewing is going vegan on August 12 for our 2019 Twin Cities Veg Fest FUNraiser! You read that right—Surly Goes Vegan. This August.
You can choose to join us just for happy hour and appetizers, or buy a full event ticket for a scrumptious sit-down meal with karaoke afterward.
We’re excited to announce that Compassionate Action for Animals has been selected as a grant recipient of Animal Charity Evaluators’ Effective Animal Advocacy Fund!
Thanks to this grant of $40,000, we’ll be one step closer to hiring a community organizer to support the growth of plant-based eating and animal advocacy in Twin Cities communities of color.
We want to make sure that we can support this position for several years and are exploring partnerships and additional funding to make this a reality.
If you have thoughts or want to be involved, please email Laura Matanah.
This grant will enable CAA to build on its work of the past two years including:
You can learn more about the grant and process by clicking on the image above.
We asked folks in our community what they marked as an important moment in their journey that helped them connect with their empathy for animals and go veg.
Everyone has a different story, including you, and we hope that their words help motivate you to take the next step in your journey and stick with it!
At the heart of your VegWeek experience is the Twin Cities VegPledge. It’s YOUR chance to try out more plant-based eating and become a better animal advocate!
Get started with a pledge to go either vegetarian or vegan for the week of April 7. If you’re already vegan, pledge to get at least five friends to take the VegPledge.
