Veg Fests Galore!

We wish we had the ability to do nothing but travel the country attending veg fests! Although the fair season is almost over, there are still some great events coming up... 

It does our hearts good to see veg*anism being promoted in such fun, creative ways, and we send our thanks to the good folks involved in organizing them for their hard work, and for advocating for the animals. To help, we're donating copies of our book Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs for raffles and contest prizes.

If you're in the area of one of these wonderful veg fests, we recommend attending, eating yourself silly, and having fun while helping to promote a compassionate lifestyle.

10/15 - The Tampa Bay Veg Fest (http://tampabayvegfest.org/default.aspx ) is presented by Florida Voices for Animals in honor of World Farm Animals Day (http://www.wfad.org/).

10/22 - The Florida Veg Fest ( http://www.cfvegfest.org/), includes speakers, activities, music and of course food! Our donated books will benefit Florida animal rescue groups who will be part of the Fest's Animal Haven, featuring animal sanctuaries, animal rescue groups, dogs and cats for adoption, information on caring for companion animals, feeding dogs and cats a vegetarian diet, the importance of spaying and neutering, caring for feral cats, and more!

10/23 - The Texas State Veggie Fair (http://texasstateveggiefair.com/), opens with a premier of the new film Vegucated, directed by our friend Marisa Miller Wolfson. The fair also features a vegan fried food contest... yum! We're ready to travel all the way to Texas just for this!

10/29 & 10/30 - The 16th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival ( http://www.bostonveg.org/foodfest/) includes free food sampling, grocery and natural foods store exhibits, food producers and new products, cooking demonstrations by noted chefs, book and cookbook publishers and authors, top national speakers, children's activities, and more.

11/5 - The Northeast Florida Veg Fest in Jacksonville ( http://nfvegfest-com.doodlekit.com/home) will include healthy and sustainable foods, cooking demonstrations, live music, speakers and movie screenings. (Boy, those folks in Florida are really vegging it up, huh? This is Florida's third veg fest in October!)

11/5 - Chicago VeganMania ( http://chicagoveganmania.com/) gets our vote for the best veg fest name, and will include a vegan food court, live music, speakers and workshops, kids' activities and a presentation by vegan body builders! Yow!

Be a Part of "Vegucated"

One of our favorite non-profit organizations is Kind Green Planet , who is dedicated to educating people about healthy, humane, eco-friendly living. They take a decidedly different approach, saying "We believe that sustainable change happens incrementally, and we understand that any kind of change can be daunting for people at first. So we celebrate the small victories in everyone's evolution, and we appreciate the value of laughter along the way."

Kind Green Planet has a program called "Vegan at Heart", a free e-mail coaching program for people who are vegan at heart but not necessarily in practice. As a subscriber, you receive one vegan "mission" in your inbox every day for 30 days, then once a week after that. The missions take 1 to 10 minutes to complete, are fun and help you discover things you never knew about, and they're always upbeat and supportive. We highly recommend this wonderful service - check it out at:   http://www.kindgreenplanet.org/programs/veganatheart/welcome/    

Now, Kind Green Planet has launched another project, a documentary titled "Vegucated." They describe it as "guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it's all about." Check out the trailer - it looks like it's going to be a fantastic film:   http://www.getvegucated.com/  

No Voice Unheard is supporting the film thru Kickstarter, a site that helps creative people raise funds for their creative projects. You check out the Vegucated project there at:   http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/412656220/vegucated-documentary?ref=live  

Vegan at Heart needs to raise $20,000 to finish the film, and they're almost there. If you're moved by the trailer, as we were, we hope you'll help!

Honoring Our Friends on this Memorial Day

One of the hardest parts about working on Ninety-Five has been finding out that some of the animals that touched our hearts have passed away. On this Memorial Day we'd like to honor them and their caregivers. The only thing harder than providing the daily care these rescued animals need is seeing them through their (often premature) final days. This is our way of paying tribute and recognizing their part in helping all of us better understand and support farmed animals. This is part of their legacy.

In November of last year, Ian, a turkey from Peaceful Prairie passed away after finally finding love and friendship with a hen named Simone. (You can read more here.)  

Ian © 2010 Joanna Lucas

Amelia, whose charms earned her an essay in Ninety-Five, passed away in March. She became a resident at United Poultry Concerns (UPC) in 2007, when she was surrendered by a local farmer. She was still quite young when we first met her in May of 2008. On subsequent visits she had matured and had a nest in a quiet part of the yard. According Karen Davis, her caregiver, she died peacefully. Her legs had been giving her trouble and went out altogether. She lost her mobility and will to live. She inspired us, but we also came to think of her as a friend.  

Amelia

Another friend from United Poultry Concerns was Mr. Frizzle, a rather dashing rooster. He was found as a bedraggled stray in 2007 and made his way to UPC, where he flourished. He lived in the yard there with a flock of tiny Thumbelina hens. He had battled a respiratory infection the last few years and over the weekend of April 2nd, he finally succumbed to it. His portrait can be seen around the DC area on bus ads.  

Mr. Frizzle

On April 22nd, Opal, a turkey from Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, died in her sleep. She arrived at the sanctuary in 2004 and was seven when she passed away, which is very old for a turkey. She was lucky from the start, when she literally escaped from a slaughterhouse, just as two vegan women were driving by. They rescued her and brought her to Poplar Spring where she charmed visitors and volunteers alike.    

Opal

We urge you to support your local and national sanctuaries and help them provide animals like Ian, Amelia, Mr. Frizzle, and Opal with the care and love they deserve.

Ninety-Five Wins IPPY Gold Award

On Monday night, No Voice Unheard was honored with an IPPY Gold Medal in the Pets/Animals category for Ninety-Five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs

This year's Independent Book Publisher Awards (IPPY) attracted 3,907 entries, and the medalists represented books published in 45 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, seven Canadian provinces, and seven countries overseas. Launched in 1996 as the first unaffiliated awards program open exclusively to independent, university, and self-published titles, the IPPY Awards contest celebrated its 15th anniversary this year at a gala celebration in New York on Monday, May 23rd. Winners in 69 national and 22 regional categories received gold, silver and bronze awards. We were honored to be able to tell their stories and are doubly honored to accept this award on behalf of Gilly, Libby & Louie, Olivia, Justice, Lucas and their caregivers.

Ninety-Five is a Gold Medal IPPY Winner!

Ninety-Five has won a Gold Medal in the Animals/Pets category for the 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)!

We are thrilled and want to thank every contributor for helping to make this happen.

Yay!

Celebrate International Respect for Chickens Day

Celebrate International Respect for Chickens Day with a joyous dust bath!

Nine Next Steps to Ending America's Homeless Animal Tragedy

As many of you know, 3 - 4 million animals enter shelters every year in our country; only half of them leave alive.  An animal dies in a shelter every nine seconds.

What can you do? The answers are simple, yet profound. Although the homeless animal problem in America is heartbreaking, there is also hope: this problem can be solved and everyone can help. In the actions you take and the decisions you make about companion animals, you will have an impact.

Moreover, solving this problem offers us the chance to become better people and to express the very best of our humanity. We believe this issue can be a stepping stone toward an expanding circle of compassion and action, and toward creating a society that is just and caring to all living beings - beginning with the precious ones "right in our own backyards."

Once you've learned about the issue, these are the next steps that, one at a time, will help bring an end to America's homeless animal tragedy. We offer them to you in gratitude for your concern, and in hope.  As always, please help us spread this info far and wide, by forwarding to your friends, family and acquaintances; please also ask them to sign up for our email list for future updates.

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Nine Next Steps to Ending America's Homeless Animal Tragedy

1) Be Heroic.

Adopt your next animal companion from a shelter or rescue group. You will be saving an animal whose life literally depends on getting a new home.

2) Be Committed.

Know the commitment when you bring an animal into your family, and follow through on it. Your animal companion is utterly dependent on you for his health and well-being. Commit to providing the care he needs, to working through any problems, and to being his guardian for his entire life.

3) Be Smart.

Before you adopt an animal, take the time to learn so you can make a good choice. Different types of animals and breeds have different needs - make sure you know enough to choose an animal who will be compatible with you and your lifestyle.

4) Be Responsible.

There are already more animals than homes available. Spay or neuter your animals so they don't add even more to the staggering animal overpopulation problem.

5) Be Identified.

Millions of animals become lost each year and never make it back home. Make sure your animal is always carrying your contact information, via an ID tag (which is visible and easy for anyone to use) and a microchip (which is permanent).    

6) Be Prepared.

Make plans now for your animals' care should something happen to you. Many animals are in

shelters because their guardians did not make such arrangements.

7) Be a Role Model.

Always demonstrate responsible and loving animal care, so that others will want to do the same.

8) Be a Supporter.

Volunteer, donate, and support your local animal shelter or rescue group, especially their programs that educate the community and prevent animals from becoming homeless and even needing to be in the shelter. These programs save lives.

9) Be a Teacher.

Many good-hearted people simply don't know about the homeless animal tragedy in this country, and would help if only they understood how their actions impacted the situation. Help spread the word; speak up and speak out for homeless animals.