Tomorrow is World Vegan Day, for some of you around the globe, it is today already.   So what?  Why should you care?   Well, it's certainly not as well-known or celebrated as Halloween is.  But it is a chance to get out and meet with other vegans, to sample vegan fare, to stand up for animal rights, or simply to get our stories out there.

WorldVeganDay.info is asking us all to do just that, to get our stories out there.  To blog, twitter, YouTube, FaceBook, MySpace, or visit forums and get the word out.  Why did you go vegan?  Tell your story, who knows, you may inspire others.

Below is a partial list of activities around the globe.  If you don't see anything in your neck of the woods, check out google, facebook, craigslist, or your local colleges.  The information is scattered, but it is out there.  As for Jane and me, we're going to be making dinner for a few friends who aren't vegan.   Activism through eating.

• If you're in Melbourne, AUS, here's some info on your World Vegan Day celebration.
• If you're in Wellington, New Zealand, here's info on a World Vegan Day Bake Sale.
• If you're in England, near  Croydon, here's some info on your World Vegan Day celebration.  They're saying you should be there, or be without vegan cake and beer.  (Damn, wrong continent!)
• If you're in England, near Ennis Killen and are interested in practicing some yoga, followed by a meal of home cooked vegan fare... visit here.
• If you're in Glasglow, the Univerity of Glasgow is hosting an Animal Lovers Fayre in honor of World Vegan Day.
• If you're in Paris, you should check out  Paris Vegan Day.  I can't tell you exactly what they have planned, but dusting off my High School french, I believe there will be  vegan product representation and vegan food availabe.
• If you're in Montreal, they've got a World Vegan Day Fashion Show planned.  It's billed as an  evening of fashion, gourmet vegan cuisine and musical entertainment.
• If you're in India, the Sthitaprajna Vegan Life Centre near Byndoor, Udupi District, Karnataka, is planning a three-day vegan event (Nov 1 - Nov 3).
• If you're in San Francisco, there's a World Vegan Celebration dinner on Monday night.  Just $15 including tax and tip.  Details here.
• If you're in the Los Angeles area, VegKids is sponsoring a rollerskating event in NorthRidge
• Please note, if you're in the Los Angeles area and were planning on attending the Animal Acres World Vegan Day celebration, IT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
• If you're in Phoenix, AZ, the  Spectrum Mall light rail station is hosting a potluck of vegan goodies.

Just a reminder, the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale is underway...  The dates of the sale are June 20 - 28th.  To see what events are occuring in your area, click here.  And when they say worldwide, they mean worldwide.  There are sales scheduled for Australian, New Zealand, Canada, England,  Greece, and Nigeria!  (As well as the United States.) We've had our heads down a bit, so sorry for the last minute notification. Hopefully you'll be able to attend if there's an event in your neighborhood.

If you live in Los Angeles, there are two events scheduled (there was one yesterday too).

Bake Sale #1
Date: Thursday June 25, 2009
Time: 10am – 2pm
Venue:  Los Angeles City Hall Farmers Market
Address: 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
The market is located on the south lawn on First Street between Main and Spring Streets.

Proceeds:  Los Angeles Conservation Corps, and part of the city's Los Angeles River Revitalization

Bake Sale #2
Dates: Sunday June 28, 2009 (There was also a sale here on 6/21)
Time: 11am – ?pm
Venue:  Locali
Address: Hollywood, 5825 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 466-1360

Web Site: Bake Me Up! LA

Proceeds:  Animal Acres, Earthlings, and Little Big Dog Rescue

If you have the time, and can get to one of these events, you should consider heading out and supporting the effort to show the world how sweet it is to be vegan.

Here's an interesting opportunity for vegan outreach.  Compassion4Animals is organizing a world-wide vegan bake sale.  From June 20th to June 28th various vegan groups will hold bake sales.  This purpose is to show the general public that vegan baked goods can be just as tasty (or more) as those baked goods prepared with animal products.  Jane loves to bake, and since it's just the two of us at home, I often bring things in to work with me.  At first, if I mentioned they were vegan goodies, people would pass them up.  If I didn't mention it, they would gobble things up and ask for more.  Then I'd say, oh those were vegan muffins, and people would be incredulous.  Now, everyone knows they're vegan goodies, and everyone knows they taste great.

So I think this bake sale can do wonders.  You can find more details at WorldWide Vegan Bake Sale.com.

If you are planning on doing some baking, but aren't sure what to make, we recommend the vegan brownies and vegan banana nut chip muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking. And apple pie is always an easy sale.   These are the three desserts Jane makes most frequently.

If you can't or don't want to organize an event, but do want to participate, here's where the bakes sales are scheduled.  This page will continue to be updated as more events are scheduled, so keep checking back to find something in your area.  Or get together with your vegan friends and hold a bake sale of your own.  Don't forget to register!

I haven't written much about happenings in the vegan community recently. Jane and I have been pretty busy over the last 3 months, and football takes up a large part of my weekends during the season.  I'm such a fan that whenever we're invited to something on a Sunday (during football season), Jane will often decline, telling the host/ess "Lane attends the church of the NFL on Sundays."   Well, football is almost done, so that means we're looking at things to fill up our weekends.

Anyway, here's the first green event of the season... If you're going to be in the Pasadena, CA area on Saturday, you may want to stop by the first annual Neighborhood Green Fair which will be held at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, 301 N Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91103.  The event takes place from 10am to 4pm.

It sounds like it will be a fun day.  There will be live music all day long.  There will also be movies and children's activities.  For adults, there will be displays, films, lectures, and entertainment, which will showcase innovative green products and services.  There will also be "healthy" food available.  I'm wondering if that includes vegan fare.  Since this is a "green" festival I would hope that veganism will be touched upon at the least, but I expect that the focus will more likely be local foods.

If nothing else, Jane hopes to pick up some drought tolerant plants at the fair.  They'll be selling them there, and it looks like we might be facing water restrictions again this year.

Here's a bit of fun I found on the internet....  the first annual Break Up With Meat Week, brought to you by Earthsave Canada, the Taste of Health Food Festival, and the Toronto Vegetarian Association.  While most of the people reading this blog have already "broken up with meat" we probably all have friends and family members who haven't and might be willing to give it a try.

The premise is that you commit to giving up meat for one week, (Sunday, September 21 – Sunday, September 28) during which time you receive daily emails to help you achieve your goal of eating meatless for a week.  They plan on providing the challengers with recipes, meal ideas, facts on eating meatless, and many other tips and tricks.

The idea of ‘breaking up' with meat suggests that while you may still enjoy its company from time to time, you no longer want or need it in your daily life - much like an ex. Sometimes, you may need a visit just to remind you how much healthier and happier you are now that it's out of your life. It is more important that everyone reduce their intake of meat, than to scare you away from vegetarian food options. If more people adopt a primarily vegetarian (or completely vegetarian or vegan) diet, we're making huge strides to solving huge global issues.

Amen to that!  Anyway, it's a fun, fresh approach to trying vegetarianism.