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Veggie Pride Parade, Year #3 GREENWICH VILLAGE, NEW YORK CITY May 16, 2010
Every stand-up comedian in the business knows you can always get an instant laugh: make a vegan the butt of your joke. Every vegan kid knows he or she is not likely to get a good meat-free and dairy-free meal in the school lunchroom and faces ridicule just for asking. Vegans in some places have to buy their food by mail order or travel to other neighborhoods or towns just to eat. And ask any vegan about what he or she must go through to convey a simple food order in a non-veg restaurant. It isn’t fun. All this, even though we know meat is cruel, unhealthy, and catastrophic for the environment, both in terms of resource depletion and pollution. And why are meat, dairy, and fish so heavily subsidized by governments around the world, particularly in the United States and Europe? None of it makes a bit of sense. Nor is it fair or right. Enter Veggie Pride Parade 2010, an event that is sure to bring meatless living and all its issues a much-needed boost. Building on the overwhelming success of the 2008 and 2009 parades, this year’s march through Greenwich Village will be even more uplifting and spectacular than before. Individually, participants come from many different philosophies, religions, and general approaches. But on Sunday, May 16, 2010, all will proclaim with one voice an expression of veggie pride. Participants will, as in past parades, be encouraged to come in costume and to wear signboards announcing their pride in their veggie lifestyle. Local restaurants and vegan groups will be represented with banners and chants. Mascots Chris P. Carrot and Penelo Pea Pod will again lead off the parade to set the tone. That is: Food brings joy when it is not derived from animals The parade begins in the city’s olde meat district. It ends in a festival of over a dozen speakers, live entertainment, 40 exhibitors, and vegan food. • At about 2:15 p.m., the winners of the costume contest will be announced. • Babies and youngsters in veggie costumes will be featured on stage thereafter. • Throughout the day, parade participants will enjoy the opportunity to make use of the “soapbox” testimonial station, a second stage set up at the opposite (west) end of the park. Here, individuals will be able to passionately sing the praises of the veggie diet for all to hear (strictly non-commercial and videotaped for YouTube). Organizer Pamela Rice feels confident that the 2010 parade will indeed be bigger and better than in previous years. The crowd should easily swell to several thousand once the parade reaches the park. On stage
Organizer Pamela Rice feels confident that the 2010 parade will indeed be bigger and better than in prior years. The crowds should easily reach several thousand when the parade reaches the park. Ms. Rice has said it before, but it bears repeating—“With this event people will see vegans and vegetarians come out from the shadows, once and for all.” Visit www.veggieprideparade.org for more information about every aspect of the event. # # # |
