V is for ... Victory!

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, Managing Editor Aurelia d'Andrea, Senior Editor Jennifer Pickens, and a whole herd of hard-working friends of farm animals
What: A food and drink-fueled victory party
Why: to celebrate signature-gathering success and getting animal-friendly legislation on the November ballot
When: Saturday, April 5
Where: The San Francisco SPCA

The Scoop: After nearly five months spent signature-gathering throughout the state of California as part of the Humane California ballot initiative project and reaching the lofty goal of collecting 500,000 signatures, Bay Area farmed animal advocates definitely earned their right to party. And that they did.

On an early spring night in the Mission-slash-Potrero district of San Francisco, a couple hundred signature-gathering heros met and mingled over fresh crudités, mini cupcakes, and glasses of Frey Vineyards wine, and listened as the amazing Nora Kramer—a good friend of VegNews and a dedicated animal activist who worked non-stop to make this project a success—gave props to the people who made the ballot initiative a success. At her side this evening and throughout the campaign was Karin Olsson, another amazing young animal advocate who we hear just landed herself a coveted job at HSUS. (Congratulations, Karin!)

After speeches were made and kudos doled out, guests bought raffle tickets for a chance to attend the May 3 Farm Sanctuary Country Hoe Down*, then proceeded to eat, drink, be merry—and eat some more.

Nora brought the evening to a close by reminding everyone to get involved in Phase Two of this project: getting everyone in the state to vote yes on the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act this November. It's a no-brainer that farmed animals should have the right to stand up, lie down, and flap their wings, right? Mark your calendars for November 4!

*Certain guests, who happen to work for VegNews Magazine, were not among the prizewinners :O(