East Bay Vegan Bakesale

Who: VegWebmistress Laura Beck

What: East Bay Vegan Bakesale!

Where: Issues, Oakland, Calif.

When: Saturday, January 9, 2010

Why: Because the Easy Bay came to party, vegan bake-sale style.

The Scoop: I usually don't have any trouble sleeping in on the weekends, but Saturday was a separate issue. You see, it was the first East Bay Vegan Bakesale, and I was promised there would be vegan cinnamon rolls. When it comes to cinnamon rolls, I do not play.

It appears that vegan bake sales are an epidemic in the San Francisco Bay Area. These things are spreading faster than swine flu, and I couldn't be more stoked. First, the San Francisco Vegan Bakesale (which returns February 13th!) took off, raising more than $10,000 for charity in 2009. Then, the lovely ladies of Fat Bottom Bakery decided that the East Bay needed its own. I couldn't agree more, as I think that pretty much every city needs one. There's been word of people organizing in the South Bay and Santa Cruz, too. Let's do this, vegans! Not only is it fantastic outreach, but it also provides me with more brownies, and that can't be wrong.

With great excitement (and extreme hunger—you must prepare for these events to create ultimate stomach room! Be strong, NO DINNER!), I headed across the Bay Bridge to Oakland. Driving down adorable Piedmont Avenue, the bake sale was easy to spot—first, because of the awesome sign the Laurel Elementary students made. Their school garden was one of the beneficiaries of the sale, along with Bad Rap Pit Bull Rescue. Secondly, there were about 10 million people crowding around. Seriously, you couldn't see the baked goods through the masses. Obviously, I'm a professional and very pushy, so I had no problem working my way through the crowd. Pro tip: Do not hesitate to throw elbows. These are vegan baked goods we're talking about. It's kill or be killed.

The fantastic, hard-to-miss sign designed by local students

When I got to the tables, I saw a variety of goodies that would send a diabetic straight into shock. Everything from raw cheesecakes to chocolate-chip chai cookies to mountains of cookies n' cream cake, they had it all.

I wasted no time plating my baked-goods contribution so I could fill the same tupperware with new treats to buy. After taking one of pretty much everything (and two of some things), I paid and wandered into Issues, the adorable shop that hosted the sale. They sell magazines (including VegNews! Hot!) and all sorts of sweet, unique things you just have to have or you'll die from lack of cuteness. After spending the rest of my money inside the shop, I headed back to the insanity of the sale.

The crowd continues to gather around delicious baked goods

The entire time I was there, it never slowed down. It was so fabulous to see roughly 1 million people (I'm bad at math) hovering over the tables and going gaga for the vegan deliciousness. I talked to a few people at the sale, and many of them weren't vegan. It's always the non-vegans who are the most excited about the yumminess. That's always the best. Yeah, our vegan cupcakes are the bomb, and they're not going to give you a heart attack either! Bam!

Bake sale organizers Ashley and Carolynn of Fat Bottom Bakery

In total, the sale made $2192. That's amazing! Numbers like that continue to shock me. I mean, aren't you supposed to make a couple hundred dollars at a bake sale? Vegans go big or go home when it comes to baked goods. They're sort of like our sport, because most of us can't throw a ball. Or maybe that's just me. Whatever. The point is, keep the vegan bake sales coming!