Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly
What: Farm Sanctuary Country Hoe Down
Where: Orland, Calif.
When: May 1, 2010
Why: A visit to a farmed animal shelter is wonderful for the spirit

The Scoop: Two weeks in New York weren't enough, nor a full five days back in the office. It's just a two-and-a-half hour drive on a traffic-free Saturday morning from VN's San Francisco home base... why not head up to Orland for the day?

Farm Sanctuary's annual Country Hoe Down combines elements of party and conference into an informal, relaxing day-and-a-half event where one might commune with a cow, pitch a tent with fellow campers, sit in on a cooking class, learn from an eclectic yet balanced mix of knowledgeable speakers, and dine in an open air "People Barn" on a gorgeous late-spring day.

I arrived just in time to catch Chef Tanya Petrovna, founder of Southern California's Native Foods vegan restaurant chain, host a cooking demo. She kept the crowd in rapt attention with tips and humor, and, of course, food samples.

"That's not a knife," says Chef Tanya. "This is a knife."

A bit of sanctuary time with the animals preceded the main program back in the P-Barn, where FS's Executive Director, Allan Kornberg, MD, MC'd for the opening acts: authors Jonathan Balcombe (Pleasurable Kingdom; Second Nature), Breeze Harper (Sistah Vegan), and Will Tuttle (The World Peace Diet). The sanctuary's president and co-founder, Gene Baur, tag-teamed with Dr. K to bring on the evening's final speakers, Chef Tanya and the man everyone was waiting for, Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone. Biz's talk, "Compassionate Communication: Using Social Media as a Force for Good," ended with "10 Quick Tips and Best Practices" for using Twitter, which this tech-meister will surely implement very soon.

Author and ethologist Jonathan Balcombe (l) with Twitter's Biz Stone.

The vegan dinner feast was catered by Allyson Bedene of Chico, Calif., and then it was back to SF to sleep in my own bed, which I haven't been doing a whole lot of lately.

Hoe Down attendee Ori Ann Li with FS's co-founder Gene Baur.

Check back for more Press Passes this week: Lyndsay and Liz's Millennium adventure, and Colleen and I head back to LA for some food (Seed; Veggie Grill; Cruzers Pizza), fun (The Spork Sisters!), and honors (The Maggie Awards).

10th Anniversary WildCare Gala

Who: VegWebmistress Laura Beck
What: 10th Anniversary WildCare Gala

Where: Mill Valley Community Center, Mill Valley, Calif.
When: Friday, February 5, 2010
Why: Because where else do you get to hang out with rescued opossums while wearing a ball gown?

The Scoop: Last Friday, I got all dolled up and headed across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin for a bash to celebrate Wildcare. Wildcare is a wildlife rehabilitation hospital, education center, and advocate for wild creatures everywhere. Who you gonna call when you find a baby sparrow in the middle of a busy SF street? Wildcare! I can't count the number of times I've either taken an injured wild animal to Wildcare or called its Living with Wildlife Hotline to learn the best way to humanely handle the family of raccoons playing poker in my garage—or whatever it is that raccoons do besides be adorable and eat garbage. Wildcare is an amazing resource and I love them for being there for the wild animals of the San Francisco Bay Area. Also, Wildcare is hip to the fact that those working to save animals probably shouldn't also be eating animals. Therefore, all of its events are vegetarian friendly! You gotta love a group that extends compassion to all creatures.

The 10th Anniversary Wildcare Gala was definitely a reflection of the organization's values, filled with wonderful animals and the people who care about them. When I arrived, I walked into a room filled with some of the most fabulous fashions I've seen in a long time. I'm talking sequined taffeta and floral satin EVERYWHERE. I love a well (read: crazily) dressed crowd. Best part? The only fur in the room belonged to some of the animals who were meeting and greeting the gala-goers.

Livia Stone, Biz Stone, Arianna Huffington, and Gretchen Kimball

Set back from the attendees, there were seasoned volunteers introducing the crowd to some of the more human-friendly Wildcare residents. I was assured by several staff members that only animals who were comfortable around people were brought out for the evening. There was also a rotation so that none of the animals spent more than 15 minutes amongst guests. Now that the animal-rights part of me had her questions answered, the slightly psycho animal enthusiast in me was PSYCHED to meet a barn owl, an opossum, and a king snake! I went into full fanatic mode when I saw a Peregrine Falcon. I don't know if I'd be this excited to meet any human celebrity. Jude Law WHO? Johnny Depp WHAT? Excuse me, I'll be in the corner making eyes at that falcon. Did you know that Peregrine Falcons can fly up to 200 miles-per-hour when diving for prey? Animals are amazing.

Hello, vegan feast!

After I got my fix of animal time, we headed into the ballroom where dinner was served. And what a vegan feast it was! The highlight of the meal was the butternut-squash ravioli that was coated in some sort of magically addicting sauce. I'm pretty sure it had at least a small amount of crack in it. I kid! Don't do drugs! The other highlight of the evening was the emcee, Arianna Huffington. She gave an amazing speech about the power of empathy and about how Wildcare is low-tech but high-heart (aww). There may or may not have been a reference to Star Trek and the fact that you can't gain admittance into the United Federation of Planets if you're not respectful towards all life. Yeah, it was pretty great.

The evening ended with a slide show about Wildcare and all that they've been able to accomplish, and all that they hope to do. If you feel like some cute animal overload, you'll watch it.