Category: News & Events

Did I mention that I volunteered to lead the GCWCC for my sector at work this year?

What the hell is that, you ask, and what does it have to do with the Holiday Howl?

What it is doesn’t matter. It’s a federal public service thing. The upshot of it is that it required me to make massive quantities of vegan baked goods on a weekly basis, which I sold at outlandish prices to my cubicle-bound colleagues.

It was this experience that gave me the confidence to commit to providing the lion’s share of the food for the upcoming Holiday Howl. Previously, if someone asked me if I could bake, transport and prettily arrange hundreds of servings of food, I’d have told them to go stick their crazy head in a toilet somewhere.

Now, however, I say “bring it on”.

So what, exactly, am I bringing on? Here’s the list:

Brownies. My own rich, velvety ones for the sophisticates; plus some tooth-rotting, icing-laden monstrosities for the mouth-breathers.

Stollenettes (mini Christmas stollens). This is my compromise for the people who asked me to bring cinnamon buns. Seriously, guys, you have to be pretty cro-magnon to consider eating breakfast pastries at an evening event. My Christmas gift to you is saving you from your own boorishness.

Cookies. Chocolate chip and Linzers are definites. I’m not sure what else. I’ll take suggestions, but if anyone asks me to make the peanut butter pillows that take a year and half to make, let me say now that I will say “no”. And mentally punch you in the throat for asking.

Orange Raspberry Cake. Yes, this is just a manifestation of the orange cupcakes I always make and yes, I will continue to make them for every event until the end of time because they almost won a contest. So what?

Date squares. Because suddenly I realized I am old.

Also:

Strawberry-rhubarb bars
Cherry Pie bars
Pumpkin Pie bars
Mini trifles
F’egg bites
Spinach Dip
Warm spinach and artichoke dip
Summer rolls with homemade peanut sauce
A sushi Christmas tree
Taco bites
Sweet and sour “meatballs” (also a thing with us old folks, kind of like gherkins)
Savoury tarts

So, you’re probably probably asking yourself “is she really going to make all that?” And the answer is, I have no idea. About a third of the items are a sure thing. But any and all of the other items may fall victim to my refusal to measure anything ever.

But rest assured there will be plenty of food, keeping in mind The Compassionate Rabbit is donating a small army of wee cupcakes and that Simply Raw Express is kicking in some goodies from the healthier end of the spectrum.

So don’t forget to buy your ticket online. Because you apparently can’t get them at the door. And if you show up ticketless, you’re just going to wind up on the sidewalk, with your face pressed against the glass, looking in at all the fun the non-procrastinators are having. And that will be awkward for everyone.

We have a little quiz for everyone. Please answer yes or no to each of the following.

I like:

• Delicious vegan food
• Animals
• Saving animals’ lives
• Having fun
• Not spending Saturday night on the couch
• Puppehs
• Bunny rabbits
• Karaoke

If you answered YES to any of the above, you really need to come to the Holiday Howl! In fact, what’s stopping you from buying your tickets right now?

(Note that we will not be selling tickets at the door. The cut off for buying them is Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 11:59 PM. As it’s mostly volunteers contributing to the food, we do need to know how much food we need to prepare. Pretty please!)

The Holiday Howl’s proceeds will support New Moon Rabbit Rescue and Sit With Me Shelter Dog Rescue.

Much of the food is being prepared by the NCVA’s own Erin O’Sullivan, who has a cult-like following amongst the Ottawa vegan potluck/event crowd for her amazing kitchen creations.  The Compassionate Rabbit, SimplyRaw Express, and myself are also kicking in contributions.  The Montgomery Legion is generously donating the venue, and terra20 is providing some door prizes and auction items, as well as the sound system.  The NCVA’s sponsorship covers any additional costs.

What this means is that virtually every dollar we collect in ticket sales will go to the animal rescues.  

What are you waiting for?  The animals – including Buzz (below) – need you. And you need a party.

What: Documentary film, The Ghosts in our Machine
Where: The Bytowne Cinema. 325 Rideau St. Ottawa.
When: September 23, 6:45 pm; September 24, 6:45 pm; September 25, 8:50 pm

Jo-Anne McArthur, a professional photographer who has dedicated her off-hours to the development of the We Animals project, is the subject of the feature-length documentary The Ghosts in Our Machine. You can check out the trailer here.

The film was a top-ten audience favourite at this year’s Hot Docs festival in Toronto, and animal advocates from Ingrid Newkirk to James Cromwell to the Our Hen House hosts to Jason Priestly (what?) are abuzz with excitement that this film might have what it takes to get mainstream audiences to have serious second thoughts about the spectacularly horrible crap humans do to our fellow earthlings.

The film follows McArthur over the course of a year as she photographs several animal stories in parts of Canada, the U.S. and in Europe. Each story and photograph is a window into global animal industries: Research; Food; Fashion and Entertainment.

But the film as a whole is as much the story of McArthur herself, who has spent more than a decade trying to bring the plight of animals to light through her photographs – often at great personal risk. As Jo-Anne says, “I feel like I’m a war photographer and I’m photographing history; I’m photographing changes in history right now.”

And while the horror of the film’s subject matter cannot be overemphasized, director Liz Marshall was kind enough to steer clear of graphic imagery, and to include some substantial rays of sunshine in the story. Whether though Jo-Anne’s visits to the idyllic pastures of Farm Sanctuary or her unshakable certainty that human beings are essentially good, the film offers enough buoyancy to prevent audiences from fleeing the theatre in search of the nearest liquor store.

So at this point, I am assuming that I have convinced 90% of you to go. If you’re still on the fence, here are a couple more arguments:

1) Jo-Anne McArthur and director Liz Marshall will be on hand for post-film Qs and As, as well as for some other events that will be held in conjunction with the film’s Ottawa premiere. I’ll provide more detail on these events in the next couple of weeks.

2) Jo-Anne is an Ottawa native. So even if you hate movies, civic pride alone should compel you to come. And if you’re worried that the disturbing subject matter will freak you out or give you nightmares, you’ll just have to suck it up. If it gets too bad you can hide under a chair with me and share the paper bag I’m sure to be hyperventilating into.

And don’t forget to bring a friend. If you’re reading the NCVA blog, chances are you’re already at least a little bit haunted by the ghosts in our machine. It’s the, shall we say, “unbelievers” who will benefit most from seeing this film.

You’ve probably heard of the Ottawa Humane Society’s annual Wiggle Waggle Walkathon.

Well, this year, they decided to add a series of running races to the event. There’s a 5k, a 10k, a 3k Companion dog run and a 1k kids’ run.

And guess who’s going to be running the 5k? That’s right, the Veggie Runners: a motley crew of animal-loving, plant-powered athletes.

Consider this your personal invitation to join us. Just head on over to the registration page, sign up for the 5k, and say you want to be part of the Veggie Runners team.

And while it’s not mandatory, we encourage all of our team members to wear a pro-veg t-shirt, such as Neil’s new No Meat Athlete tee. Just our subtle way of reminding everyone that loving animals means loving all animals.

Running not your thing? No problem! Consider this your personal invitation to sponsor our team! Just click on the donation button on the NCVA home page, enter your donation, and indicate in the “add special instructions” box that it’s for the Run for the Animals. You can also donate through the Run for the Animals site. On the “Sponsor a Runner” page, you can enter my name (Erin O’Sullivan) or the runner of your choice on the Veggie Runners team.

So I already announced the VegFest speakers for Saturday, June 22nd. If you didn’t catch the announcement, just click here.

Now on to Sunday!

At 10:30 we’ve got Wellness Warrior Deb Gleason.The title of her talk is “Cheeseburgers are more Deadly than Guns: How we ate our way into this problem and how we can eat our way out.”

Deb’s is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Ottawa’s leading vegan lifestyle expert and the Founder of Wellness Warrior Coaching. So suffice it to say she knows her shizz.

Plus, she used to be a homicide detective, so she won’t be accepting any excuses about how cooking healthy is too hard, or how your buddies at the gym will call you a wuss if you go vegan.

You’ll roll into her talk a doughy mass of bad habits and leave a vital burst of plant-powered fury. Even if it kills her, you, and everyone else in the amphitheatre.

Nah, I’m just kidding. She’s actually a sweetheart. And after her talk she’s gong to show us all how to make her famous caramel-y nutballs!

At 12:00, Laurie Sadowski (a.k.a “The Allergy-Free Cook“) will do a presentation on Gluten-Free Baking.

After years of suffering with undiagnosed celiac disease, Laurie adopted a vegan, gluten-free diet and began to learn about how food intolerances and allergies can wreak havoc in people’s lives. Seriously – read her bio for a glimpse into the life of a celiac sufferer. I promise that afterwards you’ll want to give your own intestinal tract a big hug for being so well-behaved. Unless of course it isn’t well-behaved. In which case you might want to buy one of Laurie’s cookbooks.

And finally, at 1:15, we’ll be showing the critically-acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives. Through an examination of the careers of American physician Caldwell Esselstyn and professor of nutritional biochemistry T. Colin Campbell, Forks Over Knives suggests that “most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods^.”  The film provides a nice compact summary of the international bestseller The China Study. It basically explains why, if you eat animal products, you are going to drop dead very soon. Fortunately, it also explains why, if you go vegan now, you will live forever and finance your immortal life by working as a swimsuit model.

You probably think I’m exaggerating right? Well, check out “The Vegan MD” Michael Greger’s site, where he shows that vegan blood makes cancer cells burst into flame (go to 12:28 in the video). So you’ve got a choice before you. Ninety minutes of the life-altering edu-tainment that is Forks Over Knives, or the eternal dirt nap. Choose wisely, folks.

Announcing the Speakers for DAY ONE of VegFest/YogaFest 2013!

Actually, these are just the VegFest ones. I was planning to promote the Yoga ones too, but when I asked Heather (one of the organizers) whether it was Yin or Hatha yoga that uses the anvil and bungee cords, she told me to never mind.

So here we go:

Saturday June 22, 10:30 – 11:15: Tom Marcantonio

Tom is an urban farmer and teacher who will reveal to us the many mysteries of “permaculture”.  “Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, and environmental design which develops sustainable architecture and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems.” Apparently, David Suzuki thinks it might help prevent the world from completely going down the toilet. I’m excited about it because it guarantees that when you spend $100 and 6 weeks of blood, sweat and tears on a strawberry plant, it doesn’t come out looking like this (see adjacent picture). So want to turn your black thumb green while learning the skills to save humankind? Tom’s your man!

Saturday June 22, 11:30 – 12:15: Élise Desaulniers

Élise is a Montreal-based author who writes about Food and Ethics. She’s contributed food and animal-related pieces to Huffington Post Canada, and she’ll be talking about her new book Vache à lait: Dix mythes de l’industrie laitière. For those who are less skilled en francais than moi, that means “Cash Cow: 10 Myths of the Dairy Industry”. Élise will discuss the politics behind Canadian society’s dependence on dairy, while correcting some of the misinformation surrounding the purported healthfulness of dairy products. Her 11:30 presentation will be in French – but she’ll be back at 1:30 with an English version!

Saturday June 22, 12:30 – 1:15 Natasha Kyssa

Natasha Kyssa is the author of Canadian bestseller The Simply Raw Living Foods Detox Manual and founder of SimplyRaw.  She also co-owns Simply Raw Express, a raw vegan juice bar & takeaway in Ottawa, Canada.

In 1990, after eight successful years as an international model, Natasha adopted a raw lifestyle which helped her recover from clinical depression, and anorexia and bulimia.  Her life was completely transformed and she has since studied at various Institutes including the Ann Wigmore Institute, the Hippocrates Health Institute, Optimum Health Institute, The Gerson Institute, Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, as well as other well-known organizations around the world.

All that sounds awsome. But of course if you ask the average person why they find Natasha’s approach to food and wellness so intriguing, they invariably say something like “She’s 52 and she looks like she’s 30!”

Saturday June 22, 1:30 – 2:15 Élise Desaulniers again! En anglais this time!

Saturday June 22, 2:30 – 3:15 Kathy Smart

Kathy is a TV show host, bestselling author, chef, a multi-award winning nutritionist, and is known as Canada’s leading gluten-free expert. She’ll be presenting “Smart Gluten Free Cooking Tricks” – showing 5 fast and easy cooking tricks for healthy, gluten free cooking and baking. She will be also making her vegan and gluten free Power Balls to show you how easy it is to have healthy, kid friendly snacks on hand.

This is it folks. VegFest 2013 is upon us.

And now it’s time to ask yourself not what your VegFest can do for you, but what you can do for your VegFest.

The NCVA is seeking its most knowledgeable, its most charismatic, its most health conscious and dedicated-to-the-plight-of-animals members. These upstanding citizens will have the honour and privilege of spreading the veg message by working the NCVA table.

And hell, we welcome the mouth-breathers as well. If you can read the size on a t-shirt and break a $20 bill, you’re in!

In all seriousness, though, it’s the selflessness and dedication of our volunteers that allows the NCVA to exist, and we truly do need you to make this year’s VegFest a success.

So if you can spare 2-4 hours on Saturday June 22 or Sunday June 23 to stand behind the NCVA table and spread the good veg word, please contact us at ncvasecretary@gmail.com.

There will be four two-hour shifts each day: 9 am – 11 am, 11 am – 1 pm, 1 pm – 3 pm and 3 pm – 5 pm. The duties are pretty simple: You’ll answer basic questions about plant-based eating (if you can – if not, defer to one of the more experienced volunteers or just offer some literature), renew NCVA memberships, sell some t-shirts, and just generally be a shiny, happy role model for compassionate plant-based living.

So again, email us at ncvasecretary@gmail.com to request your preferred time slot, or just to get more info.

A final note – because the NCVA is not running VegFest this year, we’re only looking for tablers, as opposed to the big roster of different duties we listed in previous years. If you’re looking to volunteer with VegFest as an event, rather than with the NCVA specifically, head over to the VegFest website and fill out their volunteer form.