We thought May was busy with 9 events--then here’s June with 14 events! Just to put it in perspective, we've had 45 BAV events for the first 5 months of 2004 versus 65 events for all of 2003! And these are only BAV events -- not counting all the wonderful activities that other groups and individuals are organizing. Way to go!!!

It is entirely due to all our wonderful volunteers that we are able to have so many events. What a great introduction to our two newest Veggie Important People (VIP): Meg and Gabe!

Meg hosted an awesome May Vegan Food Party; it was your typical VFP... an abundance of yummy vegan food, interesting conversation and, as always, the opportunity to build community and renew and establish friendships. Tracy & her veg family (including 3 kids) will be hosting the next VFP on the 19th in Pacifica, BBQ-style.

May VFP recipes: http://www.bayareaveg.org/recipes.htm

Gabe hosted two events in May, Street TV and a letter writing party. About Street TV, Gabe noted: "We handed out a couple hundred leaflets and a decent number of people watched Meet Your Meat (at some points up to 10 people at a time)." Folks at the letter writing party noted their personal satisfaction in doing the write thing. These are both monthly events; check event calendar for June's dates/locations.

Bob, Dave, and Sean, our monthly dinner hosts in Oakland, SF, and Palo Alto respectively, have all been having lots of good conversations, food, and fun at their monthly dinners. Read more about their dinners, and what they say about hosting at http://www.bayareaveg.org/dinners.htm

Guerneville Road trip was a lot of fun! 29 BAV members & their guests trekked to Sparks Restaurant for brunch and walking in the redwoods or quaint downtown. A BAV dozen enjoyed a post-walk dessert at Sparks, too.

We really like Sparks -- they are an all vegan and organic restaurant, the food & service are top notch, AND they are also an integral part of our community as they support both local and national organizations in the veg/animal rights community.

Guerneville Road Trip photos: http://www.bayareaveg.org/gallery/sparks04

A round of applause and thanks to our volunteer hosts, Meg, Gabe, Bob, Dave, and Sean. Want your 15 minutes of fame? See below to volunteer!

Special Events

Peaceable Kingdom

BAV is continuing our film series at Artists Television Access with a screening of
"Peaceable Kingdom" on June 3rd. Produced by Tribe of Heart ("The Witness"), "this new documentary explores the interconnected life journeys of farm animals, former farmers, and animal rescuers struggling against an out of control industrial system. Breaking generations of silence in the farm community, Peaceable Kingdom weaves together themes of respect, forgiveness, commitment, and healing, offering a vision of a more peaceful world that is well within our reach."

The Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Vegetarian Living (or UG for short) - this is a new tool that allows you to search for veg food or services based on categories or keywords. Users also have the ability to rate/review businesses, and submit businesses for inclusion.

On the go? You also have the ability to create a print-able PDF with just the cities and information you want (Click here for a sample.) So now you can eat and buy veg wherever you go!! Check it out --

http://www.bayareaveg.org/ug

BAV in top 100,000 internet sites (out of millions!) on World Wide Web, according to Alexa, an Amazon.com company that tracks online usage.

More info: http://www.bayareaveg.org/displaynews.htm?id=18

Veggie Anniversaries

We've got a few members celebrating a veg anniversary this month -- Premalata (Castro Valley), Fehu (Oakland), Jamie (SF, 9 years) and Irene (Emerald Hills, 8 years). Crystal (SF), who celebrated her 3rd year vegan in May, celebrates her 14th year as a vegetarian this month. Congratulations!

Please continue to send your veg*n anniversary to be featured in an upcoming e-newsletter.

Volunteer Job Openings

OUTREACH We're looking for folks who are passionate and persuasive about veganism to leaflet at local Farmer's Markets during the summer, and assist at outreach events. If you are new to outreach, we will provide assistance/guidance.

ADVERTISING/PROMOTION Do you believe the carrot is mightier than the sword? We're looking for a wordsmith to help us advertise and promote BAV and various projects (like UG) with press releases, etc. Must be reliable and able to work independently with a timeline.

ORGANIZER Have an idea for a vegan social or advocacy event that you’d like to organize? Want an event in your neighborhood? Talk to us, we’re always looking for folks to host events for BAV.

Contact us to volunteer!

Highlights of Upcoming June Events

Tue 01 - Veggie Lunch! - Donna's Tamales at Ferry Building Farmer's Market, SF
Thu 03 - Vegan Dinner - Herbivore (Valencia), SF
Thu 03 - Screening: Peaceable Kingdom - Artists' Television Access, SF
Sat 05 - Monthly Street TV - Powell & Market, SF
Sun 06 - Monthly San Mateo Coast Veg Coffee - Ebb Tide Cafe, Half Moon Bay
Tue 08 - Monthly Palo Alto Vegan Dinner (2nd Tues) - BayLeaf Cafe
Thu 10 - Monthly SF Dinner (2nd Thursday) - Golden Era
Sat 12 - Summer Pignic at Animal Place: a Benefit for Viva!USA, Vacaville
Sun 13 - Outreach at Haight Street Fair, SF
Sat 19 - Vegan Food Party, Pacifica
Sat 19 - outreach at Veggie Fest, San Francisco
Sun 20 - Monthly Oakland Dinner (3rd Sun) - New World Vegetarian Restaurant
Thu 24 - Monthly Letter Writing - MaggieMudd, SF
S/S 26-27 - VegPride outreach at SF Pride

See Event Calendar http://www.BayAreaVeg.org/events.php for more details & future events.