Ribfest Vegan Advocacy Campaign
Donation protected
The Back story
In the summer of 2013, a group of local vegan activists organized a peaceful protest of the London Ribfest in an attempt to raise awareness to the attendees of the harm done to pigs for the sake of nothing but a palate pleasure. A media blitz of our intentions to conduct the vegan education action garnered a front page story in the Metro paper and a radio interview on a local am talk show.
http://metronews.ca/news/london/754480/prepare-to-meat-the-enemy-london-vegans-say-to-ribfest/
We gave out vegan literature, free vegan food samples and talked with dozens of people over the span of a few hours at two of the common pedestrian entrance points to Victoria Park. The local CTV news interviewed us about our action. We were blown away by the success we achieved but nothing could prepare us for the incredible encounter we would have with a single man who would propell our campaign into the direction we currently are going.
The owner of Ribfest came to us and told us his personal story of health issues, referring to himself as "a ticking time bomb". He told us that he believed in our message and wanted us to share our vegan message with as many people as possible. He understood the horrors animals are being put through and the benefits of a plant based diet for human health. He felt so strongly that he could envision himself as running "vegan fest" in the near future. The conversation concluded with an incredible offer from Doug for us to be included in 2014 Ribfest. Doug promised us a premium location, free booth spot to promote and educate his patrons about veganism on the condition that we be present throughout the entire Ribfest event (5 days 12 hours each day). We considered the implications and decided that we would do far more good on the inside and sanctioned than on the outside pushing in.
In 2014, we scrounged up and borrowed a variety of supplies and equipment that we thought would prepare us for Ribfest and braced for the inevitable backlash and scorning from the hordes of dedicated flesh lovers of seeing vegans at Ribfest. We saw a lot of people doing double takes as they walked by our booth. We didnt experience a backlash or overwhelming scorn but rather, we experienced an unprecedented amount of interest and curiousity from thousands of people.
We handed out thousands of vegan food samples and at times had a hard time keeping up with the demand. We handed out thousands of pieces of vegan literature but most importantly, we talked about veganism to about 3000 people. We had amazing conversations and relayed our personal stories over and over again to people who had never met a vegan let alone even considered the idea. The experience was so profound that we asked last winter if we would be invited back to Ribfest 2015. Doug welcomed us back with open arms.
Our Challenges and Why We Need Your Help!
As we debriefed on our event in 2014, we realized how ill equiped we were. We failed our inspection when visited by the local health unit inspectors and lost some food as a result. They graciously gave us a repreive so that we could continue our outreach of giving out vegan samples instead of shutting us down entirely. We realized that we didnt have the best equipment to ensure our compliance with health regulations. We also learned through experience that we need a better tent for several reasons including a tent that has walls to protect us from the elements and allow us to seal up the tent overnight and protect our equipment. We also have to acquire a small freezer to store a quantity of foods onsite rather than the coolers of ice used last year. We just couldnt ensure the proper temperatures needed for health safety with ice in the hot summer days during the event. We need a proper washing station, a number of food preparation tools, a food warming device and even a proper grill to cook food. We also need a lighting kit to illuminate our tent and table and cook areas as our consideration to this last year was inadequate. Not only do we want to be better prepared for the necessities, we also want to take our booth to the next level of vegan activism. We want to incorporate a visual component to the event by having a monitor displaying video showing vegan athletes and videos from animal sanctuaries like the wonderful videos from Edgar's Mission and Cedar Row (our local sanctuary).
Being driven by our incredible experience last year, we have founded a group named Animal Liberation Alliance London. The opportunity we were given by Doug is not just limited to London's Ribfest but all three of his Ribfests! (London, Chatham-Kent and Windsor). With your support in helping us acquire the equipment we need to do vegan education, we will have a platform from which we can use at three Ribfests. We also want to do local fundraising over the winter time to raise the funds we will need to get access to the large summer festivals in London such as Kids Expo, Sun Fest, Home Country Music & Art Festival, Car Free Day, PRIDE Festival and many more.
Essentially, with your donation we will be equipped to set up virtually anywhere to do vegan outreach promoting the abolition of non-human use and vegan education through direct contact with ethical vegans, food sampling and video presentations.
Please help us by donating funds to our equipment purchasing campaign and empower us to MAKE change for non-humans, the world and MAKE our experience with each other more peaceful.
Thanks for your contributions. We are forever grateful to you all!
In the summer of 2013, a group of local vegan activists organized a peaceful protest of the London Ribfest in an attempt to raise awareness to the attendees of the harm done to pigs for the sake of nothing but a palate pleasure. A media blitz of our intentions to conduct the vegan education action garnered a front page story in the Metro paper and a radio interview on a local am talk show.
http://metronews.ca/news/london/754480/prepare-to-meat-the-enemy-london-vegans-say-to-ribfest/
We gave out vegan literature, free vegan food samples and talked with dozens of people over the span of a few hours at two of the common pedestrian entrance points to Victoria Park. The local CTV news interviewed us about our action. We were blown away by the success we achieved but nothing could prepare us for the incredible encounter we would have with a single man who would propell our campaign into the direction we currently are going.
The owner of Ribfest came to us and told us his personal story of health issues, referring to himself as "a ticking time bomb". He told us that he believed in our message and wanted us to share our vegan message with as many people as possible. He understood the horrors animals are being put through and the benefits of a plant based diet for human health. He felt so strongly that he could envision himself as running "vegan fest" in the near future. The conversation concluded with an incredible offer from Doug for us to be included in 2014 Ribfest. Doug promised us a premium location, free booth spot to promote and educate his patrons about veganism on the condition that we be present throughout the entire Ribfest event (5 days 12 hours each day). We considered the implications and decided that we would do far more good on the inside and sanctioned than on the outside pushing in.
In 2014, we scrounged up and borrowed a variety of supplies and equipment that we thought would prepare us for Ribfest and braced for the inevitable backlash and scorning from the hordes of dedicated flesh lovers of seeing vegans at Ribfest. We saw a lot of people doing double takes as they walked by our booth. We didnt experience a backlash or overwhelming scorn but rather, we experienced an unprecedented amount of interest and curiousity from thousands of people.
We handed out thousands of vegan food samples and at times had a hard time keeping up with the demand. We handed out thousands of pieces of vegan literature but most importantly, we talked about veganism to about 3000 people. We had amazing conversations and relayed our personal stories over and over again to people who had never met a vegan let alone even considered the idea. The experience was so profound that we asked last winter if we would be invited back to Ribfest 2015. Doug welcomed us back with open arms.
Our Challenges and Why We Need Your Help!
As we debriefed on our event in 2014, we realized how ill equiped we were. We failed our inspection when visited by the local health unit inspectors and lost some food as a result. They graciously gave us a repreive so that we could continue our outreach of giving out vegan samples instead of shutting us down entirely. We realized that we didnt have the best equipment to ensure our compliance with health regulations. We also learned through experience that we need a better tent for several reasons including a tent that has walls to protect us from the elements and allow us to seal up the tent overnight and protect our equipment. We also have to acquire a small freezer to store a quantity of foods onsite rather than the coolers of ice used last year. We just couldnt ensure the proper temperatures needed for health safety with ice in the hot summer days during the event. We need a proper washing station, a number of food preparation tools, a food warming device and even a proper grill to cook food. We also need a lighting kit to illuminate our tent and table and cook areas as our consideration to this last year was inadequate. Not only do we want to be better prepared for the necessities, we also want to take our booth to the next level of vegan activism. We want to incorporate a visual component to the event by having a monitor displaying video showing vegan athletes and videos from animal sanctuaries like the wonderful videos from Edgar's Mission and Cedar Row (our local sanctuary).
Being driven by our incredible experience last year, we have founded a group named Animal Liberation Alliance London. The opportunity we were given by Doug is not just limited to London's Ribfest but all three of his Ribfests! (London, Chatham-Kent and Windsor). With your support in helping us acquire the equipment we need to do vegan education, we will have a platform from which we can use at three Ribfests. We also want to do local fundraising over the winter time to raise the funds we will need to get access to the large summer festivals in London such as Kids Expo, Sun Fest, Home Country Music & Art Festival, Car Free Day, PRIDE Festival and many more.
Essentially, with your donation we will be equipped to set up virtually anywhere to do vegan outreach promoting the abolition of non-human use and vegan education through direct contact with ethical vegans, food sampling and video presentations.
Please help us by donating funds to our equipment purchasing campaign and empower us to MAKE change for non-humans, the world and MAKE our experience with each other more peaceful.
Thanks for your contributions. We are forever grateful to you all!
Organizer
Jason King
Organizer
London, ON