I hope that all of you survived Hurricane Fran safely and with minimal property damage. I know several of my TVS friends who were affected, with damage such as significant roof damage, flooding (and losing computer and physical files), no phone for 2.5 weeks, many trees down (a 80' tall hickory tree hit my roof!), and of course inconvenience and wasted food due to power outages (vegetarians had less to worry about in this regard than others!). I had hoped to get this Grapevine to you well before all the October events, but Fran delayed me.
It's hard to believe that summer is over and fall is here! TVS had a summer of fun activities - potlucks (including an outdoor drama in Snow Camp, one at lovely Duke Gardens, and one with probably 40+ attendees), 4th of July picnic (thanks, Dietrich and Eva for hosting this as always; we're sorry to hear about all your storm damage to your lovely home; thanks, Serenity, for organizing the picnic!), and several national events that many TVSers participated in (World Congress for Animals in Washington, D.C., and Summerfest in Pennsylvania; see Pam Young's article). Though this has slipped between newsletters, by the time you read this, Sue Coe, renowned artist and animal rights advocate, will have spoken (Sept. 25) at UNC in Chapel Hill.
Our fall will be even more packed with events! We have an unusually busy schedule; starting the first weekend in November, we have at least one event every weekend for six weekends!! They should all be interesting and provide good opportunities for us all to meet each other and new friends, but I'd like to draw your attention to four events in particular.
Of course, there's the Compassionate Living Festival, the Triangle's foremost animal rights conference organized by the Culture and Animals Foundation (with a bit of help from us). We are very lucky to have internationally-known Howard Lyman coming in November - please try to attend his talk, bring friends, and help us out (see cover page article with details). Just before the election in November, we have a joint potluck with the Greens Party, the only political party based on ethics and concern for the environment (which they recognize implies veganism!).
Finally, I want to encourage all of you to consider attending our annual Thanksgiving dinner. Based on enthusiastic comments about the food and atmosphere, we will be back at the Regulator Cafe, and I'm pleased that Linda Gowing and the staff there will host us again. We have sold out the past two years, so please be sure to reserve the number of spots that you will need. We need four or five people to help collect money at the dinner - it tends to be very, very busy especially the first hour and a half or so, and I like to eat too! Please call me if you can help.
It is a real privilege to be able to host somebody like Howard Lyman here in the Triangle. Wouldn't it be great to be able to have events like this periodically, and sponsor forums for community education? TVS potlucks are great for building and sustaining our vegetarian community, but it is also important to share with the community-at-large and bring famous speakers to the Triangle. In order for TVS to develop this facet, we need to have some fund-raising events. If anybody is interested in working on this, please let me know.
In the meantime, we have a few exciting deals worked out for you that will help TVS financially. I hope many of you will take advantage of the credit card offer, as well as consider buying leather-free products from Aesop, Inc. (both described in thru the Grapevine).
In addition to raising funds, it would be great to have a Media Coordinator. This would be a fun job of generating press releases about our events, making media contacts, and getting TVS more exposure. The Triangle is blessed with many exciting festivals, like the State Fair (coming up October 18-27), Eno River Festival, and Artsplosure. If we could have a Festival Coordinator, we could participate, providing educational materials and delicious vegetarian food, and make a bit of money. Finally, any of you parents may consider Audrey Nickel's call for a Vegetarian Parents' Resource Group (see thru the Grapevine) and also consider being TVS' School Lunch Coordinator to be sure that vegetarian offerings are available.
My job putting together the newsletter is made easier by the new advertising coordinator position, and I thank Marian Turk for the work she has done. With this issue, because of new work commitments, Marian is no longer working on advertising. After the enthusiastic job she did organizing the Fourth of July picnic, we are very lucky to have Serenity Dixon taking over. Thanks, Serenity!
When things were in a panic due to the hurricane and trying to get the newsletter out, we had the fortune to have Howard Lyman's visit materialize, but little lead time to organize it. Audrey Nickel really came through and handled all the details of getting the event organized and start things going. (We need additional help; see details in the cover page article.)
Thanks are also due to others who are instrumental in getting the newsletters out. Ceil Rubino formats the newsletter, Becky LeClair picks up, folds, collates, and mails it (all in an evening and the next morning!), and Gary Klaus generates the mailing labels from Texas. Many people participate in or just enjoy reading Dave Crescenzo's restaurant reviews. It's also great to have articles contributed from Pam Young (sounds like you had a great time attending the March and Summerfest!) and Lauren Bednarcyk (congratulations on your engagement!). Thank you to all of you who have or will have hosted potlucks, and otherwise are involved with TVS. And, finally, welcome to all the renewing and, especially, new members! (Please remember to check your mailing label and renew as appropriate.)
I hope to see many of you this fall. With so many upcoming events, I trust that each of you will be able to attend at least one event.