Spring Break
The Daily OrangeThornden Park to host festival promoting green lifestyle
By Michael Boren
Posted: 9/4/08, 12:52 AM EST Section: News
Animal lovers and environmental activists will come together in the Thornden Park Amphitheatre Sunday to celebrate living environmentally responsible and cruelty-free lifestyles. Titled Vegvest 2008, the event features live music, vegetarian food and speeches about animal rights.
Hosted by the student animal liberation group Syracuse Animal Rights Organization, Vegfest will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"We've got a ton of speakers and musicians, a ton of vegetarian vendors (and) a bunch of cool non-profit groups," said Caroline Savage, junior international relations major and SARO member.
Bands will include Akuma Roots, 27, Jared Paul, Hello, Halebopp! and Revision, a pop rock group from Ithaca, N.Y., that travels in vegetable oil-powered vehicles.
"They're not the Britney Spears of our age," Savage said. "They all live or recommend environmentally sustainable lifestyles and also happen to be very talented."
Speakers for the event include: Gene Bauer, the founder of Farm Sanctuary, a vegan farm animal rescue organization; Erica Meier, the executive director of a nonprofit animal advocacy group called Compassion Over Killing; and Colleen Higgins, an activist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"We're celebrating the fact that Syracuse is ahead of other cities as far as vegetarian options go," said Amber Coon, a freshman at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Savage said she believes Syracuse can "rebuild itself as a green city," and that Vegfest celebrates that potential.
She added that the push to go green represents a transformation in the area, which, according to Onondaga Lake Partnership, is still recovering from the large amounts of waste and sewage dumped into Onondaga Lake during Syracuse's industrial prime.
"There's a real revolution in Syracuse," Savage said. "We've got this culture of people who are interested in green living. If we can just show other folks it's easy to live a vegetarian life, we can rebuild a city that's greener and more sustainable."
Hosted by the student animal liberation group Syracuse Animal Rights Organization, Vegfest will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"We've got a ton of speakers and musicians, a ton of vegetarian vendors (and) a bunch of cool non-profit groups," said Caroline Savage, junior international relations major and SARO member.
Bands will include Akuma Roots, 27, Jared Paul, Hello, Halebopp! and Revision, a pop rock group from Ithaca, N.Y., that travels in vegetable oil-powered vehicles.
"They're not the Britney Spears of our age," Savage said. "They all live or recommend environmentally sustainable lifestyles and also happen to be very talented."
Speakers for the event include: Gene Bauer, the founder of Farm Sanctuary, a vegan farm animal rescue organization; Erica Meier, the executive director of a nonprofit animal advocacy group called Compassion Over Killing; and Colleen Higgins, an activist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"We're celebrating the fact that Syracuse is ahead of other cities as far as vegetarian options go," said Amber Coon, a freshman at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Savage said she believes Syracuse can "rebuild itself as a green city," and that Vegfest celebrates that potential.
She added that the push to go green represents a transformation in the area, which, according to Onondaga Lake Partnership, is still recovering from the large amounts of waste and sewage dumped into Onondaga Lake during Syracuse's industrial prime.
"There's a real revolution in Syracuse," Savage said. "We've got this culture of people who are interested in green living. If we can just show other folks it's easy to live a vegetarian life, we can rebuild a city that's greener and more sustainable."
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