Ready or not — Thanksgiving is just around the corner! True, you could gnaw on the leg of some helplessly slaughtered turkey, but why not mix it up this year with a celebration of compassion.

On November 22, Jonathan Safran Foer will be the guest of honor at Farm Sanctuary’s “Celebration For The Turkeys “– an all-day affair complete with delicious vegan cuisine from the chefs at Candle 79, an inspiring program, a special reading from Foer’s new book, and a silent auction to benefit the sanctuaries’ rescued animals.

The event will take place at Tavern on the Green from 12-5 p.m. and feature a slew of notable guests, including: Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Mary and Peter Max and Ally Sheedy.

Seating is limited and tickets are selling fast! To find out more about how you can attend, visit FarmSanctuary.org!

NYLHV is a non-profit organization which works to pass animal protection laws, elect humane candidates to office, educate the public on matters of public policy, and hold politicians accountable to their constituents.

The evening will include a cocktail hour, vegan dinner, presentation and silent auction and include guests like New York State Governor David A. Paterson, ”Whale Wars” star Captain Paul Watson, actress and author Ally Sheedy, world-renowned ‘60’s artist Peter Max, “Super Size Me” co-star and author Alex Jamieson, ”Bizarro” comic creator Dan Piraro, CNN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell, and rapper  Princess Superstar. Along with myself, fellow bloggers Chloe Jo Berman from GirlieGirlArmy and Joshua Katcher from The Discerning Brute will also be in attendance.

The event will be held on Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m. at the Prince George Ballroom in New York City. Tickets are $100 and only a handful remain. To reserve your seats visit NYLHV.org! See you there!

What are you doing on June 19th? Joining me and some of my favorites at Peter Max’s studio? THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT!!!

On Friday, June 19th from 6:30-8:30 p.m, Joshua Katcher (TheDiscerningBrute.com) and Kelly Overton (PPATH.org) will hold a fundraising event for their new documentary “Standardized Testing” 

According to the duo: 

“This pioneering, controversial and hilarious film follows PATH founder Kelly Overton, an overachieving activist who has degrees from Harvard, Tulane, Columbia and UMASS, as he attempts to return his diplomas and get his tuition refunded in an effort to bring attention to the dangerous and wasteful biomedical research being done at the universities.”

At the event there will be delicious food from 4 Course Vegan, Candle Cafe, Vegan Treats Bakery, Tuthilltown Spirits and Blackwell’s Organic Gelato and plenty of special guests, including: Rue McClanahan, Ally Sheedy, Princess Superstar, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Chloé Jo Berman, Alex Jamieson and many more! 

So what the heck are you waiting for? Visit PPath.org and get your damn tickets! See you there!!

Farm Sanctuary is kind of like that gift that keeps on giving. I mean seriously, how can you not leave these guys?! As the nations leading animal rescue organization, Farm Sanctuary strives to see a world where the violence that animal agriculture inflicts upon people, animals and the environment has ended, and where instead we exercise values of compassion.

Last night Ecorazzi had the honor of attending the organizations Winter Wonderland for the Animals event and catching up with a few of our favorite Hollywood do-gooders. The evening was held at the beautiful Art Directors Club in midtown Manhattan and was jam packed with New York’s most compassionate crowd. 

Upon arrival we made our way to the press area and said hello to Corey and Susie Feldman, Jennifer Coolidge, Daniella Sea and many more. Of course the evening wouldn’t be complete without a little face time with Alison Becker, Loretta Swit, Chloe Jo Berman, Victoria Moran, Karen Dawn and Joshua Katcher. We also spotted Ally Sheedy, Tatum O’Neal, Peter and Mary Max and Princess Superstar! 

After all that celebrity chatting we were STARVING and so we headed on over to the beautiful array of all vegan nosh, provided by some of New York’s hottest restaurants. Truthfully, everything we tasted was out of this world, but a few of our personal favorites were Dr. Cow’s all raw vegan cheese (order this right now, it will change your life), Candle 79’s Seitan Chimichurri and Lula’s Peanut-Butter Fudge Ice Cream! A-FRIGIN-MAZING!!!

The evening closed with a lively auction to help raise money for all of Farm Sancutary’s important work and a speech by co-founder, Gene Baur! Oh and we have some GREAT news!! Staring next Monday, Ecorazzi will be bringing you six full days of Farm Sanctuary Exclusive interviews with the parties hottest stars! That’s what I’m talking about! So make sure you check back next week to see why Hollywood can’t get enough of this wonderful organization, and visit FarmSanctuary.org to find out how YOU can get involved!

photo credit: Andrew Ford

As a fixture here in the NYC eco party scene, I’m becoming pretty darn good at spotting an awesome event! And this, I can guarantee, will be a party you DON’T want to miss!

On December 4th, the Ecorazzi crew will be getting all jiggy with it at Winter Wonderland for the Animals: A Farm Sanctuary Benefit. Stars like Alison Becker, Jennifer Coolidge, Corey Feldman, Peter Max, Patrick McDonnell, Tatum O’Neal, Daniela Sea, Ally Sheedy, Princess Superstar, Loretta Swit, Justin Theroux, and many more will all be in attendance, showing their support for this fantastic organization!

The event will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2008, from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. at The Art Directors Club in NYC and will include cocktails, gourmet veggie food, a silent auction and goody bags galore! Tickets to the star-studded event are a mere $100, and go towards helping Farm Sanctuary continue all their truly important work! To get your tickets and find out more, visit FarmSanctuary.org! See ya there!

graphic credit: lordjdavis.com

I enjoy a lot of things: really good margaritas, paid vacation time, that noise bubble wrap makes when it’s popped, but none of those compare to how much I love the annual Farm Sanctuary Gala. In case you’re late to the party, Farm Sanctuary was started in 1986 with the rescue of Hilda, a “downer” cow left for dead in a stockpile. Today they are considered to be the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization and work tirelessly to expose and stop cruel practices in the food animal industry. After over 20 successful years they now have 2 fully running sanctuaries in New York and California that are home to hundreds of animals, tons of staff and plenty of curious visitors.

Each year the organization holds a ritzy, celebrity-packed gala to help raise money for their many noble causes. Two yeas ago, before my Ecorazzi days, I volunteered at the event and was truly inspired by a room full of like-minded people all coming together to celebrate those that are so rarely even thought about. This year I got to attend with a full access, fancy-pancy press pass and pick the brains of those very famous VIP’s I once so fondly cooed over.

I arrived at 4:30, signed in and was told I had “full-access” to the event. Score! After getting my photographer Andrew Ford set up on the red carpet I headed inside for some investigative work (and perhaps a little appetizer munching). The space was pure elegance with beautifully decorated tables, a silent auction area and, of course, the second floor VIP loft. I started slowly and perused some of the items on the silent auction tables. There were signed photographs, paintings, jewelry and plenty of eager volunteers to help answer any questions I might have.

Next I headed upstairs to the VIP lounge where I had the chance to speak with Melissa Rivers (a regular Ecorazzi reader), Emily Deschanel, Rory Freedman, Dennis Kucinich, Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Nealon, Victoria Moran, Ally Sheedy, Loretta Swit, Russell Simmons and Farm Sanctuary president and co-founder Gene Baur. The celebs were kind, well-spoken and all agreed on one thing: Farm Sanctuary is pretty damn incredible. FYI — throughout the week Ecorazzi will feature The Farm Sanctuary Gala Interviews, a series of exclusive one on ones with the many celebrity guests in attendance.

After celeb-time, the ceremony began with host Heather Mills admitting that she wanted to “convert all the meat-eaters in the house.” Awesome! The dinner came a bit later and was partially designed by Mills herself. Now even though I had “full-access”, I didn’t have “full-access” to dinner!! However, you better believe those years of waiting tables taught me a thing or two about getting on the good side of servers. I quickly befriended a waiter and made sure I got a plate of vegan lasagna with bechamel sauce. Sadly, I must admit that I was far from impressed. The plate appeared rather sloppy, adversely juxtaposing the elegance of the evening, and the overly sweet bechamel sauce left much to be desired. Luckily I filled up on delicious appetizers like fresh guacamole, vegan chicken and green tomato soup.

The ceremony continued with awards given to many, including Karen Dawn for her outstanding activism and the Jivamukti Yoga School for their leadership in compassionate living. As the evening began to wind down Susie Essman got on stage and auctioned off a few pretty incredible gifts — my favorite being a portrait sitting with world-renown painter Peter Max. The ceremony closed with a twilight reception and a musical performance by Grammy Award winner Shawn Colvin.

As I chowed down on my out of the this world vegan brownie cheesecake, care of Vegan Treats, I looked around the room at a group of people who were all spending their time and money on a cause they truly believed in and I felt so proud to be among them. It was getting late and my feet were tired so I headed for the exit and was offered a remarkably heavy gift-bag with enough vegan products to last me for the next month!

A big thanks to the folks at Farm Sanctuary for pulling off such a lovely event and for inviting your beloved Ecorazzi team to take part in the festivities. If you’d like to visit the farm or learn how you can get involved, visit FarmSanctuary.org. Also, don’t forget to check Ecorazzi all week long for the Farm Sanctuary Gala exclusive interviews!

Photo Credit: Andrew Ford