Good news Ed Begley, Jr. fans! It’s been confirmed that Eddy B. will be delivering the keynote address at the 2009 Electric West Exposition and Conference — the biggest electrical marketplace in the western United States– on March 18th, 2009 at The Las Vegas Convention Center. What the heck is Begley gonna talk about? GREEN LIVING, OF COURSE!!! The topic of Ed’s speech is: Live Simply So That Others Can Simply Live and will focus on renewable energy issues and his life as a social reformer driving green issues.

More specifically, Begley will dish about his 39 year eco-journey — including his first electric car and riding a bicycle to Hollywood events. Earlier this year Begley’s long time friend, Swoosie Kurtz, confirmed exclusively with Ecorazzi that Begley was green WAAAAYYY before it was cool.

Begley will offer manageable changes attendees can make for a sustainable living environment, suggest products and services that work, and discuss challenges on Global climate change, pollution, and dependency on Mid East oil that can be overcome. I mean…OKAY!

If you wanna see Begley live, visit the Electric West website and register for the event!

Besides being a music mogul, Russell is well known for his work with animals — participating in programs with PETA, Farm Sanctuary and other organizations that help shed light on the cruelty of the food animal business. He was a popular guest at the event, but I managed to get a few words in.

Parrish: Hey Russell. I work for Ecorazzi. Have you been to our site before?

Russell Simmons: Oh yeah, I’ve read you guys. Do you ever go to Global Grind?

P: I’ve been before, yeah.

RS: You guys are one of the RSS Feeds.

P: Oh great! So tell me about your work with the Sanctuary.

RS: I get involved anytime I get called. Any group that makes an effort to commit to consciousness, if I have time I like to show. And these guys call me. I’ve chaired events to raise money and awareness for them. I love what they do. There’s 10 billion farm animals and no representation. They get abused. And these companies are abusing Mother Earth and that’s important to stop. If we keep it up we won’t be here. We need groups that are aware and conscious and pay attention. And this group is special. They’re the number one advocate for farm animals. The work that they’re doing — the legislative work and the other work — it’s inspiring. They’re honoring my gurus today [ Sharon Gannon and David Life from Jivamukti Yoga School ] so I couldn’t miss it for the world.

P: I’ve followed your career and I know you’ve done a lot of  really great work for animals including appearing in a PETA public service announcement to speak out against dog fighting.

RS: Oh yeah I’ve worked for PETA. I’ve worked for PETA in negotiations for corporations too.

P: And you’re vegan?

RS: Yeah, I’ve been vegan for 8 years.

P: And what made you decide to do that?

RS: What started it? I just don’t want to eat the animals. I don’t want to ingest the poison. I don’t want to ingest bad feelings. Karmically I think it’s bad.

P: I agree. Well listen there’s about 5 people behind me who all want to say hello so I’ll let you go, but thanks for taking a minute to speak with me and thanks for all the great work you do.

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

What’s more fun than spending a fancy schmancy evening in downtown New York City eating classy vegan fare with some of today’s hottest celebrities? Um, nothing! 

On May 17th from 6pm-midnight Farm Sanctuary will hold it’s annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC — and trust me, you don’t want to miss it! Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 and aims to expose and stop cruel practices that take place in the “food animal” industry. They now have two shelters — one in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and the other in Orland, Calif. — where they provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals. 

This year the Farm Sanctuary Gala will be hosted by Heather Mills, emceed by Melissa Rivers and will feature a delicious three course vegan dinner, an awards ceremony, a silent auction and a musical performance by Shawn Colvin. And the guest list is just as exclusive with celebrities like Kristen Bell, Rachel Leigh Cook, Jennifer Coolidge, Emily Deschanel, Christine Ebersole, Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Nealon, Loretta Swit, Persia White and Debra Wilson Skelton scheduled to attend, as well as many others.  

Tickets may sound a bit pricey at 400 dollars a pop, but save those pennies because this evening is totally worth it. Last time I went I heard an incredible speech by Loretta Swit, said hello to James Cromwell and pointed Alicia Silverstone to the restroom. 

To find out more visit FarmSanctuary.org and get those tickets before they run out! I’ll be covering the event this year so make sure you find me and say hello!