PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 17, 2014 — Established vegans and newbies, curious omnivores and adventurous flexitarians from all over are invited to check out the sights, sounds and, of course, FLAVORS of Weavers Way VEGANFEST 2014.

VEGANFEST 2014 is Saturday, April 26, from noon to 4 p.m. at Carpenter Lane and Greene Street, outside and around Weavers Way Mt. Airy.

Our sidewalk marketplace will feature vegan product sampling (look for juices from Mt. Airy’s Juice Room) and demos, local crafters and artisans, live music and belly dancing and of course, the famous Weavers Way All Vegan Grill.

This year, we also have a very special guest — Philadelphia Celebrity Vegan Vance Lehmkuhl, the blogger behind philly.com’s “V for Veg.” Vance is a writer, musician and cartoonist, and he can talk, too. He’ll be animating the plant-forward scene starting around 12:30 p.m.

In addition, Deborah Nelson, author of “The Hurried Vegetarian” will be talking about and signing her book.

The musical lineup includes songwriter Sarah Bunch and keyboardist and Weavers Way Vegan King Norman Weiss (37 years without animal products!) from noon to 12:30; Ron Kravitz Percussion at 2:15; songwriter/singer/guitar-and-violinist Rosa Diaz at 3; and Dion Sujatmiko Indonesian R&Bat 3:30.

Our belly dancers are Danielle at noon and Rukmini Spiritosoat 2.

We are also very pleased to welcome our good friends from the Humane League. Representatives from this important mission-driven organization will be on hand to explain vision of a humane and sustainable world for animals — and people too. Weavers Way will be raffling a wonderful gift basket of vegan and whole foods, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Humane League.

The Weavers Way Food Justice Committee is sponsoring a nonperishable foods drive to benefit the Whosoever Gospel Mission in Germantown, so bring a can or box.

Keep an eye on the Weavers Way website,www.weaversway.coop, for additions and updates.

To go vegan is to make a statement. It’s a diet that accommodates not only those seeking optimal health, but also demonstrates a hefty social conscience. Vegans, by restricting their food consumption to vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes, say NO to mainstream industrial food production and its often wasteful, toxic trails. They can legitimately lay claim to a position of full responsibility for the social, ethical and environmental consequences of their choices.

So check out VEGANFEST — you might get inspired!

About Weavers Way: Founded in 1973 as a neighborhood buying club, the Co-op now encompasses two grocery stores and three specialty shops in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. Weavers Way is member-owned and open to everyone. We are committed to offering quality products that are local, sustainable and nutritious. For more information, visit www.weaversway.coop.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 14, 2014 — What better way to top off Earth Day than a night out with Weavers Way?

On Tuesday, April 22, the Co-op and a half dozen of our partners will host GREEN CITY FEST at Earth Bread + Brewery, 7136 Germantown Ave. in Mt. Airy. 

GREEN CITY FEST starts with Happy Hour at 4:30 p.m., with a cash bar and special menu items using early spring ingredients from Weavers Way Farms.

Our Mt. Airy neighbor, Big Blue Marble Bookstore, is sponsoring a reading by poet Susan Windle, whose themes are predominantly eco/nature.

Then, at 7 p.m., we’ll be hosting a free screening of a new documentary film about urban farming in America, "Growing Cities."

“Growing Cities” documents the two-month coast-to-coast road trip filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette embarked upon to examine the role of urban farming. Sadly, the pair missed Philadelphia, although they did visit New York, Detroit, New Orleans, Seattle and a score of cities in between. They show people from coast to coast who, as the film’s promo material says, “are challenging the way this country grows and distributes its food, one vacant city lot, rooftop garden, and backyard chicken coop at a time.”

“Growing Cities” was released in Fall 2013 at film festivals and is being shown this spring in community screenings at events like GREEN CITY FEST. To learn more and watch the trailer, visitwww.growingcitiesmovie.com/the-film/ .

GREEN CITY FEST sponsors, along with Weavers Way, Weavers Way Community Programs and the Weavers Way Food Justice Committee, include the Earth Day Network, the Schuylkill Center, Slow Food Philadelphia, GMO Free PA, Protecting Our Waters and the Coalition Against Hunger.

About Weavers Way: About Weavers Way: Founded in 1973 as a neighborhood buying club, the Co-op now encompasses two grocery stores and three specialty shops in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. Weavers Way is member-owned and open to everyone. We are committed to offering quality products that are local, sustainable and nutritious. For more information, visitwww.weaversway.coop.