MAY 2010 MEET UP 6pm May the 4th

HOWDY!!!

Wanted to get the word out to everyone about the May Meetup! I am soooo excited!!!! We are meeting at Gail Ostensen's house. She lives in the Woodlake Subdivision.

TUESDAY, The 4th of MAY, 6pm

This meetup is YOUR chance to speak up!! Tell everyone what you want from Vision Voice Veg*n'z. What direction(s) you want us to head. What do you see as our many focuses and what goals do you want to set for the rest of this year. What events do you want us to get involved in. Do we want to plan another Bless the Beasts and the Children in December? I encourage you to take some time and give it some thought before the meetup.Your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, comments, criticisms will be greatly appreciated.

This is the time to bring a dish or something for all to share and for us to sit, eat and get to know each other and have a relaxing evening. Gail will provide the drinks and ice and dishes etc...... This is SO very nice of her :-) THANK YOU GAIL for your gracious hospitality!!

This is also a fantastic opportunity to bring any friends that you have that might be interested in joining our group!! YAY!! we can hear from them too!

We'll meet at 6pm and will eat around 6:45ish..... or when everyone can get there. I know this is earlier then we normally meet... so don't rush. I just thought we could get set the time earlier so those that make it earlier... will have some time to just enjoy chatting with Gail until everyone else arrives.

If you don't mind just shooting me an email for address, directions and to RSVP, I would appreciate it so I can let Gail know how many to expect. You FB buddies... I will post it as an event and you can RSVP there if you prefer.

I so look forward to seeing all of the current folks, the new folks and the potentially new folks!! This will be so great!!!

Sincerely,

Slyck Pecena

Founder & Leader

Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children & Bless this Earth

Brazos Valley Earth Day 2010

WOW!!! This past Saturday here in the Brazos Valley turned out to be a beautiful day for the Earth Day celebration! The morning started off a little “iffy”...... rain? or no rain? We were so fortunate that Cheryl Anne Chandler came up with a tent for us!! Wasn’t needed for rain..... but for protection from that gorgeous sunshine!!! There was a nice breeze around our booth and a BIG THANKS TO HEATHER QUAILS, Coordinator for Earth Day, we had a great location......Right on the main drag.

BIG SHOUT OUTS to the volunteers that shared their busy Saturday with us to help host the table!

*CHERYL ANNE CHANDLER
*KRISTA MAY
*JOHN BORDEN
*GAIL OSTENSEN
*KELLIE WILCOX MOORE *ADITYA SHRIVASTAVA
*LAURA HOMAS

These awesome folks came out to help host our table. We handed out pamphlets, flyers, bookmarks that when planted grow wildflowers and of course.... our famous Vegan and Vegetarian goodies..... These did not last long at all!!!

Let’s see we had Vegan Brownies, Nut Crunch Mix, Cranberry Pecan Cookies, Snack Mix made from raw Pecan-Almond-Cashew-Peanuts-Raisin-Pumpkin Seed in little baggies, Pineapple Cupcakes, Lemon Slices and Lemon-Poppy seed teacakes. All Vegan or Vegetarian and ALL simply YUM-MO!!!!! Everyone loves coming around our booth at events cuz we have the goodies!

We had a lot of folks interested in our group..... had never heard of our group & did not know we existed... that were Veg*n’z. Sure hope to recruit them!

And just look at this little guy..... he is having a great time!!!

Earth Day provided lots of entertainment from a Hybrid car show to demonstrations of Rainwater Harvesting & Composting to Live Music, in which one of our very talented young members entertained the event goers. Cheryl Anne Chandler sang a song called Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas. She is an amazing young woman... far wise beyond her years and not only, musically talented but also, artistically talented. She does our artwork for our group!! Way to go CC!!!! We LOVE you, kiddo!!!

Everyone said this was the best Earth Day yet! A great time was had and we so look forward to next year’s event!!!

Again, Thanks to Everyone!!!!

Slyck Pecena
Founder and Leader

Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children and Bless this Earth

APRIL Meetup

Check out this awesome menu the Village Downtown prepared for our April Meetup!!!

*Vegetable Fajitas w/chimchurri sauce & black beans on the side
*Asparagus w/provolone, red onion & homemade thousand island w/pumpernickel bread
*Bowl of Squash Soup.

Just unbelievably delicious!!! Wish we had pictures!!



Mary Strauss, Sustainability Programs Coordinator City of Bryan, Environmental Services Division, of Be Green in Bryan, chatted with everyone about Environmentally Friendly Yard Care
Equipping your garage or gardening headquarters with tools and techniques that save you time in the garden and are beneficial to the environment! Discover simple ways to conserve water and to reduce your use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.


A great group of folks showed up to listen to Mary and to ask her questions. She did an awesome job and is available to speak on numerous topics if you are or your group is interested. Here are just a few:

Environmental/Solid Waste Services
This presentation highlights some of the lesser known but valuable services offered by Bryan’s Environmental Services Division. Do you know where and when you can dispose of your paint and household chemicals for free? Do you know what types or how much brush and bulky you may place curbside? Do you know how to report illegal dumping or other environmental concerns in your area? Find out how you and your family can make a difference in beautifying Bryan!



Water Quality in Your Neighborhood
How do our everyday actions affect the environment? Find out what goes down the storm drains in Bryan as a result of common yard care and home improvement practices and their effect on water quality.

Let’s Tackle Grease in the Kitchen
Grease and oil come from a number of sources. Some of these sources are not easy to spot, such as food scraps, baked goods, sauces and dairy products. Did you know that putting oil and grease down the kitchen sink can cause costly sewer overflows into streets and storm drains in your neighborhood? Learn how and why you should help prevent grease buildups and blocked sewer lines.

You can contact Mary Strauss (979) 209-5910 mstrauss@bryantx.gov

Thanks to everyone for sharing your evening with Mary and making her feel welcome!

And thank you, Mary, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your knowledge and expertise with the group!

The May meetup is May the 4th, 6pm, at Gail Ostensen’s house!!!! This is a discussion meetup and we want to hear what everyone has to say!! So bring your thoughts, ideas, suggestions AND BRING A DISH or SOMETHING for EVERYONE to share!! It will be a good time to get to know everyone and hear new ideas and suggestions!!

Please email slyck for directions and RSVP if you are interested.

Hope to see you all there!!!

Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children and Bless this Earth

Vision Voice Veg*n'z for the Brazos Valley Celebrate Earth Day

Looking for some all day fun?

This is your invitation to join us for the 15th Annual Brazos Valley Earth Day Celebration at Wolf Pen Amphitheater! It is this Saturday the 17th of April from 11am to 4pm!!

Vision Voice Veg*n’z for the Brazos Valley will host a table and hand out vegan and vegetarian goodies, flyers and pamphlets on different topics associated with Earth Day. This is a chance to chat it up with some of us & see what we are up to. Maybe you've thought about joining our group or coming to one of our meetups.... take this opportunity to check us out!

Come on out and enjoy the Music, Food, Exhibits, Displays, Demonstrations, Activities for Kids, and more... All relating to the environment! It's gonna be educational and entertaining. AND admission is free!

This is the time to celebrate our incredible Mother Earth!

See you there!

Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children and Bless this Earth

Consider Walka Pasta the Pasta!

Thinking that pasta is a safe, healthly choice at your favorite restaurant? Well... get ready to drop your jaw. Take a look at this article that Charlie Lindahl submitted for posting....... and think carefully, next time, before you order broccolli and chicken pasta or shrimp and pasta.

Thanks Charlie!!

Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children and Bless this Earth

Brazos Valley Earth Day 2010 (Invite to Participate)

15th Annual
Brazos Valley Earth Day
Wolf Pen Amphitheater
Saturday, April 17th, 2010
11 AM till 4 PM

Greetings Earthlings!

As you guys may know, Earth Day is coming up in April. Every year, the Brazos Valley holds an event to celebrate it, and this year, it's going to be held at the Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater. If you've never been there, you can see directions here--->Directions

There's gonna be...
Music, Food, Exhibits, Displays, Demonstrations, Activities for Kids, and more...

All relating to the environment!

It's gonna be educational and entertaining. AND admission is free!

I think it'll be a lot of fun, and so I really encourage you to come and to spread the word.

HERE ARE OUR AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!!!

*GAIL OSTENSEN 10am to noon
*KRISTA MAY 10am to noon
*KELLIE MOORE 11am to 1pm
*CHERYL ANNE CHANDLER all day
*ADITYA SHRIVASTAVA noon to 4pm
*JOHN BORDEN all day (will share our table)
*LAURA THOMAS
*SLYCK PECENA all day

Building on that, Vision Voice Veg*n'z has got a spot reserved for the event. So, we're going to get to have a table set up where we can hang out, pass out goodies, flyers, and let people know how much we support the environment, and how meatless eating relates to the environment as well. Who knows? You may learn a few things yourself.

At about 9:30 we'll set up. 9:30 - 10:30 will be the only occasion vehicles will be allowed in the circle drive off of Colgate. When booth set is complete, they ask that we park along Colgate and in surrounding areas. The parking lot with the circle drive will not be available for parking.

At 10am, we'll start doing shifts at the table. We're thinking 2-hour shifts, depending on how many people we've got. And that'll go until the event is over at 4. Than we will need to stay and help tear down.

WE HAVE A TENT.... MAYBE TWO!!! YAY!!!

SEE YOU THERE!!!!

Thoughts and Prayers, Peace and LOVE
Cherylanne Chandler

And check this out! I only recently found out about this, but found it very interesting. Earth Hour is TOMORROW. Saturday, March 27th. From 8:30 to 9:30, millions of people all over the world turn off their lights. For just one hour. Join us.

Both of these videos are really good, and they may just make an impact:
http://www.myearthhour.org/earth-hour-video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FclcMfzjwug
I know that we need a whole lot more than just one hour once every year... but hey, it's a baby step... and it's still beautiful to see people come together like that.

Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children and Bless this Earth

April 6th Meetup... Coming up!

Come join us for the April 6th meetup!!

6:30pm at the fabulous Village Downtown!

Mary Strauss, the Sustainability Programs Coordinator City of Bryan, Environmental Services Division, will share valuable info with us about Environmentally Friendly Yard Care. It is that time of year again and we are working in our yards and gardens.

And of course the Village will fix up a DEEEElicious menu for us to enjoy. Please come and welcome Mary to our group.

When you get a moment......Please RSVP to Franchesca Garza just so she can let the Village know the number of folks that will be eating.

Plan on a big group discussion for the May meetup. Among other topics....be thinking of what you want from this group..... what directions you want to see it proceed....and what events you want us to be involved in.

Also, Earth Day April 17th is coming up and I have reserved a spot for us. I will provide the table. Now all we need is a tent and volunteers to host the event! Our sweet little Cheryl Anne Chandler will make up some great posters and flyers for us to hand out. Anyone else that wants to promote a topic synonymous with Earth Day, let me know and we can get flyers made up. We have some bike safety flyers left over from Green First Friday that we can hand out. And.... of course we'll need volunteers to make up some delicious veg*n goodies to hand out like we did at Green First Friday!!! Look forward to everyone's involvement in this great event!!






Bless the Beasts, Bless our Children and Bless this Earth