Yoga Benefit Class This Weekend

Get more info on the upcoming yoga class to benefit the Humane League at www.thehumaneleague.com/yoga. Hope to see you at Dhyana Yoga in Old City this Saturday, April 4, from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Animal-Human Bond on the Screen at Philly Cinefest

The 2009 Philadelphia Film Festival and Cinefest began this past weekend and continues through Monday April 6. Although we haven't seen any of the independent films that will be showing over the next week, we are certainly intrigued by the description of "Old Partner," a South Korean movie:

Director Chung-ryoul Lee delivers a poignant, humanitarian and heart-warming story laden with nostalgia for a way of life that is quickly disappearing.

Won-kyun Choi, an octogenarian Korean farmer, and his wife Sam-soon Lee have lived with their trusty and hard-working ox for 40 years in a remote valley in South Korea. Come rain or shine, the ox has toiled in the fields and carried burdensome loads to home and to market. Through their efforts, father and ox have enabled a whole generation of children to obtain college educations. Now in their twilight years, Mr. Choi and his ox are old, skinny and tired, and it’s anybody’s guess who will give out first. The devotion between the two of them is observable: the ox is the yin to Choi’s yang, the “one” who stayed behind on the farm to help him when his sons left home. It is this special bond between man and mammal that clearly infuriates Mrs. Choi, who rues the day the ox entered her life. As anyone who saw Weeping Camel knows, it’s not only humans who have feelings and show emotion. This gem was a huge hit at the recent Sundance film festival, and it will steal your heart, too — come prepared with tissues. (Korean with English subtitles) (Korean with English subtitles) -- Carol Coombes

The first showing of this film has already past, but you can catch it Thursday, April 2, at 12:15 p.m., at the Ritz East 1.

Vegan Scrapple Takes 2nd Place in ScrappleFest

This past weekend Reading Terminal Market hosted ScrappleFest 2009. I will never understand this city's obsession with a "meat" made by grinding up all of the unusable pieces of the pig (eyes, ears, snouts, bones ...), but I have become obsessed with the results of the contest.

Coming in second out of eight competitors, Vrapple, a vegan scrapple imitation, was the talk of the day. Vrapple creator Sarah Cain, owner of Fair Food Farmstand in the Market, and chef John Blanche created a maple-roasted pumpkin dish using the faux scrapple for the (second)prize-winning. Head on over to Reading Terminal's Fair Food to congratulate Cain and give Vrapple a taste for yourself.

Get the full scoop from someone that was at ScrappleFest from the Philadelphia Daily News article.

Don't Buy an Easter Bunny

Walking past a pet store yesterday, I saw a proud (albeit cheap and falling apart) sign: "We have Easter bunnies!"

People, I beg of you, do not buy a pet as a gift ever. If you truly want a rabbit as a pet, first research the care and attention that they will need. Then, whatever you do, don't buy one from a pet store! Bunny mills exist just as true as puppy mills do, especially this time of year. If you wait a month or two after the spring holidays, there will, unfortunately, be more than enough hoppers in need of a home. People buy them because they are cute, then get rid of them when they become too much too handle. So if you must have an Easter bunny of your own, please rescue one that gets ditched after the season.

Read up even more about the cruel truths of bunny mills, the realities of keeping a rabbit as a pet, and more in Change.org's article "Easter Bunny Fever: Don't Catch It!"

Happy Meatout!

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Celebrate Meatout Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow, March 20, is the international day to promote and celebrate all things veg; it's MEATOUT! Join the Humane League in our celebrations: At 4 p.m. we will be meeting up at 15th and Market streets, by the giant clothespin sculpture. We will spend the next two hours handing out leaflets to passing commuters on the streets, spreading the word about how easy and awesome it is to be veg!

After, Snack Bar (253 S. 20th St.) is offering all-vegan specials for the night, including vegan gnocchi, a vegan dessert, and more! We will be walking from Center City to the restaurant at 6 p.m.

Join us for one or both of these outreach and social Meatout events. Drop us an e-mail at info@thehumaneleague.com to let us know that we should expect you!