On Sunday the 7th of November, DŌVeS invited local vegans, plus the wider Dunedin community, to join them at the South Dunedin Community Hall to help them celebrate the 77th birthday of the international vegan movement. They also celebrated the 6th birthday of DŌVeS, which was formed in the winter of 2015 and was officially launched on World Vegan Day that year.
The event organising team were extremely happy with how it all went. It’s wonderful to see the local vegan community growing and maturing. Each year seems to be better than the last, and we honestly think this is the best World Vegan Day event we’ve ever run. DŌVeS estimate over 200 people attended the event during the course of the day. (Under alert level 2 covid restrictions, the maximum was 100 people at an event like that. People came and went throughout the afternoon though, so that was never an issue.)
While covid regulations where adhered to as much as possible, they didn’t spoil the fun. The audience was entertained by live music from local acts, King Leo, Dane Oates Music, and Sometime Winner. Local businesses and organisations presented their mahi at a number of stalls, including DŌVeS, Green Dinner Table, Sea Shepherd New Zealand, Mothers Against Dairy, and the DŌVeS Raffle table. Other highlights were the Children's Activities, Face Painting by Emerson, and a display of exciting books - The Liberation Trilogy - by vegan Kiwi author M. C Ronen.
And of course the main feature of the event was all the amazing food! Several large tables were laden with an outstanding array of delicious vegan, plant-based kai which was shared and enjoyed by everyone who attended. Thanks to Let Them Eat Vegan, Watson's Eatery, Kind Company, Plan*t, Gelato Junkie, and everyone else who contributed food. Thanks also to all of our fabulous guests who contributed their delicious offerings of vegan food.
Finally, the event also provided food for mind and soul, with a number of speakers giving short koreros on vegan-related themes. These included an inspiring talk from ‘Milked’ documentary star and co-producer Chris Huriwai; some first-hand experiences working in the NZ dairy industry by Jessica Strathdee; insights into animal law reform by University of Otago lecturer Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere; ethical and sustainable finance by University of Otago lecturer Prof. Sebastian Gehricke; and a talk about local vegan animal sanctuary ‘SOLVE’.
Later that evening, many local vegans attended the *World Premiere Screening* of ‘Milked: White Lies In Dairy Land’. (The documentary is touring NZ as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival, and will be screening throughout Aotearoa in Nov. and Dec. 2021. Info at milked.film/screenings)
Unless otherwise stated, all photos are by Sambit ‘Sam’ Bhaduri (aka Arcturus Photography).
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