Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Bowling for the animals...

... chocolate & strawbs for the peeps!


I spotted the beautiful brown fountain of chocolatey goo and the luscious ripe berries right away in the conference/meeting room at the bowling alley in the city of Vista this past Sunday, part of the fun side notes during the ninth annual "Bowling for the Animals."
As i've mentioned (ad nauseum?!), this is an annual fab, fun fund-raiser for four extremely worthy animal groups... http://www.bowlingfortheanimals.org/

Before we went bowling, we were offered an array of the most tantalizing vegan food, served buffet-style, and given the opportunity to peruse literally hundreds of items available via raffles. Um, i went a little crazy with the food, and then nutty trying to win some of the prizes.

How COOL it was knowing that anything and everything there was not just vegetarian but vegan. Wowza! My plate, below...

My 14-year-old nephew, Rubin, went with me. His plate:

There were over 50 groovy groups of items being raffled off!
I lost track of how many tickets i bought... trying to win some of the items you see below.



The peeps in charge asked me to pick the winning raffle tickets, so i obliged, kinda hoping i might pick one with my name on it! i looked away each time i picked, just so i wouldn't be tempted to "cheat."
Ha! Like i would cheat! Not! Really, how would it have looked if i did pick my name, anyway?
The following two photos were taken by a woman at the event (link to all of her photos is at the end of this post).
My nephew, who bought a bunch of raffle tix won! Four Padres ducats, two baseball caps, a big bag o'peanuts and a magnet in a nice basket! Here's hoping he takes me to that game. Hee hee.

Oh yeah, about the bowling...
This is me below - Rubin's still learning the digital camera thing!

A bit better, Rubin, way to go! I had about 10 people sponsor me, and i was able to contribute a little bit to the cause... no matter what we all bowled (i had a 79 then 134), it was the animals who won!
More photos here, if anyone wants to see more of the event:
Unfortunately, i have a killer cold right now, but will be visiting everyone soon!
Hope you all have a great week/end!!

51 comments:

Anonymous said...

great photos, so much fun!!

i wish you to get well soon!

bazu said...

I hope your cold goes away quickly!

What a FUN event. I'm so glad your nephew won in the raffle! I so wish I could have bowled for the animals, (um, and dipped some strawberries in chocolate...drool...) but I'll just have to live vicariously through you.

meesh said...

Looks like you guys had a great time! How cool that all the food was vegan. :) There's a couple of nifty vegan places I like to go to, and i think one of my favorite parts is opening up the menu and knowing that I can eat anything there. No sifting around for one or two items that might be ok. Yum!

Thanks for all those great pics! You did a good thing for the critters!

Shananigans said...

Very cool! I love fundraising events. (I better, they are part of my job.) Good for you for getting out there and supporting and having lots of fun. That buffet...I'm drooling.

Hope you feel lots better soon!

aTxVegn said...

A vegan buffet and raffle, and raising money for animals, must be like heaven! I think your nephew got the best prize he could have hoped for. What a great time for you two!

Sorry you caught a cold - get better soon!

Kate said...

I hope you feel better. Wow, what a great event! It's an anmial lover/veggie(/avid bowler's) dream come true.

vko said...

Oh, hope you feel better soon!

What a fun event. I have said this before when you first mentioned it, but we need this in NY. What great raffle baskets and the food looks tasty. It's always so fun to go to a fun event in support of such a perfect cause!

Anonymous said...

what a great event and cause. looks like it was tons of fun. :)

hope you feel better soon.

Valentina said...

I love your blog, always full of funny and nice pictures! Thanks also for the sweet comments!
xox,
Val

MeloMeals said...

What a fun day! How cool is it that you took your nephew???

Jen said...

You're such a good soul, Kleo! Look at you having so much fun--it's so clear that the joy comes from a place of wanting to make others' lives more peaceful. Yay for you :-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the truly beautiful song. It will return to my thoughts often.

What wonderful food. Wish I had been there.

Hope you feel better soon, best wishes, The Artist

Anonymous said...

whoa, it looks like it was an awesome fundraising event! it must be nice to be able to just grab food without being conscious. i hope you feel better soon!!

Jackie said...

That for the great comment. Wish I was that inspiring :)

What a fabulous time you must have had with such wonderful food and such great company. Those are wonderful prizes, lucky them who won. Terrific photos to remeber the day.

Hope your cold is better soon.

Unknown said...

I hate being sick! So I hope you feel better soon. Looks like you and your nephew had a great time!!

runswithdog said...

Man, I have spent a fortune on raffle tickets and have *never* won anything. At least this was all going to a good cause - those look like some cool baskets. Looks like you had a great time. Hope you feel better soon!

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

Hey KP -- What an awesome event! It looks like such a blast - bringing like-minds together for a wonderful cause. plus a chocolate fountain, vegan food, + raffles! WOW.

I love the photo of you picking raffle tickets (your smile kinda mirrors the happy cat on the right).

Yeah for your very handsome nephew -- seems like the purrfect basket for him (& possibly YOU!)

An yeah for all the good it did the animals! Thanks for sharing a success story.

Cute shorts! :o) Get better! XO

laura k said...

Wow, so amazing! This looks like such fun, and what awesome raffle prizes!

Kleo, I hope you are feeling better today than you have been recently... Being sick is no fun! Take care!

Douglas said...

Such an awesome raffle basket full of goodies! I love the JASON line of stuff :)

I want to live in Cali so badly!!!

Emmy said...

Congrats to your nephew on winning a raffle prize. That rocks the food was all vegan. I'm always amazed when there are animal-related events and they serve meat. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

So glad you and your nephew had a great time helping a wonderful cause :)

Have a super duper weekend and get well soon. *HUGS*

Drasch23 said...

I love raffles too. How funny!

Looks like it was an awesome time. I want some really good vegan food!

scottishvegan said...

Sounds like a fantastic day! I don’t think I could have been dragged away from the chocolate fountain to bowl! I hope you are feeling better soon….

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

whoa! This is all so great! Good for you guys.

urban vegan said...

Strike for the animals! What a fun day you had...Your nephew is adorbale and I'm glad he won. (What a great aunt you are.)

I know what you mean about just being able to eat anything without worrying. That line made me realize what a guard we have up all the time. Being vegan makes me feel more tranquil, but that line in your post made me realize that I guess at least a little stress is involved.

And PS--how adorabel is Kleo? You look like you're in your 20s.

Anonymous said...

are you feeling better yet? I hope so!
it looks like it was amazingly fun, and the baskets are making my eyes glaze with that "NEEDS IT! NEEDS IT NOW!" look. you know what I mean. :D

Anonymous said...

Back to look at all those wonderful food pictures. I just wish everyone could discover the joys of vegan food. We would certainly be living in a much better world.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos and those are really nifty prizes. It seems you guys are having fun. Get well soon Kleo!

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous way to raise money for the animals.

Your nephew resembles you. How cool that he won a prize, eh?

That's truly vegan paradise not having to wonder what is going into the food. It can be frustrating going to restaurants and hoping they have a decent vegan menu. If I'm picking I usually pick an Indian restaurant this way I know I have a large selection and I love Indian food.

Anonymous said...

What a great event! Sounds like you and your nephew had a lot of fun -- how cool that he actually won something.

I agree it's so great when you know the food is all vegan. Since I'm working in a vegan workplace, I've been able to experience that with food that's been brought it (or even in the vending machine). It's great not to have to double check the ingredients before you eat the food.

Have a great week and I hope you feel better soon!

Randi said...

That looks like such a cool event. The closest thing we have here is a weiner dog picnic in London, Ontario. But, they serve hot dogs. I'd never find vegetarian, let alone vegan food here.

Dr. Melissa West said...

Way cool kleo! The food looks fantastic. I love all the raffle ticket gift packages! Wish I could have got my hands on some of those!

Marathon Someday said...

Wow - that looks like an awesome event! And what incredible prizes - those winners were incredibly lucky.

I hope that your cold is gone, gone, gone. And yes, I love going to vegan restaurants and feeling at ease, knowing that my food is free of any taintedness.

Thanks for your comment on my blog - you're such a wonderful person!

Kate said...

I would love to send you a cookbooklet, but my parents are a bit wary about me giving out my address. I could at least e-mail you the recipes if you would like.

pinknest said...

wow, what fun! i suck at bowling. i used to be good. but now i fall down.

n/a said...

That looks like a great time for you! I LOVE it when everything is vegan and you don't even have to ask.

Tanya Kristine said...

Wow...your nephew looks like you!

thems some awesome products there. i loved the cake!

where are you anyway?

Sheree' said...

Wow, you find and do really cool things. You have one lucky nephew. I am afraid my bowling score would have been in the low teens. lol I have not been bowling in years.

What a great idea to help the animals!

Mark Xander said...

Lookin' good, K!

Carrie™ said...

OK Kleo. I thought we were kindred spirits and the fact that you made a beeline for the strawberries & chocolate confirms it! YOU GO GIRL! What fantastic prizes. I would have been buying up tickets too. Simon's annual walk-a-thon is coming up. We do this for a no-kill shelter here in Burlington. I got some of my work buds to sponsor, then we took the form over to Nana and she's hitting up all of her friends. They all know and love Simon anyway. She's using the "Grandma Technique" -'Would you like to sponsor my grandson. He's the only one I've got you know'. HAHAHA!!! You should get your Mom & Dad to do this.
Looks like you had a great day. I would so do a bowl-a-thon. What a lot of fun!
Psssst....did your nephew take you to the game?

shaun.marie said...

wow, that looks amazing, i would have gone crazy getting raffle tickets too. awesome job fundraising.

Candi said...

You are so awesome to bowl for the animals! This is the first I've heard of the event is through you! What a great idea. You look adorable!!

I love the raffles! And all vegan foods... yum!! Congrats to your nephew for winning a great basket!

I hope you are feeling better now. Do you drink lots of tea? I go tea-crazy when I am run down or have a cold.

Mark Xander said...

We miss you, K. Hope you're okay now.

Mark Xander said...

Hi K! Hope you don't mind.. I tagged you. ;) PEACE!

Peter Matthes said...

Berries and chocolate?

YUMMY!

Lori said...

As always...you are too sweet...like those choco berries! Thanks my Jewlicious friend.

Big hugs and kisses.

Lori

pinknest said...

chocolate fountains are the strangest things to me.

Carrie™ said...

As much as I like looking at the strawberries & chocolate....

Anonymous said...

Hi Kleo! Just stopping by to say hi and catch up on old posts. I can't get over how many fun vegan-friendly events you've had the opportunity to go to in the past couple of months. I'm glad you've been having a blast.

PamelaCooks said...

What a great event to have attended! Looks like a lot of fun.
And that food!

Anonymous said...

Just stopping by to check in on you. Hope you're okay.

TB said...

this looks like such a fun event! those strawberries and chocolate look amazing...