Iowa City’s Trumpet Blossom finds new ways to support local groups

December 10, 2020December 28, 2020 Christine Hawes

trumpet blossom giving to corridor community action network this week

IOWA CITY — Fresh off of unprecedented recognition in Little Village’s CRANDIC awards, Trumpet Blossom Cafe is focusing anew on supporting others. Starting the first week of December, Iowa City’s only all-vegan cafe began donating 10 percent of sales of its “Take & Bake” weekly menu to a community group in eastern Iowa. This week’s recipient is the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. Last week’s beneficiary was Corridor Community Action Network (CCAN), formed in 2019 to help connect nonprofit groups with each other, volunteers, donors and those in need. CCAN will…

Winter clothing drive, new vegan offerings at Iowa City’s Trumpet Blossom Cafe

October 16, 2020December 21, 2020 Christine Hawes

IOWA CITY — Trumpet Blossom Cafe and Katy Meyer already reinvented the way they provide all-vegan, all-local food in Iowa City, in response to COVID-19. Now, the 8.5-year-old restaurant and bar is reinventing its charity work, one of its pivotal qualities over time. Earlier this week, Trumpet Blossom hosted a winter clothing drive for the Iowa City Tenants Union and Shelter House. Meyer provided a complementary vegan treat to anyone who swung by to drop off winter clothes of any kind that they no longer need. The need for these…

VegFest coming to Coralville Nov. 9

October 26, 2019January 31, 2021 Christine Hawes

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Animal rights advocate Jenny Brown may have grown up in Kentucky, but her background is identical to that of many Iowans. Brown was raised by a conservative fundamentalist family surrounded by farm animals — much like many residents of Iowa, which is the country’s largest producer of eggs and of pigs for slaughter; the sixth-largest producer of turkeys for slaughter; the 10th-largest producer of cows for slaughter; and the 12th-largest producer of milk. Her loss of a leg to bone cancer, and her resulting bond with animals during recovery, convinced…

Fields of Yogis expands offerings for fest that begins Friday

April 24, 2019December 23, 2020 Christine Hawes

Fields of Yogis is aiming to reach some key goals this coming year — all focused on making yoga more accessible to all of Iowa. “We want to have an accepting, diverse, all-encompassing festival,” says founder Ally Thompson. The Cedar Rapids yoga festival, happening Aug. 23-25, aims to attract more people new to yoga and create a sense of community around year-round wellness. The festival aims to reach farther throughout the state. And, it seeks to communicate the overall benefits of yoga, not just its physical benefits . “It’s not…

No to animals as entertainment, say protestors

April 22, 2019December 23, 2020 Christine Hawes

Animal rights activist Lynn Gallagher and a small group of eastern Iowa residents continue to make a difference on behalf of animals in captivity, battling both the Johnson County Rodeo and several circuses that take place in Cedar Rapids. More specifically, Lynn Gallagher is opposed to some key practices at these “animals as entertainment” traditions: Calf roping, especially at youth rodeos Elephant riding – a practice that is supposed to be banned statewide but that some county fairs continued. They included the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, which just ended…