If your waffle maker has been in storage, it’s time to get it back out and check out a few vegan waffle recipes! We welcome others around the world to host parties on Saturday, May 29, 2010, or any time in May or June, joining us for the third annual Global Vegan Waffle Party.

It’s as easy as signing up, inviting over a few friends, having them bring creative toppings, and baking (or even letting them bake!) some tasty waffles. Or, suggest the idea to your Meetup Group, or to a local vegan-friendly cafe or restaurant. The idea is to inspire awareness and change in a fun and relatively easy way.

The 2008 and 2009 vegan waffle parties in Pittsburgh and other cities were a ton of fun! There were even some vegan pancake parties (just add a bit more liquid to the batter). This year, we’re aiming for 80+ parties (we’ve doubled our original goal of 40+), because we have a fun and important project to catalyze next year. Your participation will help make it possible, as the parties are a springboard for greater change.

This year’s theme is “Good for Many Species and Our Planet.” As always, you’re welcome to use this theme or create your own. This builds upon last year’s theme for a few reasons including: a) May 29 falls just one week before UN World Environment Day, b) our town is the 2010 North American host for this, and c) their 2010 theme happens to be biodiversity, or “many species, one planet, one future.” We’re hoping that some of the leaders involved will catch wind of this and be reminded that dietary choices are a key part of the equation–especially if they see that cities around the globe are involved. As with last year, we’ll be utilizing eco-friendly party practices.

First, read about what a waffle party is and why we focus on vegan waffles, if you’d like more background. Then, please tell us about your party plans via the brief registration form. A few fun incentives for signing up early, including the Vegan Waffle Party Primer and some books and gear, are described there.

Vegan Waffle Party Primer

We’ve also got some promotional gear in the GVWP Zazzle shop, with any royalties going toward further GVWP promotion or charity. I bought myself a mug and some stickers to snazz up name tags and topping labels at our party. Thanks to VegCast’s Vance Lehmkuhl for the cool new logo! (BTW, check out VegCast #63 for the Waffle Party interview.)

Want a free or reduced-cost party? If your budget is tight and your event adheres to their guidelines, VegFund may lend a hand. (Actually, you’ll still need to use your own hands to make the waffles, but VegFund may assist with food costs.)

Want to raise money for worthy causes at the same time? You could even sell waffles as a fundraiser to coordinate with the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.

If you wish to host a vegan waffle party, please let us know via the brief registration form. Also, please spread the word with this e-poster!

Please tell us about your party plans via the brief registration form, so I can email you the Vegan Waffle Party Host Primer. (It has several vegan waffle tips and recipes not found on this site.) If the budget is tight and your event adheres to their guidelines, VegFund may even be able to help you cover many of your party costs! The first multi-city vegan waffle party was a lot of fun!

Vegan Waffle Party Host Primer

Waffle parties consist of serving vegan waffles for anywhere from 2 to 100 people. You can have each guest bring a creative vegan topping, or you can provide your own. A number of free recipes and topping ideas are on this site – you might even create a special theme for your party, like all Indian or Mexican toppings, or chocolate. You can throw one for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner; and you can invite guests with a range of dietary/lifestyle preferences if you wish – as long as all the food is vegan.

You can throw a free party, or you can suggest contributions at the door as a fundraiser for the charity of your choice.  For example, we plan to raise some funds for Pittsburgh’s new Three Rivers Vegan Society with our party. If you wish to stretch the boundaries a bit, you could even host a vegan waffle bake sale, and also register your event with the cool folks who are catalyzing the first worldwide vegan bake sale this year. (If you throw a waffle-related event during the June 20-28 timeline on their site, we’d still love to post a link to your site here!)

If you wish to host a vegan waffle party, please let us know via the brief registration form.

Last year Waffle Party began to grow, with hosts in several cities serving up delicious vegan waffles. Thanks to sites including Godairyfree, PETA, Soystache, Veganhacker, Vegan Recipes at Blogspot, Vegan World Network, and the Vegan Society for helping to get out the word last year. This year, we hope to shift it toward “above underground” status, with several dozen adventurous hosts spreading the joy of vegan food – will this include you?

Our event is on Memorial Day Weekend in the U.S., which we again feel is fitting given the likely connection between different types of violence. Memorial Day is a time of reflection regarding the myriad people who have suffered and lost their lives in human conflict, along with the families who have sacrificed alongside them. Waffle parties are partially about removing some of the unnecessary violence from the human lifestyle, i.e., our current means of relating to other sentient beings. Because suppressing our recognition of one type of violence may make it easier to suppress others, adjusting the way in which we relate to non-human animals may be a key step toward establishing more harmonious human relations. Waffle parties help us to celebrate the possibilities for a more sustainable, healthy and peaceful future, while also generating awareness.

Have fun, and please help to spread the word!