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On April 2nd, hundreds of New Yorkers gathered in the Meatpacking District, of all places, for the start of the 10th Annual Veggie Pride Parade. “We made it ten years; I don’t know how!” joked Pamela Rice, who produces the parade and post-parade exposition in Union Square.

Pamela Rice, organizer of Veggie Pride Parade

While some onlookers laughed condescendingly at the participants, the vast majority laughed with them, remarking on the creative fruit and vegetable costumes and good energy that filled the streets of Greenwich Village. TheirTurn spoke to many people along the parade route to get their reaction:

Several people told us that they would read the pamphlets and consider making changes to their diets, but we suspect that’s not the case for the man caught on camera saying, “Bro. I guarantee this was commissioned by Monsanto.”

A giant pea pod asks onlookers to “Give Peas a Chance.”

Some participants marched in fruit and vegetable costumes; others carried posters promoting animal liberation. But their messages to the public were consistent: “Animals are not food.”

On April 3rd, animal advocates took to the streets of Greenwich Village for the 9th annual Veggie Pride Parade, attempting to awaken their fellow New Yorkers to the plight of animals exploited for food and the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet. Curious onlookers fumbled for their smart phones to document the unique and unexpected parade and to take selfies with a giant pea pod.

Racial, ethnic and socio-economic diversity at the Veggie Pride parade.

The parade began in the “Meatpacking District,” a neighborhood that was once dominated by commercial butcher shops. Today, those businesses, which have been priced out of the trendy neighborhood, have been replaced by restaurants that, of course, serve meat (for now).

Parade onlooker wearing Canada Goose fur coat expressed excitement about seeing the parade.

When the parade spilled into Union Square, where it ended, organizer Pamela Rice staged a spirited rally, and parade participants indulged in vegan fare sold by local restaurants and food companies.

Veggie Pride Parade Organizer Pamela Rice