Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Following the American Vegan Center’s farewell bash, Vance Lehmkuhl reflects on the Center’s five impactful years of outreach, advocacy, and community.

Five Big Years as a Cultural Hub
From Vance Lehmkuhl, American Vegan Society, AmericanVegan.org
August 2026

Photo from American Vegan Society

Sunday, August 23rd, we partied all day in celebration of five years of the American Vegan Center (AVC) in Philadelphia. There were door prizes, free tours, interactive entertainment, snack foods, and more!

Amid the hoopla, the history, and the hugs, we looked back on what the AVC has been able to accomplish since our opening at the end of the summer in 2021.

Thousands have stopped in for conversations on veganism. Hundreds of Philly visitors and residents have done our amazing veg history tours. With our mission to make going vegan and staying vegan easier and more fun, we’ve had some great times.

Open mic nights created a community of artists and arts supporters sharing impressive music and incisive perspectives. People also gathered for game nights, trivia nights, button-making nights, musical performances, and activist networking events.

Some of the most popular and useful of our events have been cooking classes, as chefs such as Christina Pirello, Taz Patterson, Rebeca Cintron-Loaisiga, Fran Costigan, and Watta Kesselly showed us how to make tasty vegan cuisine. While unquestionably educational, these events’ best feature was sampling what was made, allowing great vegan food to be its own ambassador for the lifestyle. There were also virtual classes, as when Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott taught us how to make tempeh from his own kitchen.

Along the way we’ve acquainted many visitors with the latest info on Philly’s vegan food scene, with American Vegan magazine, and with essential vegan books, while offering delightful and colorful merchandise.

We’re proud of what the Center helped to make happen. Our cow, Hope “Belle” Ahimsa is moooooving on from her post as “Cow at the window” in Philly; soon she’ll be greeting guests at the gift shop in our South Jersey location.

Jay Dinshah went vegan in Philadelphia in 1957 and started the American Vegan Society shortly after, organizing many seminal events here in Philly. The American Vegan Society will continue hosting fun vegan events in Philadelphia, in new formats including partnerships and collaborations to broaden our reach while building on the successes of American Vegan Center.

Stay tuned for what’s next!

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Posted on All-Creatures: August 27, 2026
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