T.O.F.U. Magazine » vancouver

The T.O.F.U. Tour Starts Tomorrow!

Ryan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:41:04 +0000

Tues, Aug. 9th
Halifax, Nova Scotia
GPI Office (3008 Oxford St.)
9pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

Fri, Aug. 12th
Toronto, Ontario
The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Avenue)
10pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

Tues, Aug. 16th
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Mondragon Cafe (91 Albert St.)
7:30pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

Wed, Aug. 24th
New Westminster, British Columbia
Karmavore (610 Columbia St.)
7:00pm | Pay What You Can
Facebook Event

I wish it could be longer, but things didn’t quite work out as planned. Sorry to those who are unable to attend, and I hope those of you who can will come and introduce yourselves.

On a related note, the new issue should be out really soon. Due to being sick, moving and a few other things we were delayed, but hopefully we can get back on track this week. I just need to get rid of this nasty cough!

T.O.F.U. to hit the road in August (with your help?)

Ryan — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:05:43 +0000

Although it will not be as large-scale as the first T.O.F.U. tour, we are currently working on a cross-Canada tour to coincide with the release of issue 6 in August. If we’re going to travel across the continent to Portland for Vida Vegan Con, we might as well have some fun on the way, right?

With that in mind, here’s the catch: we’re poor.

I know, you’re shocked. How could a magazine that depends on vegan-friendly companies and folks like yourself to support it be poor, right? Well, apparently life can be expensive, especially when you throw in student loans, rent, and a few other things (like food).

Of course, this means we’re trying to get across the country as cheaply as possible, while still maintaining a schedule so that we can book venues in cities along the way. Thus, biking and hitchhiking are out.

Luckily, this is where you come in! Here’s a PROPOSED list of the tour, followed by a list of what we’re in need of at each stop. If you think you can help in any way wherever you live, drop us a line.

Possible T.O.F.U. tour stops

Halifax
Moncton
Saint John
Fredericton
Quebec City
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Winnipeg
Brandon
Regina or Saskatoon
Calgary or Edmonton
Vancouver

Things we need help with

Venues to hold the event (preferably with a speaker system to allow live music)
Musicians (preferably at least one veg*n member in each act)
Local organizations to table and promote awareness of the work they do (should be appropriate for a vegan event)
Couch/floor/reclining chair to sleep in

If you think you have an answer to any of these, feel we should host an event in your area, or just want to be involved but don’t quite know what to do, email us (ryan at ilovetofu.ca) and we’ll start working on this together.

Upscale D.I.Y. tofu gaining popularity

Ryan — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:10:58 +0000

Alright, so maybe it’s not as neat as the way we make T.O.F.U. around here, but I did think it is interesting to learn that a lot of upscale restaurants are now preparing their own tofu instead of simply buying it from a store.

Not your grocery store’s tofu (macleans.ca)

Of course, though there is a lot of work put into every issue of T.O.F.U., I don’t know if we had as many issues as Chef David Wong and the staff at Oru. Although, now that I think of it, we did start off using Microsoft Word, which probably gave us more headaches than it was worth. Plus, there were times when I felt like dropping the computer from a shelf would have been a big help…

Photo taken from the Fairmont Pacific Rim website.

Behind the lines: Happy Kreter

Ryan — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:10:52 +0000

Happy Kreter is a long-time friend of mine, and also most likely the first vegan I ever met. At the time I thought it was interesting, and I respected his choice enough to try and be vegan while he was on tour in Halifax. Since then, Happy has been one of my favourite contributors with articles such as “Happy Kreter: Animal Supremacist” and “Who Cares If You’re Vegan?” and city reviews for Vancouver, Portland and Los Angeles. His most recent review of New York City in the fourth issue has me hoping I get to take another bite out of the Big Apple sometime soon.

In one word, why are you vegan?
Ethics

How long have you been vegan?
15(ish) years

Who would win in a fight: Quinoa or Couscous?
Quinoa, no question.

Would you prefer to lead a revolution or to live quietly in the woods?
Quietly in the woods. The revolution is ongoing.

If there is a revolution, will it be televised or a Facebook event?
The new paradigm in Western culture is for things to change gradually. The days of quick and sudden revolution are behind us, at least for the foreseeable future. Things like feminism, lgbt issues, animal rights, racism are all vastly improved in the past 50 years, and this stuff is happening via all types of media.

Favourite vegan thing in your town:
My friends.

A Little Help From My Friends?

Ryan — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:42:02 +0000

So, I thought it may help if I posted the tour schedule here in case you have suggestions for the spaces we currently have yet to figure out. We’re looking for venues that are capable of holding a great music show, and if they happen to be veg*-friendly that is a definite plus. If not, I think we’ll be friendly enough to make up for it.
=-)

Also, we’re still looking for veg* musicians, in bands or solo, that would be interested in playing a date or two with us. So, if you are in a city where we seem to need help, drop me a line and we’ll work something out.

See you somewhere out there,
Ryan

Dates in bold are in need of help.

Canada

Thurs, Apr.30th – Halifax, Nova Scotia – The Wooden Monkey
Sat, May.2nd – Saint John, New Brunswick – A Khord

Sun, May.3rd – Quebec City, Quebec
Mon, May.4th – Montreal, Quebec

Tues, May.5th – Ottawa, Ontario – Umi Cafe
Wed, May.6th – Toronto, Ontario – The Boat
Thurs, May.7th – Guelph, Ontario – Van Gogh’s Ear

Fri, May.8th – DAY OFF – DRIVING
Sat, May.9th – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Mondragon Cafe
Sun, May.10th - Regina, Saskatchewan – BeetRoot Organics

Mon, May.11th – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Tues, May.12th – Edmonton, Alberta – Hydeaway All-Ages Art Space

Wed, May13 – Calgary, Alberta
Thurs, May.14th – Vancouver, British Columbia

Fri, May.15th – Seattle, Washington – Holy Mountain
Sat, May.16th – Spokane, Washington- Caterina Winery
Sun, May.17th – Portland, Oregon – Laughing Horse Books

Mon, May.18th – DAY OFF – REDWOOD FOREST

Tues, May.19th – San Francisco, California

Wed, May.20th – Echo Park, California – Echo Curio
Thurs, May.21st – Los Angeles, California – Unknown Cafe
Fri, May.22nd – DAY OFF – Los Angeles, California
Sat, May.23rd – Los Angeles, California – Genghis Cohen
Sun,May.24th – Phoenix, Arizona – Ruby Room

Mon, May.25th – Northern Arizona
Tues, May.26th – New Mexico (Albuquerque or Santa Fe)

Wed, May.27th – Denver, Colorado – Quixote’s
Thurs, May.28th – Nebraska – HOLDING FOR SADDLE CREEK BAR

Fri, May.29th – Topeka or Kansas City

Sat, May.30th – Wichita, Kansas – Fisch Haus

Sun, May.31st – Des Moins
Mon, June.1st – Indianapolis

Tues, June.2nd – Mansfield,Ohio – House Show
Wed, June.3rd – PA,NY or NJ – On Hold

Thurs, June.4th – New York City, NY

Fri, June.5th – Long Island, New York – On Hold

One small step…

Ryan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:10:03 +0000

Just created three events pages for the T.O.F.U. Facebook page. That’s about a tenth of the way to being done… why don’t I just work 9-5 like everybody else?

=-p

Pre-tour panics

Ryan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:34:55 +0000

I’m not sure how I feel right now about the tour. Some parts of it are moving along nicely, but other parts are dead in the water. I understand Calgary being a tough city to crack, but where is Portland in the mix? And Vancouver? These two fine vegan cities have to have something for us, right?
Ah well, I’m sure it will all work out in the end and once we hit the road the month and a bit we will be gone will go by fast. Come to think of it, I’m looking forward to the whole thing even if Portland and Vancouver do not show their true vegan colours. I always have… Edmonton, right?