Catskill Animal Sanctuary hosts Shindig

The annual Shindig returns on Saturday at the sanctuary.

The Catskill Animal Sanctuary’s annual Shindig —featuring music, vegan food vendors, cooking demos, speakers, and rescued animals — returns on Saturday, July 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the sanctuary, 316 Old Stage Road, Saugerties.

“Music will be provided by Joy Askew and Shlomo Franklin, with savory and sweet vegan treats by Freakin’ Vegan, Gone Pie, The Green Palate, Wendy’s Vegetarian Kitchen, and So Delish,” according to the sanctuary in an announcement about the event.

The event will also feature the stories of its residents, “how they came to us —and how our care gives them the lives that they deserve!, with educational activities for the whole family and a raffle with great prizes,” the release said.

“The highlight of the day will be when attendees are invited to feed fresh fruit to our resident pigs, a treat the piggies love almost as much as we do,” the sanctuary said.

The sanctuary said it “recognizes that virtually all of us grew up eating meat, and rather than judging visitors for their personal choices, we welcome everyone who comes here to engage and to learn. Visitors meet the eleven species of rescued animals who call Catskill home and discover them as unique individuals, as well as ambassadors for their species.”

The sanctuary is a nonfor-profit 148-acre refuge founded in 2001. “It is home to eleven species of rescued farmed animals with between 275 and 400 residents at any given time. In addition to direct animal aid, the Sanctuary offers on-site tours, vegan cooking lessons, and educational programs that advocate veganism as the very best way to end animal suffering, improve human health, and heal an ailing planet,” according to its website. Proceeds from the shindig support the work of Catskill Animal Sanctuary.

Shindig admission is $20; $17 for sanctuary members; $10 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children under 5.

The event takes place rain or shine.

Shindig tickets are available at shindig18.eventbrite.com.

PATRICIA DOXSEY - DAILY FREEMAN, FILE Alyssa Moudis of East Hampton pets a very calm Jasmine the pig, while a rooster stands on top of her, during the Catskill Animal Sanctuary’s Shindig in 2016.