Vegans Prepare for Columbus, OH July Fourth Parade

Residents of Columbus, OH are hoping to use the city’s annual Doo Dah Parade—a nontraditional Fourth of July march that emphasizes eccentric costumes and political satire—as a means of getting exposure for the city’s growing vegan community. Local animal-rights advocate Eriyah Flynn has turned to social-media platform Facebook to recruit participants for 300 Vegans for Independence Day, a demonstration Flynn believes will heighten awareness of veganism in the region as the parade’s first significant vegan contingency. In the month leading up to the Doo Dah Parade, Flynn is raising money for T-shirts bearing vegan slogans, and is spreading the word in an effort to gather supporters.