HOLIDAY TURKEYS PREPARE TO BE FETED RATHER THAN COOKED LOCAL ANIMAL-ORIENTED ORGANIZATIONS OFFER VEGAN EVENTS.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

ACTON - The turkeys at Animal Acres in Acton love being the center of attention - even as Thanksgiving rolls around.

Rather than meeting the cook's cleaver, the trotting turkeys will be guests of honor Saturday at a vegan feast, the first at the new facility, and a sign of a growing movement.

In fact, feeding the turkeys that live on the pastoral farm is among activities planned, along with tours and the feast, said Lorri Bauston, executive director of Animal Acres.

In Canyon Country, the sixth annual Vegan Thanksgiving will be held on Nov. 24 at Gentle Barn, another shelter for animals normally found on a farm.

``Our guests of honor will be these two turkeys rescued from the slaughterhouse,'' Gentle Barn founder Ellie Laks-Callahan said. ``They're really cute and little right now, but they will be much bigger by Thanksgiving.''

The two young birds, their upper beaks and talons clipped in the days when they were being fattened for dinner, are living the good life now on the six-acre farm along with goats, pigs, chickens, roosters, horses and cattle that Laks-Callahan uses to teach nonviolence. A side benefit is introducing people to a vegan lifestyle.

``The vegan population in Santa Clarita is definitely growing,'' said Tina Landrum, marketing manager for Whole Foods in Valencia. ``We've had to grow the vegan section of the store and last year's vegetarian Thanksgiving feast class completely sold out.''

Landrum attributes some of the change to outreach programs such as those conducted by Animal Acres and Gentle Barn and increased discussions of the vegan lifestyle on television.

``There is more education out there in terms of healthy eating lifestyles,'' Landrum said. ``When I give school tours, I've heard kids as young as 8 say they were vegetarians. I always ask them if they are doing it for health reasons or because they care about the animals. They always say it's about the animals.

``We've also seen a certain community of young professionals who are health-oriented looking for alternative protein sources that are not animal,'' she said. ``There are a lot of replacements so people can still have that feeling that they're eating meat and not have to deal with the health issues.''

Landrum said college students, people in the movie and music industry and those who have moved to the area from other regions are more in tune with alternative lifestyles and are creating the demand for more vegan fare.

The menu at Gentle Barn will include Tofurky (made of tofu), potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, dressing, yams, collard greens, green bean almondine, green salad, cornbread, pumpkin and apple pies and vegan chocolate chip cookies. And because the 500 diners for the Thanksgiving feast won't experience the post-dinner fatigue brought on by an overdose of tryptophan, hayrides and other activities, guests will be kept busy.

Along with animal rescue, the Gentle Barn administers a violence prevention outreach program to at-risk youths from foster or group homes. Several of the boys who visit the barn during the school year will be attending to check on their furry and feathered friends.

``All these boys come in looking like Mike Tyson,'' Laks-Callahan said. ``They're so tough, so defensive, they don't look us in the eye. By the end of the program, they turn into sweetie-pies and soften up.''

Tickets for the Animal Acres Feeding the Turkey event are $35 per person (age 12 and up) and $25 per child (ages 3 through 11). Reservations for the event, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., must be made by today either online at www.animalacres.org or by calling Bauston at [phone]. Animal Acres is at 5200 Escondido Canyon Road.

Tickets for the Gentle Barn Thanksgiving event, planned from 1 to 6 p.m., are $100 per person (age 17 and over) and may be made online at www.gentlebarn.org or by calling [phone]. Directions to the Gentle Barn will be sent to those making reservations; deadline for reservations is Friday.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in SAC edition only) Jay Weiner's turkey at his home in Canyon Country will be a guest of honor at a vegan Thanksgiving feast. As the vegan movement catches on, holiday alternatives are offered.

(2 -- ran in SAC edition only) Jay Weiner pets one of his turkeys. A vegan substitute for turkey meat at Thanksgiving is Tofurky, made of tofu.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer