Chick Jacobs Staff writer @fo_weather

The outdoor dance floor at Cape Fear Botanical Garden hadn't yet seen its first pair of cowboy boots, but Taryn Hughes wasn't worried.

After all, the sun hadn't quite slipped behind a stand of pines that bordered the garden.

"Nobody dances until the sun goes down," Hughes said. "Until then, everyone is just taking it easy."

Besides, the early crowd at the first outdoor Third Thursday event was happy just to relax, taking in the music and unseasonably warm weather.

Which was fine with Hughes, the marketing director for the garden. Thursday's event, called Beer BBQ and Boots, was the first outdoor concert of the summer schedule.

"We had one in March," she said. "It was OK, but it had to be held indoors. That's not really what we were getting at.

"We want to bring music outside into the garden. People enjoy coming here, they like to bring their family, but we kept hearing that people wanted to have a time during the week when we'd be open.

"This is a great way to give people that opportunity."

Some people brought chairs or blankets to spread out and take in the evening. Nearly everyone was definitely dressed down.

"The reality is that I bet everyone here would be doing the exact same thing, just in their backyard," said Sarah Miller. She had arrived with friends and was relaxing over a cold beer and food from My Daddy's Barbeque. Whiskey Pines, a country-blues duet from Southern Pines was wrapping an acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City." A light southerly breeze stirred the evening as shadows covered the still unoccupied dance floor.

A few folks toured the garden, but with things past azaleas and not quite to honeysuckle season, blossoms were sparse.

Besides, this was an evening for relaxing and occasionally singing along with the band.

Even if, like 13-month-old Avery Wonnenberg, you didn't quite know how to sing yet. She took in each song, bouncing to the rhythm and clapping. Her parents, Keith and Jannell, brought her to the garden "to enjoy the evening," her mom said.

"We came from Colorado," Keith Wonnenberg said. "They have lots of events like this out there. I'm glad to see this."

That was the general reaction from garden guests, an eclectic blend of retirees, military families and young professionals.

"Cold beer and good food help," joked Dan Oakes, who was sitting with friends as Whiskey Pines rolled into The Band's "Up On Cripple Creek."

"I'm just super happy to have a nice, lively but not-too busy place to relax with friends and enjoy ourselves," added Peace Lites. "Usually you have to drive to Raleigh or the Triangle for this."

Next month, Cape Fear Botanical Garden's Third Thursday will feature an evening of beach music and, likely, a lot more dancing.

"We'll definitely come back next time," Lites said.

Staff writer Chick Jacobs can be reached at 486-3515 or cjacobs@fayobserver.com.

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Harmony, horticulture blend at Cape Fear Botanical Garden's Third Thursday - Fayetteville Observer

Famous Buddhist monk Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, the propagator of Tergar meditation, says scientists have discovered the power of meditation to alter mental states and increase happiness levels. In an interview, he said the reason why everyone is not equally happy is because each person has a different baseline happiness. This baseline was thought to be unchangeable for a very long time. However, he says science has proved the ability of meditation to change this baseline so people can experience happiness more easily and overcome negative emotions.

He gave the example of winning the lottery. According to the meditation master, a person who wins the lottery may be happy for some time, but there is a limit for this happiness. The same is true, he says, for every other matter as well. He insists meditation can change these aspects for the better, helping people experience happiness at a deeper level and for longer periods of time.

The monk drew more parallels between Buddhism and science, saying the two are not very mutually exclusive. He said both are on a quest to discover things. The only difference is while science does not know how to use its discovered knowledge effectively, Buddhism does. He also added Buddhists have always been saying the same things science says today, like the impermanence of everything.

Mingyur Rinpoche is one of Buddhisms most popular and beloved teachers of meditation. He says that he was always drawn to a life of meditation and contemplation, which eventually led him to lead a life of retreat and silent seclusion. He suffered from a severe anxiety disorder at a tender age of 8 and was cured of it by Tergar meditation. Born in 1975 in the Himalayas between Nepal and Tibet, Rinpoche was only 17 years old when he was invited to be a teacher of meditation at the monastery where he was residing. It is very rare for someone so young to be offered such a prestigious position.

Today, Rinpoche has meditation centers all over the world across five continents. Rinpoche has always had an interest in Western Science and Psychology, in which he even holds a degree.

Learn about the life-changing benefits of #meditation as proven by #science! https://t.co/tX9MP6Puy4

andra picincu (@ShapeYourEnergy) March 28, 2017

Rinpoche believes that with time, more and more people will be attracted to meditation, thanks to the scientific evidence backing the effectiveness of meditation in promoting mental well-being.

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The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and are not necessarily those of World Religion News.

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Buddhist Says Meditation is Scientifically Proven to Make Your Life Better - World Religion News

Town hall to focus on new health care bill

The Lompoc Valley Democratic Club will sponsor a town hall meeting on health care at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, in the Lompoc Public Librarys Grossman Gallery, 501 E. North Ave.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be a public information and discussion session about new California Senate Bill 562, the Healthy California Act. If passed, California would have a single-payer health care system.

Guest speakers will include Dr. Bill Skeen, the executive director of California Physicians Alliance, and Peter Conn, a retired social worker who has worked with Health Care for All California since 2000.

The Mahakankala Buddhist Center will offer a series of meditation classes at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays from April 27 through May 25 at the Yoga Center in Plaza de Oro, 701 E. North Ave., Suite F (upstairs, far right).

These drop-in classes, which are open to everyone, are intended to help students understand how the state of our mind affects health and well-being and how to use meditation to improve ones experience of contentment and peace. The classes are for beginners and those with meditation experience. There is a suggested donation of $10.

Flower Festival Queen Candidate Gabrielle Casarez is putting on a Tamale Fundraiser that will go toward her queen campaign.

Casarez, whose candidacy is being sponsored by the Lompoc Employee Development Association, is taking orders through Thursday, April 27. The orders will be available for pick up between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at 832 North D St. The cost is $18 per dozen.

To place an order and/or to arrange for special deliveries, contact Gabriella Casarez at 757-0231.

The ladies of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 211 will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at 5 p.m. Friday, April 28, at 636 North H St.

The dinner, which is open to everyone, will include spaghetti, green salad, garlic bread and dessert. Meals will be $8.

The Lompoc Valley Iris Society will host its annual show of tall-bearded iris from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 29, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 30, in the Grossman Gallery at the Lompoc Public Library, 501 East North Ave.

There is no admission charge for the show, which will include hundreds of blossoms of at least 100 officially named varieties on display. There will also be free door-prizes of growing iris plants given away every half-hour, and potted, growing irises for sale. Attendees are encouraged to bring cameras for photographs.

For more information, contact Lompoc Valley Iris Society President Ben Schleuning at 733-4081.

The church of Iglesia De Jesucristo Palabra Miel will hold a car wash fundraiser from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at 806 E. Ocean Ave.

The church is asking for a $10 donation for every car. Members of the church will also be offering homemade Salvadoran pupusas mixed, pork rind, and cheese for a donation of $2 each or $24 per dozen.

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About Town: Health care town hall, Meditation classes, more | About ... - Lompoc Record

New Delhi: Previous studies have effectively shown meditation to be healing and relaxing for the body as well as the mind.

A new study has now suggested that, for women, mindfulness meditation can help overcome emotional distress and negativity and uplift their mood.

Mindfulness meditation can be defined in many ways and can be used for a variety of different therapies.

The study was carried out by a team of researchers from Brown University in the US, by measuring changes in affect, mindfulness and self-compassion among 41 male and 36 female students.

They observed the students over the course of a full, 12- week academic class on mindfulness traditions.

Students filled out questionnaires at the beginning and the end of the class. Over that time the average student had engaged in more than 41 hours of meditation in class and outside.

As a group, the 77 students did not leave the class showing a significant difference in negative affect.

Researchers found that women showed a significant 11.6 percent decline on the survey's standardised score (which is a positive psychological outcome), men showed a non- significant 3.7 percent increase in their scores.

They found that alongside those changes in affect, each gender showed progress in skills taught as part of meditation, researchers said.

The findings show that the classes were effective in teaching the techniques, though women made greater gains than men on four of five areas of mindfulness.

Researchers also found that in women several of the gains they made in specific skills correlated with improvements in negative affect.

"Improved affect in women was related to improved mindfulness and self-compassion skills, which involved specific subscales for approaching experience and emotions with non-reactivity, being less self-critical and more kind with themselves, and over-identifying less with emotions," researchers said.

Among men, only one of the specific skills was associated with better affect.

"To the extent that affect improved, changes were correlated with an improved dimension of mindfulness involving the ability to identify, describe and differentiate one's emotions," researchers said.

"The gender gap in mental health has been inadequately targeted and often only within the standard medical arsenal of pharmacological treatment," said Rahil Rojiani of Brown University.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

(With PTI inputs)

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Mindfulness meditation good for women, may help uplift mood - Zee News

The Hindu

Students of ashram schools set to get healthy snacks The Hindu About 14,000 students of Tribal Welfare Ashram Schools in eight mandals of Vizianagaram district will be getting nutritious snacks from the current academic year, thanks to the initiative taken by Sabala, an NGO that promotes millet cultivation and ...

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Students of ashram schools set to get healthy snacks - The Hindu

Going to the theatre and sleeping in the nude are among some of the life changes people in their fifties are likely to make, according to research.

But for 53-year-old Sid Willett he decided to ditch the meat and dairy and become a fully-fledged vegan.

Sid, who works for the Cornwall Drug and Alcohol Team, hasn't had a morsel of mackerel, a leg of lamb or chomped on a cheese baguette for the last six months.

Read more: Truro's 108 Coffee has just opened a bigger cafe next door and we've taken a first look inside

And he says it has "changed my life for the better forever".

Ahead of the Cornwall Vegan Festival, which takes place at the new venue of the Mount Pleasant Eco Park, Porthtowan, on Saturday, April 22, Sid has been talking to Cornwall Live about why he made the switch.

The festival coincides with Earth Day a worldwide event to celebrate the planet and encourage people to be more environmentally friendly.

"The main reason for this change was that I realised that no animal need be exploited or to suffer for my benefit, whether that was for me to eat it, wear it or to have products that had been tested on animals for me to use.

Read more: Vegan food van Vood Bar is coming to Penzance prom and they want you to try their cakes for free

It wasn't a snap decision for Sid, he has described how he pored over books, researching farming and animal based products discovered the "massive impact on the environment" that some of these practices have, he told Cornwall Live.

"If it continues it will be the downfall of our beautiful planet and so the transition for me was unquestionable and easy," he said.

Not that it didn't prompt some quizzical remarks when he informed people he had become a vegan.

"'What do you eat?' 'Isn't it a bit extreme?' and 'where do you get your protein?' " were just a few of the comments he received when he told people of his decision to change his eating habits.

Read more: Co-op forced to hide steak from customers - because it keeps getting stolen

"This is because most only look upon it as having to give up things and don't realise or think about everything they have to gain.

"Food choices are usually the first thing people think about with veganism, but it goes way beyond that to a complete lifestyle change.

"My diet has never been richer in protein, iron, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals. It's never been so low in saturated fats or higher in fibre and antioxidants. I have low cholesterol, clear and healthy skin; I have lost body fat and feel much more energised.

"If I want to eat curry I eat curry, same goes for lasagne, cottage pie, chilli, and a whole range of meat alternatives so it's a matter of using the recipes and replacing the meat.

"Once you've been through the 'detox' and erased the food memory of meat and dairy your palate changes so that it picks up on a lot more of the subtleties of fruit and vegetables. It's re-learning your food and it's exciting."

As he has transformed his diet so his body has also transformed losing 7lb in body fat.

Sid believes this is down to his improved diet, exercise and plenty of plant protein.

He added the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle "speak for themselves" and the benefits to non-human life are "immense".

If you decide to make the move to veganism Sid says there are many support groups and information available.

If you're not completely ready to give up the taste the dairy and meat there are lots of products that have a similar taste and texture, he explained.

He said: "The range of cakes and desserts is now very good and there is no doubt that a lot of them are completely indistinguishable from the animal based ones. I genuinely do not miss any foods and no food is worth eating if it comes at the expense of or to the detriment of another life.

"I urge everyone to consider their lifestyle choices and be informed on how they choose to live because our planet depends on this."

Saturday marks the fifth Cornwall Vegan Festival and runs from 11am to 5pm. For further details visit the festival website.

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Drug and alcohol worker Sid Willett: becoming a vegan has changed my life for the better forever - Cornwall Live

The Gold Leaf Collective will open as Fort Collins' first completely vegan restaurant at 120 W. Laurel St. on Saturday.(Photo: Jacob Laxen/The Coloradoan)Buy Photo

Taylor Smith became vegan about four years ago.

His passion for food then turned into a food truck called Silver Seed in 2014. And now on Saturday, Smith will open Fort Collins first completely vegan brick and mortar restaurant called Gold Leaf Collective at 120 W. Laurel St. in the old Ras-Ka Ethiopian restaurant.

We have magicians back in the kitchen, Smith said. If we didnt tell you it was vegan, you wouldnt even know.

Gold Leaf will serve separate breakfast lunch and dinner menus, and also plans to eventually sell retail veganbreads.

Porridge, bagels, tacos, English muffin melts and scrambled tofu dishes are among the morning offerings. The restaurant will serve paninis, salads, soups and flatbreads at lunch similar to Silver Seeds standard menu.

More:Farmers market season starts Saturday

At dinner, Gold Leaf will offer a variety of seasonally rotating small plate dishes available a la carte or as a multi-course meal. Many of the dinner options were tested out at ticketed tasting dinners before the restaurant opened.

Among the initial offerings are a grilled salad, baked beans, pine bark pierogies, baked potato soup and homemade dairy-free ice cream.

It has really been a process developing the menu, Smith said.

Tasty Harmony, Rainbow Restaurant, Avogadros Number are among other Fort Collins restaurants that have long catered to the local vegan community.

They certainly did pave the way, Smith said. Vegan is hard to do.

More:Tapas and beer bar to replace Old Town deli

A look at spots where former restaurants stood Jacob Laxen

Gold Leaf will be one of the few restaurants in town that doesnt source its food through major distributors Sysco and Shamrock. Instead, the establishment is partnering with five local farms for a majority of its ingredients.

We have to think just like a farmer would, Smith said. We have to plan everything meticulously. We will have to be able to preserve food and make it last through the winter.

Silver Seed will continue to operate and is booked throughout the summer. The food truck will use the new restaurant as its commissary kitchen. The entire operation now has 22 employees.

More:Dining scene history: 7 past restaurants of Fort Collins

Gold Leaf will officially debut at 5 p.m. on Saturday with a gold ribbon cutting a grand opening that coincides with Earth Day. The restaurant will also serve brunch on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The restaurant will start its normal hours on Tuesday: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays.

Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen

The Silver Seed food truck will become a brick and mortar restaurant called The Golden Leaf Collective.(Photo: Morgan Spiehs/The Coloradoan)

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Fort Collins' first entirely vegan restaurant to open Saturday - The Coloradoan

The Farby with curly fries and horsey sauce | Courtesy of Morels

Vegans and open-minded foodies have been waiting for Stanley Chase, Louisvilles vegan jerky king, to open his Highlands brick-and-mortar restaurant since hisannouncement earlier this year. Were happy to reportMorels Cafeis on track to open Tuesday, May 2, with counter service, cold sandwiches and an array of take-home vegan meats and cheeses, as well as small batch vegan jerkies.

Louisville will have to wait just a little while longer for some of Morelshot items, asChase has decided to roll those items out June 1 to assure smooth service as the business and kitchen get accustomed to dealing with live customers.

But those hot sandwiches are something to look forward to. Insider recently attended an invite-only test run for some of those hot items, and we sampled a variety of vegan cheeses and pastries as well. This all happened in Morels beautifully renovated space at 619 Baxter Ave., which formerly housed For Goodness Crepes.

The evening was scheduled to start at 6 p.m., but Chases social media teases of pictures of the food had my wife and I sitting in our car waiting just around the corner from the location at 5:45. We sat patiently for all of six minutes before we decided to just go loiter hungrily in front of the building.

As we walked up, we saw we werent the only impatient ones, as several people were getting out of their cars, and we all found the doors unlocked. The interior is a toned-down hipster chic, attractive and subtle.

The food was still being put out, which seemed fair; we were early.

We started with a gorgeous, miniature, strawberry Pop Tart-like pastry. They were as tasty as the were pretty, and I managed to only eat one, which I consider a personal victory.

Those confections came courtesy of Ashley Bender, who was mingling with the crowd.

The evening was set up in courses, and more food rolled out, starting with an appetizer-style cheese plate.I consider myself more of an aspirational vegan, so while I go through relatively long stretches with no dairy in my life, I had an egg and cheese biscuit and some ice cream yesterday. So when I eat vegan cheese, I know if its good or not.

Many vegan cheeses especially those created with processed soy seem to have to choose between taste and texture. While the smoked cheddar from Miyokos Kitchen served by Chase is still a little softer than a block of cow cheddar, it nailed the taste, and the slightly creamier texture was perfect on a cracker.

I sampled each of the cheeses from Miyokos, and for me, the cheddar was the standout, but Im looking forward to exploring the rest.

As I finished the selection of cheeses, Chase was putting out a new plate of cheese, which he urged me to try with a conspiratorial wink. This cheese, he told me, was for rock stars.

Cheezehound, located in the Catskill Mountains, doesnt even have an online store its so niche. Its currently only available at four shops in New York City and one in Brooklyn. And I would fight you for a block of it. My favorite from the companywas the bleu cheese creamy and funky. There also was something smooth, with peppadew, that I would marry if it were legal.

(I admit my notes on the cheeses wereincomplete because I was stuffing my face.)

After the cheese course, sandwiches were served, starting with theMuffuletta.

I havent eaten beef or pork in several years, so all the sandwiches seemed pretty magical, but I guess you can take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Regardless, mad props to Tom Wilburn and Trevor DeCuir, who developed the menu and were running the kitchen.

The star of the Muffuletta was the tapenade, but the salt and umami of the meats and cheeses provided the solid grounding that a good tapenade needs to stand up and shine. As a cold sandwich, the muffuletta will be immediately available when Morels opens.

Next came the Farby. Its a roast beef and cheddar sandwich (think Arbys), and its exactly what you want it to be if youre a vegetarian whosbeen missing the meat version. When its offered in June, this item will come as a full-sized sandwich, but on preview night it was a slider. And thank goodness, because I was filling up fast.

The Farby was the sandwich I was most looking forward to, and it was good, but it didnt turn out to be my favorite.

The pulled pork sliders hit the same pleasure centers of the brain as their meaty counterpart, but the flavor combination, which I suspect involves a little curry, is more complex and interesting.

Its got a nice slaw on it that keeps the curry in check and adds an interesting sweet-tangy flavor. As such, I think its the sandwich Ill return to most often, and I bet it will have the biggest following among omnivores.

There are more hot items promised on the menu, including Philly cheesesteak fries and chicken wings. I eagerly look forward to them. Chase continues his pseudo-fast-food aesthetic by offering a Pepperoni Hot Pocket forkids, complete with tater tots, juice box and a toy. Ill eat that, too.

Chase has been talking big about his ability to deliver vegan food that doesnt suck. And if the sandwiches, cheeses and desserts I sampled are any indication, he can 100 percent deliver on his promises.

On our way out the door, Chase encouragedus to take bags of his special in-house only jerky flavors. Cherry Chipotle was the biggest winner, but I also destroyed the Sweet Chili. Hehas a taste for unique flavors, and Im excited to try his experiments as he rolls out differentcreations every month.

Morels, located at 619 Baxter Ave., is set to open Tuesday, May 2, with deli offerings. Hot foods roll out June 1. Keep up to date on the latest with their Facebook page.

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The Farby with curly fries and horsey sauce | Courtesy of Morels - Insider Louisville

The Sun

Mum furious after her toddler was BANNED from a vegan kid's birthday party - for wearing a cow onesie The Sun Mum Mille Hyde, from Southend, dressed her eight-month-old daughter Tanya in a cow patterned onesie before she set out to a friend's birthday party, not realising that the birthday boy's mother Esmeralda Soy-Abbinton is raising her son Eddie as a vegan.

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Mum furious after her toddler was BANNED from a vegan kid's birthday party - for wearing a cow onesie - The Sun

Somervilles Veggie Crust, a vegetarian- and vegan-friendly pizzeria that replaced A4 Pizza on Somerville Avenue, is now taking over a second pizzeria, expanding to the Grano Neapolitan Pizza space at 8 Cypress Street in Brookline, according to a sign in the window. The location is at the northern tip of Emerson Garden, a short walk from both the Brookline Hills and Brookline Village T stops. The original Somerville location of Veggie Crust opened in August 2016, next to sister restaurant Dosa N Curry, which serves vegetarian Indian and Indo-Chinese food.

Veggie Crust is a fully vegetarian pizzeria with ample vegan and gluten-free options. In addition to pre-set pizzas such as coconut corn (alfredo, corn, tomatoes, regular mozzarella and smoked mozzarella, basil) and paneer Manchurian (paneer, Manchurian sauce, cilantro, red onion, garlic, ginger), theres also a design-your-own pizza option. Choose a crust (regular, whole wheat thin crust, or gluten-free), a sauce (marinara, masala sauce, regular or vegan alfredo, and more), and toppings (a variety of vegetables, pineapple, paneer, and more).

The restaurant also serves pasta, panini, salads, juices, and vegan nice cream dairy-free, gluten-free ice cream made with a coconut milk base. Stay tuned for an opening date for the new Brookline location.

Update, 9 p.m.: The restaurant is targeting a late June 2017 opening.

Veggie Crust Coverage on Eater [EBOS] Veggie Crust [Official Site]

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Veggie Crust to Bring Vegan Pizza and 'Nice Cream' to Brookline Next - Eater Boston