lambcat Twenty vegan restaurants and food service companies—including three from Long Beach—will offer samples of their non-animal fare at the fifth annual Compassionate Cuisine dinner, an evening of cruelty-free dining and drinking at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Gardens on Oct. 1 from 7 p.m to 11 p.m.

Tickets to the event are $35 if purchased in advance on line (www.animalacres.org) and $45 if purchased at the door. Proceeds benefit Animal Acres, which since 1986 has been providing a sanctuary for farmed animals in the town of Acton, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles.

Animal Acres founder Lorri Houston will be among the guests at the Compassionate Cuisine dinner, as will Tanya Petrovna (founder of Native Foods), and Sarah Taylor, founder of the company The Vegan Next Door.
Local companies participating in the Compassionate Cuisine dinner are Zephyr restaurant, Viento y Agua coffee house and Whole Foods Market.