In 1986, Farm Sanctuary—a 175-acre patch of rolling hills and woods in New York State's Finger Lakes region that provides a home for animals rescued and rehabilitated from farms and stockyards—kicked off its Adopt-a-Turkey Project, finding donors to sponsor "adopt" the birds or placing them into loving homes.

Each year before Thanksgiving, in what's become the Sanctuary's biggest event on both coasts (there's a 300-acre Northern California counterpart), you can attend the day-long Celebration For the Turkeys, where the sensitive creatures are the guests of honor, not the main dish.

In one of the most winning petting-zoo-style experiences you'll ever encounter, humans and gobblers alike gather round for a feast of pumpkin pie, cranberries, squash, you name it (as long as it's vegan).

This year's Celebration For the Turkeys takes place on November 19 and 20.

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