From its humble beginnings over twenty years ago, Richmond’s vegan food festival, VegFest, is returning this weekend Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 12 PM to 6 PM in Byrd Park.
VegFest is a family (and dog) friendly, free event in Richmond that promotes a plant-based diet and lifestyle, even if that just means getting the vegan option when you go out to eat once in a while.
RVA VEGFEST FOOD!
Richmond’s VegFest will have over 100 vegan-friendly vendors, live entertainment and speakers, and children’s activities. With Richmond staples like 821 Cafe, Elephant Thai, Sticky Rice, and (of course) King of Pops selling food, make sure you come hungry!
This year, they have a record number of vendors selling everything from fresh vegan food to packaged items like granola and hot sauce, as well as material goods like jewelry, T-shirts, and vegan soaps. A goal of VegFest—aside from providing good vegan food—is to highlight communities that already exist. You are sure to see tables from nonprofits, dog adoption agencies, and farming informational stands to help you learn about local groups in your own community.
Beginning in 2003, VegFest, formerly the Vegetarian Festival, has grown significantly over the years; however, the heart of the festival—food, community resources, and making a plant-based lifestyle fun and accessible—has stayed the same.
In the past few years, VegFest has shifted to providing only vegan options. Some vendors are not entirely vegan establishments and instead offer vegan options; however, for the festival, they must exclusively sell vegan items that day and refrain from marketing their non-vegan options. This includes covering signs that feature meat or other non-vegan products. This means that anything you can buy at VegFest will be 100% vegan.
Since the beginning, the festival has always been fully volunteer-organized and operated; however, the planning team has grown. I had the opportunity to talk with Amanda (she/her), a representative of the planning team, to learn more about VegFest.
She emphasized that a major part of their goal as an event is to help people recognize restaurants they may already frequent that have vegan options they might not have known about or felt inclined to try. Most attendees of the festival are not vegan or vegetarian, she noted, so there is additional attention to sharing how easy it can be to live a more mindful life.
If you’d like to help VegFest continue to thrive for years to come, you can sign up to volunteer for this year’s festival or join the organizing team for next year. Alternatively, you can donate on their website or in person on the day of the festival.
Find more information HERE.
RVA VEGFEST VENDOR LIST!
SMALL PLATE MENU!
