The 10th annual VegfestUK festival at London Olympia National is taking place weekend November 18th 19th 2023 and celebrating all things vegan and plant based under one roof.
“The first event we did was 20 years ago now – back in 2003. At the time it seemed like a good excuse for a proper good party – not a lot has changed there 20 years on!” Says Tim Barford VegfestUK founder.
“When we first started 20 years ago a lot of the vegan products were very niche and our shows were the best place to get things like vegan cream cakes – they didn’t exist outside of the events.
20 years on people are as likely to cross the road to a supermarket as they are to cross town to a vegan event, so successful has the growth of plant based options been… And our shows still have the most fabulous collection of independent traders and artisan goods, something the supermarkets will never quite achieve.”
Join VegfestUK for an extravaganza of food, shopping, presentations, panels and workshops covering all aspects of veganism and plant based lifestyles.
There are talks aimed at people new to the idea of plant based living whilst satisfying every seasoned vegans dreams with a plethora of fabulous vegan options ensuring a terrific day out for everyone.
“The star of the show is the food, almost undoubtedly’ state the organisers ‘and visitors will be truly spoilt for choice by so many different options to try – not only some fabulous street food caterersand an abundance of vegan cakes, doughnuts and baked goods, but also some terrific sampling to choose from, including vegan cheeses and chocolate.
Some fantastic independent vegan traders present too with some really interesting lifestyle options, all of them plant based, proving beyond doubt that this compassionate lifestyle choice is both affordable and accessible – and very tasty!”
“And there’s plenty for everyone this year” enthuse the organizers “and a particular emphasis on 2 key areas – welcoming along people who are new to plant based options, and a big focus on ‘movement unity’ and collaboration from the principle charities and campaign groups in evidence.”
Previous events in Brighton and Bristol this year have seen large numbers of people attending who are not vegan, and some spectacular feedback indicating that a lot of these visitors have changed their lifestyle choices after visiting the show with a number going vegan after visiting and many more increasing plant based options significantly.
“It’s the abundance of food and lifestyle options plus some really uplifting people and a fantastic vegan community vibe, coupled with some interesting informative and uplifting talks that seems to tip the balance for a lot of our visitors and we’re thrilled.”
VegfestUK is delighted to welcome back Vanessa Sturman who specialises in helping people new to plant based diets.
Movement Unity is another big theme and aimed principally at existing vegan visitors and in particular those that are active, featuring a number of recent collaborations from the main groups and some exciting plans afoot for 2024.
“We’ve always supported and platformed the campaigns and this year especially is seeing a real shift toward working together and collaborating on existing and new campaigns. We’ll be seeing more of this and indeed look forward to a big announcement shortly around this genre.”
‘”Vegfest exists to help people see the ease and accessibility, the variety and the joy of so many plant based options – and some truly remarkable people too – it’s always been a unique mix of fun and games, good food and music and some truly groundbreaking ethics. 20 years ago we used to say ‘we do parties, not issues’ – true to say these days we do both.”
The show opens at 10am Saturday and closes at 6pm, and again from 10am – 5pm Sunday. Tickets are required in advance, with a small allocation held back for availability on the door at £10.