Vegetarian and Vegan Food Festivals take place all over the world. Travelers can experience the fun and flavor of these events in the United States, Canada(Toronto), Europe(UK), and Asia. These festivals showcase vegan foods, healthy beverages, vegan clothing and skincare products, cookbooks, and much more!

The yearly Boston Vegetarian Food Festival took place this past weekend. It initially started out as a one day event fifteen years ago. It became so popular that a couple of years ago, the festival had to be extended to the entire two day weekend to accommodate the huge crowds!

Although the title gives the impression that it is a vegetarian event, the vast majority of the foods and products are actually vegan.

As I approached the large venue, I noticed a vegan, non-dairy, ice cream truck outside the entrance. This truck was a first of its kind! The vendors rode here from Rhode Island. I purchased a chocolate-vanilla twist, softserve ice cream in a cone. It was delicious! The menu was quite impressive consisting of vegan soft and hard serve ice cream, and other non-dairy frozen desserts.

After woofing down my ice cream cone, I ventured into the building. Attendees at the festival were greeted with a program guide and a shopping bag for their free goodies and purchases.
Several isles of vendor booths displayed every vegan category of product imaginable! Guests were bombarded with “vegan eye candy”. I found beautifully decorated vegan cupcakes with purple, red, or cotton candy frosting. I bought the cotton candy cupcake myself.

All I can say is “Yummy”! My next stop was a food vendor. I decided on the tofu and grilled veggie kebab and the Indian vegetable turnover…uniquely creative and tasty!

As I walked through each aisle, I took full advantage of receiving every free sample product. I eagerly filled my bag with Luna Bars, cereals, cookies, popcorn, herbal teas, and spicy crackers. Besides these packaged products that guests could take home, the food vendors had samples galore which were to be eaten right there on the spot. I sampled freshly grilled, “faux meats” such as hot vegan “faux tuna”, “faux beefsteak”, and “faux chicken” from a vegan, Asia grocer. The taste was phenomenal!

Other vendors were giving free, freshly cooked rice dishes, seaweed salads, and pizza slices. I was enjoying these heavenly delights immensely! I personally enjoyed the beverage vendors whose products included herbal teas, nutritious juices, and electrolyte water.

Quite a few tables were set aside to display the various kinds of vegan cookbooks for sale..raw, macrobiotic, dessert, and ethnic meal cookbooks. It was encouraging to see that more and more local vendors were creating vegan handbags, shoes, and clothing.

Skincare vendors were selling organic, non-animal tested products. I purchased an acai with shea butter eye cream. My next purchase was a $10 bag of veggie seeds(alfalfa, etc) for spouting (from the Sproutman vendor). The seeds need to be placed in a potato sack-like bag and watered twice a day. In seven days, the seeds will sprout and be ready to eat as a nutritious salad mix with an oil and vinegar dressing.

Animal rights groups, humane society, vegan magazines, and religious organizations represented their vegan stance and handed out brochures at their tables for those wishing to get involved with these great causes.

On the second level of the venue, guest speakers gave talks on the hour regarding relevant, vegan topics. They spoke about nutrition, animal rights, and the vegan lifestyle. Several speakers gave cooking demos. Upon completion, guests were treated to the food and desserts that were prepared. I sampled a Mexican-Israeli salad and chocolate balls. The highlight of every festival is Dr. Michael Greger. He is entertaining, humorous and extremely informative. He is the most informed physician regarding vegan nutrition and the latest health studies. I truly learned alot about such varied topics as “the most nutritious type of apple” and “how much bacteria in meat adversely affects health”.

After a full day of free samples, vegan food and beverages, vegan products, and wonderful seminars, my day at the festival was coming to a close. There was one last stop to make. It was dinner time. I noticed one of the food vendors was a catering company that provided vegan, Jamaican food. I purchased a vegan. “Faux goat” curry over brown rice and collard greens. The huge, $10 platter was absolutely scrumptious!

After my meal, I left the festival with my tummy happily filled with vegan foods, free snacks, literature and products in my bag and my mind filled with a wealth of knowledge on animal rights and vegan nutrition!

When vegan travelers take a journey anywhere in the world, it would be wise to take a look online and search for vegan food festivals. This would be a wonderful addition to any vacation itinerary!