Tag Archives: Vegfest

How you can help make Vegfest a success

Vegfest is an all-volunteer run event. It’s a big undertaking and we need lots of help! Volunteers who help for a 4 hour shift or more will receive a free Vegfest t-shirt, free admission to the event, the reward of helping to make Vegfest a big success, and a whole lot of fun.

Volunteer Today. Please help us make Vegfest a big success!

Those who have never volunteered at Vegfest before may wonder what they would be doing.  Let me tell you about the many roles you can choose from:

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Vegfest is coming!

We’re baaack! Join us on Saturday May 13th and Sunday May 14th at our new, larger venue, the Pavilion at the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup, with ABUNDANT FREE PARKING. There will be special FREE gifts for all mothers on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 14th including chocolate and cookbooks, so make it a special treat and bring your mom! Buy tickets online and skip the ticket booth line!

Start with delicious plant-based food from the moment you get there. You’ll experience the flavors of the world as well as those from here at home. Taste what happens when cultures merge. Have you ever tried Mex-Indian fusion? You’ll find delicacies along with stick-to-the-ribs foods. And yes, there’s chocolate too! Bring an appetite.

Chef Miyoko Schinner

The adventure doesn’t stop there. Meet our chefs and cookbook authors and watch their magic as they show you how to make everything from Indian to Cajun. We are especially excited to bring you a cooking demonstration by Miyoko Schinner – a legend in the vegan world, who has written 4 vegan cookbooks. Meet Internal Medicine doctor turned chef, Dr Jyothi Rao, who’ll be cooking recipes from her book “Body on Fire – Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook.” Meet popular cookbook authors with loyal followings, including Chef AJ and Krimsey Lilleth, and watch spices come alive with our authentic Indian chef, Sunita Shastri.

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Vegfest – another amazing year!

Good Planet foodsVegfest 2019 was our eighteenth successful year! Many companies debuted new products and small companies had their first opportunity to market to a large veg-friendly audience.  Thousands of attendees discovered new foods from the hundreds of different ones available. They listened to presentations by medical doctors, watched cookbook authors and local chefs prepare delicious vegetarian food, and chose from a huge selection of books to learn more.

Chef James Sant 2Every year, people come up to us with their stories about how important this event is to them, how it helps them make better food choices, makes them feel part of an impressive community and inspires them to stay or become vegetarian.

This year our doctors and nurses were able to give more free health checks than ever before, including cholesterol tests, diabetes tests, blood pressure readings, artery scans and bone scans. These health checks are an invaluable opportunity for people to learn the vital connection between the food they eat and the state of their health. Many medical doctors were available to advise them how improving their diet would yield great health benefits.

On the Saturday evening, we held our fourth Vegfest Medical Seminar for Medical Doctors and Medical Students. Regional specialists gave presentations on the power of a plant-based diet to help both prevent and treat heart disease, diabetes and chronic pain. This groundbreaking event was well attended by MD’s and med students who were motivated to make the veg diet just what the doctor ordered!

Children love donutsBut Vegfest isn’t just about health.  More groups advocating and educating about animals were present throughout the event and several organizations promoted other vegan products such as cosmetics, clothing and faux leather goods.

A big Thank You to all our members, volunteers, doctors, chefs and especially our sponsors who all made this event possible. You are the reason Vegfest is so successful. We really appreciate your support and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Vegfest T-shirts are still available for sale, if you missed getting one at the event.

Vegfest will be fabulous!

Parma etc busy scene - low resVegfest, the largest vegetarian food festival in the country, will be held on March 30th & 31st at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Mercer Street. We’ll have over 500 different kinds of food to try. Don’t have breakfast before you come!

Look for some new companies at Vegfest this year as well as some old favorites. Just some of the new products this year include Forager, Good Planet Foods, Casabi, Auntie Saros, Cinnaholic, Enjoy Life Foods, Red Plate, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, Khalsa Salsa and even a little Black Magic, and too many more to list! Oh, and let’s not forget Zazubean chocolate! You’ll also find favorite brands like Field Roast, Daiya, Quorn, Litelife, Good Karma, Starlite and way more. Read more

Chef Ramses Bravo at Vegfest

We are delighted to have Chef Ramses Bravo back with us at Vegfest this year.  Chef Ramses is the chef at the TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, CA.  He will be giving a cooking demonstration at Vegfest on both Saturday March 30th and Sunday March 31st.

Bravo Express_COVERAs a special treat for us, he shared a couple of recipes from his new book Bravo Express  where he demonstrates how a healthy, whole-foods diet can be not only delicious but also quick and easy:

  1. Yellow Curry Lentils
  2. Quinoa and Arugula Salad

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Vegfest – Another Successful Year!

Parma etc busy scene - low resVegfest 2018 was another huge success! Many companies debuted new products and we were especially happy to help many mainstream companies take steps in the veg direction.  Thousands of attendees discovered new foods from the hundreds of different ones available. They listened to presentations by medical doctors, watched cookbook authors and local chefs prepare delicious vegetarian food, and chose from a huge selection of books to learn more.

Chat Mingkwan - low resEvery year, people come up to us with their stories about how important this event is to them, how it helps them make better food choices, makes them feel part of an impressive community and inspires them to stay or become vegetarian.

This year our doctors and nurses were able to give more free health checks than ever before, including diabetes tests, blood pressure readings, artery scans and bone scans. These health checks are an invaluable opportunity for people to learn the vital connection between the food they eat and the state of their health. Many medical doctors were available to advise them how improving their diet would yield great health benefits.

On the Saturday evening, we held our third Vegfest Medical Seminar for Medical Doctors and Medical Students. Regional specialists gave presentations on the power of a plant-based diet to help both prevent and treat disease. This groundbreaking event was well attended by MD’s and med students who were motivated to make the veg diet just what the doctor ordered!

Vols chopping tofuBut Vegfest isn’t just about health.  More groups advocating and educating about animals were present throughout the event and spiritual groups who support a vegetarian diet were well represented.

A big Thank You to all our members, volunteers, doctors, chefs and especially our sponsors who all made this event possible. You are the reason Vegfest is so successful. We really appreciate your support and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We’re excited about Vegfest!

OverviewPlant-based foods are all the rage these days.  According to the International Food and Restaurant Consultants, Baum and Whiteman, the number 1 trend of the year for 2018 is that plant-based foods are going mainstream.  While still less than 3% of Americans identify as vegans, 31% of Americans practice meat-free days, and 35% of Americans get most of their protein from sources other than red meat, according to Mintel.  In addition 58% of adults drink non-dairy milk!

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You’re going to love Vegfest

Serving Genesis Juice

Genesis Juice is one of over 500 different kinds of food to try

We all love to eat. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the foods we love to eat could love us back by making us healthier? That’s what plant-based (or vegetarian) foods can do. In fact, not only does eating plant-based foods make us healthier, it also protects the environment and saves our animal friends. What’s even better is that they taste so delicious. A wonderful opportunity to find out just how delicious plant-based foods can taste is at Seattle’s Vegfest, the largest vegetarian food festival in the country, coming up on April 1 & 2, at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Mercer Street.

Two people eating ice cream

Don’t eat breakfast before you come to Vegfest.  There’s so much good food to sample!

Vegetarian foods, based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, come in all shapes and sizes these days and Vegfest has over 500 different kinds of foods to try. With the plant-based food market growing rapidly, this year’s Vegfest includes many new food products to sample. Some of the ones that caught my eye are chocolate covered quinoa, an almond mousse from Almetta, and a new dairy-free ice cream from NadaMoo. Exciting new food items from Lightlife Foods and Field Roast are also rumored to be debuting at Seattle’s Vegfest for the first time. Try the new egg-free eggs by Follow Your Heart. And for those who like the exotic, why not give Health-Ade Kombucha mushroom beverage a try? And of course, what would Vegfest be without the delicious flavors of Indian Life Foods or the Oriental delights of Sensei Sauce.

Miyoko Schinner

Chef Miyoko Schinner will be speaking at 12:55pm on Saturday

Throughout the weekend, cutting-edge chefs and cookbook authors from around the country will be demonstrating just how easy it is to make your own gourmet vegetarian dishes at home, and doctors – specialists such as urologists, internists, and even an OB/GYN – will be talking about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. More doctors than ever before will also be on hand to provide health checks, with free blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose tests, bone scans and ultrasound artery scans, giving people the opportunity to discover just how much a vegetarian diet can help improve their health. A huge selection of cookbooks are available at the Vegfest bookstore, and the kids will enjoy the clown duo, Zero and Somebuddy with their skits on healthy eating.

The food scene in our region is changing fast. Vegfest will feature several vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurants with samples of their extra special treats. Many restaurants, looking to cater to more veg-interested customers in the Puget Sound area, are happy to provide coupons for a free meal to people who join Vegetarians of Washington at Vegfest.

This year, Vegfest is on Saturday and Sunday, April 1st and 2nd, at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Mercer Street.  Admission is only $9 and kids 12 and under are free.  Tickets are available at the door. See Vegfest for more information.

This article was published in the March issue of Natural Awakenings magazine

Vegfest – What a Success!

Overview looking west - Mike NewmanVegfest was another huge success-even bigger than last year! Many companies debuted new products and we were especially happy to help many mainstream companies take steps in the veg direction.  Thousands of attendees discovered new foods from the hundreds of different ones available. They listened to presentations by medical doctors, watched cookbook authors and local chefs prepare delicious vegetarian food, and chose from a huge selection of books to learn more.

Every year, people come up to us with their stories about how important this event is to them, how it helps them make better food choices, makes them feel part of an impressive community and inspires them to stay or become vegetarian.

Artery scanningThis year our doctors and nurses were able to give more free health checks than ever before, including cholesterol and diabetes tests, blood pressure readings, artery scans and bone scans. We even had a bus providing free dental care. These health checks are an invaluable opportunity for people to learn the vital connection between the food they eat and the state of their health. At our Ask the Doctor table, we had medical doctors available to advise them how improving their diet would yield great health benefits.

This year, for the very first time, we held our first Vegfest Medical Seminar for Medical Doctors and Medical Students. Regional specialists gave presentations on the power of a plant-based diet to help both prevent and treat disease. This groundbreaking event was well attended by MD’s and med students who were motivated to make the veg diet just what the doctor ordered!

Two engaged volunteersBut Vegfest isn’t just about health.  More groups advocating and educating about animals were present throughout the event and spiritual groups who support a vegetarian diet were well represented.

A big Thank You to all our members, volunteers, doctors, chefs and especially our sponsors who all made this event possible. You are the reason Vegfest is so successful. We really appreciate your support and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Fabulous Food Tasting at Vegfest

Almetta mousseExploring all the different foods at Vegfest, while enjoy one exquisite bite after the other, is one of the best parts of the event. At this year’s Vegfest, April 9 & 10 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, you’ll find lots of completely new foods to try, along with some new variations of your current favorites.

Nadamoo ice creamFor instance, almond mousse by Almetta Foods is a new participant for this year. How about giving the new dairy-free “ice cream” frozen dessert by NadaMoo a try?

For a whole new concept for breakfast and anytime snacking, check out the all-new products from Munk Packs. Be sure to follow the stampede to the Tofurky and Field Roast booths for some real surprises!

The complete list of companies and organizations participating in Vegfest is now available.

See you at Vegfest!

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