Wikipedia list article
Vegetarian and vegan festivals are held around the world to promote veganism and/or vegetarianism among the public and to support and link individuals and organizations that practice, promote or endorse veganism or vegetarianism. Many of these events are also food festivals and/or music festivals and can also contain edutainment.
List
This is a list of notable vegetarian or vegan festivals.
International
Some vegetarian and vegan festivals are held in multiple countries at multiple times a year. These include:
In addition to these, many vegetarian or vegan festivals may call themselves 'VegFest', but these do not appear to have any international ties to each other.
Austria
In Austria, Veganmania festivals are held in:
Canada
- Edmonton, Alberta. The first Edmonton VegFest was held on 30 September 2018, at the Ritchie Community League Hall and Outdoor Park. Admission was free. The nonprofit organization coordinating and hosting this annual event was Vegans and Vegetarians of Alberta.[5]
- Peterborough, Ontario. VegFest Peterborough has been held since 2017 at Millennium Park.[6]
- Toronto, Ontario. The Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair has been held in Toronto at the Harbourfront since 1985. Around 2005 it attracted 15,000 to 20,000 visitors a year.[7][8][9][10]
Croatia
In Croatia, Veganmania festivals are held in:
- Zagreb. Officially known as the ZeGeVege Festival, held annually since 2008, organised by Prijatelji životinja ('Animal Friends').[11]
Czech Republic
France
In France, VeggieWorld festivals are held in:
- Lyon. 3rd edition held in 2019.[14]
- Paris. VeggieWorld Paris 2019 was the 7th Parisian edition and attracted over 8,000 visitors, which was 14% more than the 6th.[15]
Germany
In Germany, Veganmania festivals are held in:
VeggieWorld festivals are held in:
- Berlin. VeggieWorld Berlin was first held in 2015 with 55 stands, which grew to 130 stands in 2019. The 2019 edition saw 10,000 visitors.[19]
- Düsseldorf. The 5th edition was held in 2019.[20]
- Wiesbaden (2011–2020). 10 editions of VeggieWorld have been held in Wiesbaden from 2011 to 2020, with the last attracting 13,000 visitors.[21] The next edition is scheduled to take place in 2021 in Frankfurt.[21]
Other festivals:
- The Vegan Summerfest (German: Veganes Sommerfest) is a three-day vegan food festival that takes place on the Alexanderplatz in Berlin, co-organised by ProVeg International, Berlin Vegan and the Albert Schweitzer Foundation. The 2019 edition featured around 100 information and selling stands.[22]
Netherlands
Psy-Fi in Leeuwarden, Netherlands
The following festivals in the Netherlands are focused on vegetarian and vegan food, community and activism:
The following Dutch music festivals have made a conscious decision not to sell any meat on the festival terrain:
Organisers indicated their motives were sustainability and environmental protection; aside from dropping meat sales, they also focused on reducing the use of disposable products and electricity.[27][28]
Poland
In Poland, the Otwarte Klatki ('Open Cages') association organises Veganmania festivals in several different cities:[30]
Veganmania in Poland has been held in eight major cities, with the 2019 Łódź edition attracting over 3,000 visitors.[32]
Aside from these, there was also a Vegetarian Culinary Festival in Poznań in 2019.
Serbia
BeGeVege Festival - the first vegan festival in Serbia takes place annually since 2015 on Nikola Pašić square, one of the biggest squares in the centre of Belgrade. The festival is organised by the animal rights association "Sloboda za životinje" (Freedom for animals").
Switzerland
A tour around the 2016 edition of
Veganmania in Aarau
In Switzerland, Veganmania festivals are held in:
- Aarau. Veganmania in Switzerland has been organised by Swissveg since 2011. The 2016 edition attracted 5,000 visitors, making it the largest of all vegan festivals in Switzerland. Previous editions were held in Winterthur, but due to a lack of space to accommodate the attendees, the organisation chose to move the festival to Aarau.[35][36]
- Gossau, St. Gallen. The Gossau Veganmania, organised by Swissveg, was held first in 2017, then featuring 60 stands.[37]
United Kingdom
VegfestUK is an annual vegan food festival held each year in various cities, starting in 2013.
United States
- Long Beach, California. The annual Long Beach Vegan Food & Music Festival, co-organized by Edward Yniguez and Kawani Brownwas, was first held in 2016.[40] Because the first year's event was free, reportedly between 8,500 and 10,000 people showed up throughout the day.[40]
- Los Angeles, California. Vegan Oktoberfest LA was the world's first vegan Oktoberfest when it first occurred in 2014 in Santa Monica.[41] In 2015, the event was held at LA Center Studios.[42] The event returned October 2021 and featured craft beer, Bavarian music, yodeling, costume contests, and vegan versions of bratwurst and pretzels.[43]
- Orange County, California. The first SoCal VegFest was held in 2016, at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.[44] In 2017, the event attracted an estimated 15,000 guests across two days.[44] In 2018 and 2019, SoCal VegFest was held at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa.[45][46]
- San Diego, California. The Vegan Street Fair San Diego Nights was held 12 May 2018, at Anthem Vegan in San Diego.[47]
- Portland, Maine. The Maine Animal Coalition's Maine VegFest was held on 2 June 2018 in Portland.[48]
- Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Vegetarian Food Festival (BVFF) is held annually in the autumn, at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Mission Hill, Boston, between mid-October and early November.[49][50][51] Begun first in 1996,[49] it may be the oldest vegetarian food festival in the United States, having been copied from the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair.[citation needed]
- Detroit, Michigan. V313, Detroit's Vegan Celebration, was held on 3 March 2018 in Detroit. It was organized and sponsored by the Plant-Based Nutrition Support Group (PBNSG), VegMichigan, and VegSpeedDate, and featured speakers such as Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Joel Kahn, Dr. Milton Mills of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Dr. Kerrie Saunders (a.k.a. Dr. Food) and "plant-powered musicians" such as 'Rosie and the Fellas' and 'Once United'.[52][53][54]
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia VegFest or Philly VegFest, is held annually Bainbridge Green in Philadelphia. There was a two-year hiatus between the 2014 and 2017 editions.[55][56]
- Knoxville, Tennessee. Healthy Taste of Knoxville, vegan. 27 June 2021.[57]
