Shayne C.
Yelp
First time at this venue and I was uber eggcited to hear that San Diego was having their very first vegetarian/vegan festival. Woohoo !
The goal of this event was to build a healthy and sustainable movement of conscious San Diegans. It was in support of a compassionate, plant-based, animal-friendly lifestyle. Opened to anyone: first time or long time vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, flexitarian, locavorian, or curious foodies.
Partnered up with the nonprofit organization, Animal Protection and Rescue League, the festival featured speakers, live food demonstrations, tons of giveaways, Veg leadership awards, Q&A sessions, and free food samples. Unfortunately, the live documentary screening could not be played due to technical difficulties. Hopefully, that will be resolved since I was looking forward to it.
Very educational ! There was a family area which showcased San Diego County Master Garderner's Association, San Diego Seed Company, San Diego Hydroponics and Organics, and Back to Roots Mushroom Planters. Workshops included: Planting Station for Children's Seedling and Pea Pots, Children's Garden Bugs Coloring, 101's of Organic Gardening, How to Make Worm Compost Tea. Great to get the kids involved !
Indoor activities consisted of: Free Blood Pressure and Glucose Screenings provided by Operation Samahan, Acupuncture Information provided by Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Chiropractic information provided by Biophysics Chiropractic, Photo Booth Area, Interactive Art Wall Area and more.
'Southern Fried Vegan' and 'Peace Pies' were amongst the food vendors there, but the lines seemed too long and I just didn't have the patience to wait. Recommend eating prior unless they are able to accommodate large groups with less wait. I'm optimistic this will improve.
Overall, it was a pretty good show-up of people. It was a warm day and the venue got a bit stuffy and barely any circulation inside so perhaps another venue to accommodate more people in an open air setting.
A few kinks here and there, but as their inaugural event, I thought it was a success. Hope San Diego continues to hold this event. I'm already looking forward to the next one.
Get VEGUCATED peeps !