One of the UK’s biggest annual vegan festivals VegfestUK makes its return to Olympia London for the 6th year running on the weekend of October 27-28, with an amazing selection of features for everybody.
Last year’s corresponding event drew a record-breaking 14,000 visitors on a weekend, and this year’s event sees an extra exhibition hall on Level 2 of Olympia Central added to the overall floor plan to ensure a superior experience for visitors. The festivities begin with a Vegan Food Village with 25 globally inspired food caterers, Shopping from over 275 exhibitors with one-off show specials available, coupled with newly branded talks focusing on specific areas of the vegan philosophy, including Health, Environment, Fitness, Permaculture, Justice, Radical Veganism and Activism.
Currently confirmed on the mouthwatering food menu include Jamaican curries, Mumbai-influenced street food, Ethiopian dishes, Vietnamese sandwiches, Mediterranean bakeries, American diner style eats, Turkish seitan doner, Sri Lankan pickled specialties, Caribbean style patties, to vegan editions of traditional British pub favourites such as burgers, hot dogs, mac n’ cheese, cupcakes, pizzas, beers, ciders and wines. Vegan junk food is not the only order of the day though with freshly prepared juices and smoothies alongside salads and other dynamic health-oriented varieties also making their presence felt at this huge celebration of vegan food and lifestyle.
The vast catalogue of shopping items at the show range from meat and dairy replacements, sweet treats, snack bars, exotically flavoured sauces and drinks, to a large catalogue of T-shirts with unique vegan messages, plus bags, footwear, jewellery and other fashion products made without the use of animals, added to the mix of superfoods, probiotics and supplements for the health-conscious, and candles, perfumes, skincare, haircare, cosmetics, lip balms, suncare, kitchenware and household cleaning products on top of vegan magazines, guides and merchandise from charities carrying a vegan ethos and more.
Confirmed special guests include renowned ecofeminist and animal rights author Carol J. Adams (author of “The Sexual Politics of Meat” amongst other publications), influential 13-year-old keynote speaker Daniel Bissonnette (author of “Daniel’s Breakfast Burst” and winner of the Shining World Leadership Award for Compassion), social justice advocate Christopher Sebastian McJetters (Vegan Publishers and Striving with Systems) plus many more captivating speakers to be announced in the coming months.
Those hungry for more of the vegan experience can also treat themselves to Yoga and Qi Gong sessions, a Cinema with half a dozen featured documentaries championing the cause for veganism, a Living Raw Zone and a Cookery Demos area demonstrating myriad ways of bringing alive plant-based ingredients, Comedy from around a dozen vegan standup acts, an Art Exhibition showcasing posters and art collections united by a vegan theme, a Kids Area showing the little ones how to incorporate more fruit & veg into their diets via fun and informative cookery classes, a 450-seater Auditorium hosting thought-provoking panels and entertainment, Live Music from 2 Stages and more.
Advance tickets are on sale at www.london.vegfest.co.uk/tickets, , and all special offers, discounts and ticket competitions will run during August only. Day tickets are priced at £13.20 for adults and £9.00 for concessions, whilst weekend tickets cost £22.00 for adults and £16.50 for concessions – prices include booking fees which are reduced from previous years.
Limited amount of day tickets are available on the gate at £15.00 for adults and £10.00 for concessions. With attendances growing year on year, the organisers would strongly advise those travelling from outside London to the event to buy tickets in advance to avoid the disappointment of tickets on the gate running out on the event days.
Kids under 16 can enter for free as long as they are accompanied by adults.
The event will be open from 10am – 6pm on Saturday and from 10am – 5pm on Sunday.
For the latest updates on the event, visit www.london.vegfest.co.uk or follow VegfestUK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @VegfestUK.