Charlotte Vegfest 2019

I had a fun day at Vegfest in Charlotte NC. They had plenty of food, free samples, coupons, food trucks, and vegan products. The event was packed full of people, but it was mostly well-organized for an event this size. The huge room was loud with excited people. Everyone seemed to be very friendly and patient. Getting around was still a challenge. Maybe because everyone is going vegan! The vegans are taking over!

I knew I'd better find food fast before the vendors sold out of tasty herbivore foods. I found Ve-go Vegan To Go and ordered some nachos. They were amazing! The vegan queso was great, the pico de gallo was fresh, the beans were smooth and had a nice home-made taste. The chips were crispy, and the peppers tasted like they were just picked from the garden.

Nachos by Ve-go To Go

My travel companion had the tostadas, said they were excellent, and pointed out that the beans were especially good.

Tostadas by Ve-go To Go

I also shared the Fried Veggie Rolls by Vietgrill Vietnamese Vegan Cuisine. It's been a while since I've had one of these. It was excellent!

Fried Veggie Rolls by Vietgrill Vietnamese Vegan Cuisine

A friendly stranger sharing my table allowed me to photograph her awesome choice of lunch. Here's the Loaded Pineapple Bowl by Lotus Land. It's served in a pineapple!

Loaded Pineapple Bowl by Lotus Land

I enjoyed chatting with vendors and trying some free samples. The Barvecue is a great alternative to jerky. They had another flavor but I tried the original. It was great! It tastes like beef jerky, almost. If I see it in stores I'll buy it.

Barvecue Original Vegan Jerky

No Evil Foods is usually at these events. Here's a free sample they were offering. It looks like No Evil Pit Boss vegan barbecue. I could be wrong. All of their products are excellent.

Free samples of No Evil

Whole Foods had a really good vegan chicken salad sample but my photo was blurry. It was one of the best samples at the event.

To end the visit I had vegan Mac and Cheese by Fern, a local vegan cafe. I knew their foods are excellent from personal experience, but I never tried their Mac and Cheese until this moment. It was heavenly! Some of the best vegan mac and cheese I've had! But I found a hair in the bottom of the bowl. I really wish that didn't happen. I couldn't eat that last part. I went from being in bliss to being grossed out.

Mac and Cheese by Fern

On the way out I bought a shirt. That's all I have for you about Vegfest in Charlotte. It was fun. Maybe I'll be back next time.

VeganFest 2019 in Asheville NC

I attended VeganFest 2019 in the beautifully weird city of Asheville NC. This exciting event offered vegan food with plenty of free samples, coupons, vegan clothing and accessories, information about local animal rights groups, vegan and plant-based lectures, and a chance to meet other like-minded people. The turnout was really good considering the threat of nasty weather.

My first food tasting of the day was Hempe. It was made to taste much like chicken salad with celery and spices. It was excellent! I'll be watching for this product in stores.

My next snack was a delicious serving of Mint Chocolate Chip Hemp Milk Ice Cream from a local Asheville vendor, The Hop Ice Cream Cafe. I loved the combination of flavors. Very good!

I found this Diosas Vegan Cheese. They had four flavors; Original Goddess, Garlic Herb, Smokey Chipotle, and White Cheese. All of them were great, however my favorites were Original Goddess and Garlic Herb. Diosas Vegan Cheese is another locally made product.

Tasty Bite, one of my favorite food producers, was at the festival giving out samples of Channa Masala. They had many varieties of Tasty Bite presented, however not all Tasty Bite products are vegan.

It was time to check out the food trucks.

I eventually chose a Falafel Pita Taco by Gypsy Queen Cuisine. The fluffy pita held flavorful falafel balls covered with tahini, tomato, parsley, and pickled turnips. It was awesome! The flavors and textures blended very well.

I didn't stop there. After a while, I went to the Smash Box mobile kitchen. This plate is called The Box and includes Nicaraguan rice and beans, a sweet plantain patty, cilantro lime slaw, house-made chimichuri, goddess dressing, and barbecue habanero hempeh.

That's all I've got for you. It was fun. I'll try to be there again next year!

Nashvillle VegFest 2019

Today I went to VegFest 2019 at the fairgrounds in Nashville TN. VegFest is a vegan and plant-based lifestyle festival.

The entrance of the fairgrounds was blocked by construction and no detour signs were posted. I've never in my life seen so many vegans, herbivores, vegetarians, and animal rights advocates in one place. The turnout was huge and it started up in complete chaos and confusion. The entry line went around the parking lot. It looked like the number of people was much greater than anticipated. Ironically, we were treated like livestock with long disorganized lines and holding areas with no room to move. I felt like one of the chickens in the vegan documentaries. But I made the best of it and found some wonderful treasures to share with you.

The massive crowd at VegFest Nashville 2019

My first stop was at the Core + Rind Cashew Cheesy Sauce table to get free samples. They had three flavors; Spicy Chipotle, Smoky, and Original. Each was fantastic in very different ways, and I could not pick a favorite.

In this first vegan food photograph you see my first snack of the event. I got a jackfruit slider with potato salad from the Sunflower Cafe table. It was excellent in every way!

Barbecue Jackfruit Slider and potato salad by Sunflower Cafe

I tried to make my way around to see everything, but the crowd was massive. I could barely see the vending tables right in front of me. After squeezing my way though the crowd I found peace in the lecture area and stayed a while.

I caught the interesting and enlightening talk by JL Fields (culinary instructor/cookbook author) and Andy Tabor (Compassion Company/The Bearded Vegans) about body shaming and food shaming within the vegan community and in general public. This was an important message that should be heard by more people. I hope they continue discussing those topics to create greater understanding and unity.

I went back out for another snack. This time I found The Wild Muffin and bought a lemon poppy muffin. It was light, fluffy, delicious, and not too sweet. Perfect!

Lemon Poppy muffin by The Wild Muffin

Lemon Poppy muffin by The Wild Muffin

I couldn't end it there. I wanted to experience more plant-based pleasures. I tried to get vegan tacos at Succulent Vegan Tacos, but the menu was too small to see and I got stuck in the long pick-up line instead of the long order line. I gave up.

Before I knew it, much of the food was gone. The Wild Cow's table would have been my next stop, but they completely sold out of the vegan lobster hoagies they were serving.

My only good option at that point was to try the barbecue jackfruit sandwich and potato salad at Avo. I really didn't want to eat the same thing again, but I'm glad I did. It was awesome! It was slightly better than the Sunflower Cafe slider combo, mostly because of the tastier bun and the heavier herbs in the potato salad.

Jackfruit Barbecue Slider and potato salad by Avo

This was a good event but the location was not right. It would have been better in the parking lot of the football stadium. If the event is in the same place next year, I will surely not attend. The fairgrounds building is primitive and still smells like farm animals when the air conditioning comes on. The building's floor plan is like a Halloween corn maze or haunted house. The number of participants was too great for the narrow side aisles. The dining area was too small. However, I wish not to leave you with negative comments. I did enjoy the food, I gathered some good product coupons, and I shared an experience with good people. I hope to attend other similarly themed events in the near future.