By Julia Comino, VRG Intern

From the veggie dog eating contest to petting Toby a pygmy goat at the Peaceful Fields Sanctuary booth, Richmond’s 2022 VegFest hosted an array of fun vegan activities.     

I arrived at Byrd Park in the late morning of September 17th, 2022, just in time to watch as the other vendors began pitching their tents, organizing their products across tabletops for display, and the various sanctuaries setting up comfortable areas for their animals to rest throughout the day’s events. I made my way through the park which was filled with excited energy, taking in the array of booths featuring vegan foods, books, clothing, and more. Finally, after finding The Vegetarian Resource Group’s designated spot, I met Elsa Spencer PhD, a long-time VRG volunteer and the person responsible for running The VRG booth at VegFest for over a decade.

Elsa and I fell into an easy, lively conversation as we unpacked box after box of VRG literature and books from her car. She told me about her years of experience running The VRG’s booth at VegFest and her long-time friendships with the VRG’s staff. Together, Elsa and I made quick work of setting up our table display hosting an array of VRG cookbooks, informational pamphlets, stickers, coloring books, and Vegan Journals. As we finished setting up our booth, many of the other vendors came up to Elsa excitedly saying hello and offering their help with pitching our tent or giving directions to areas of the festival.

However, it was not only vendors that recognizes The VRG. As festival goers began to trickle into the park, many stopped by The VRG table expressing excitement to see our booth there again this year or asking us to say hello to Charles Stahler, Debra Wasserman, and other long-time VRG staff. Soon, our booth was bustling with people looking through cookbooks, flipping through Vegan Journals, and signing up for memberships with The VRG. I was consistently going from talking to visitors to restocking the books or magazines that festival-goers purchased.

I spoke to scores of people who visited our booth throughout the day, and I was pleasantly surprised that many of the people who had questions or were interested in hearing about my experience being vegan were those who were not vegan themselves. One conversation that stuck out to me was with a man who was attending the festival with his vegan daughter. He told me how he didn’t think he could give up eating chicken or fish, but that he felt bad when he did eat meat. He asked me if I had struggled with giving up certain foods to be vegan. I explained to him that I didn’t feel like I was missing out because I was vegan as there were so many amazing vegan recipes. I told him about the array of dishes that were surprisingly already vegan and plant-based meats that I have found as a great supplement to animal-based foods. He shared that he had actually enjoyed the plant-based meats he had tried. While it did not seem like he was ready to switch to a vegan diet after our conversation, he did pick up a few Vegan Journals and pamphlets, telling me that he wanted to try to reduce his consumption of meat.

After a few hours of running the booth, I went to explore VegFest for myself. I pursued the rows of booths, stopping at the AhimsaVibe booth to look through their beautiful array of crystals and jewelry. Next, I visited with the adorable animals that peaceful Fields Sanctuary had at their booth. After giving Toby, their pygmy goat, quite a lot of petting, I moved on to check out what food the festival had to offer. From home-brewed kombucha to Southern Spud’s loaded baked potatoes to jack fruit jerky, there was something to suit anyone’s taste! First, I visited Deluca’s Gelato and ordered a scoop of vegan chocolate gelato. Despite the day being temperately cool, the rich gelato made a refreshing treat. I ate my gelato as I joined a crowd of festival-goers watching a man riding a unicycle juggling flame throwers. The impressive spectacle drew roaring applause, and after I finished my gelato, I went to buy a plate of fresh vegetable summer rolls from the Thai Top Ten booth. I ended up sitting on the grass in front of a stage enjoying a dance performed by a local dance crew.

After my lunch break, I joined Elsa back at the booth. As the day went on, I met more and more people who excitedly asked about vegan recipes and bought our cookbooks. The I Love Animals and Broccoli Coloring Book was a favorite of the children who visited our booth! As the day drew to a close, I helped Elsa with customers before bidding her goodbye to make my drive back.

The VegFest was an event unlike any I had been to before. With all the vendors offering vegan wares and foods, I did not have to worry about ingredients at all. No matter if someone was vegan or non-vegan, the VegFest offered plenty of options and entertainment for everyone!

For information about VRG internships, see https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

To support Vegetarian Resource Group outreach, join at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Or donate at www.vrg.org/donate