Recap: VegFest Edmonton 2019

Following its successful inaugural year, VegFest Edmonton returned on Saturday, September 14 for a second time. 

This year, the festival hosted over 25 food vendors at REMAX Field. Some were well known vegan establishments such as Padmanadi, Copper Branch, and Die Pie. There were also many non-vegan vendors at the festival. Honest Dumplings, Dedo’s Food Truck and Catering, Blush Lane, and South Island Pie Company made an appearance to show off their vegan and vegetarian options. 

However, as I looked excitedly at the variety of food vendors that lined the perimeter of the field, I realized that I had made a fatal mistake: I had already eaten beforehand. 

While I didn’t get to try much, the food I did have was really good. I started off at Black Sheep Vegan Cheeze, where the guy running the booth kept feeding me endless samples of cheese. My god, it was amazing. The herbed vozzarella which was very flavourful and had a springy texture, similar to real mozzarella. I then got a chicken curry at Padmanadi. If you’ve never tried their curry before, it has potatoes, seitan “chicken,” yellow curry sauce, and is served on top of steaming white rice. The curry itself is delicious and creamy, though not spicy at all. I also stopped by Sweet Pea Cafe and Playhouse and got myself some gluten free chocolate chip cookies. They were perfectly gooey and chocolaty on the inside with salt sprinkled on top. I could barely tell that they were gluten free.

There were quite a few vegan restaurants that I noticed were missing from the festival. The Buckingham, Moth Cafe, Cafe Mosaics, and Good Stock would have made excellent additions to the vendor lineup. 

The festival was relatively food focused, but there were many vendors selling cruelty-free skincare, clothing, and zero waste products. For example, online vegan boutique, The Grinning Goat, sold non-leather products. Another online store, Earth Warrior Lifestyle had many zero waste products such as cutlery kits,  bamboo straws, and reusable produce bags. 

VegFest is a family-friendly event and, this year, it featured a Veggie Kids Fun Zone. There were many activities for kids — colouring, rock painting, bubble blowing, obstacle courses, and crafts were only a few of the planned activities. Some of the volunteers running the Fun Zone were dressed as giant vegetables. 

Overall, I had a great experience at VegFest. The festival had a good sample of vegan options that Edmonton offers. It’s also  a great way to discover new vegan restaurants and stores selling cruelty free products and zero waste merchandise. Just don’t eat beforehand, like I did.