The city of St. Louis, Missouri drew a massive crowd at its first-ever VegFest. The event more than doubled attendance expectations.“We were expecting 1-3 thousand attendees, but we had over 7,000,” a representative of the festival said. Guests were equally happy with the vegan festival. “People came from far and wide, and several vendors and attendees said this was the biggest, best, FIRST VegFest they’ve ever been to.”
According to the official event page, the free vegan festival invited guests for a family-friendly Saturday filled with plant-based food, cruelty-free merchandise and cosmetics, musical performers, and inspirational speakers.
Visitors to St. Louis VegFest were treated to a wide array of vegan food served by local vendors. Online vegan bakery, Sam’s Vegan Kitchen, served egg-free and dairy-free baked goods such as Pop-Tarts, cookie sandwiches, and more. Kansas City-based vegan food truck, Mattie’s Vegan Queso, offered loaded nachos and jars of dairy-free queso for customers to take home. Those in attendance could also find vegan eats like sushi, pizza, sandwiches, cupcakes, soft-serve ice cream, and more.
Speakers and presenters for the event included Daniel Austin, vegan powerlifter and author of the book “The Way of the Vegan Meathead: Eating for Strength,” vegan entrepreneur, lifestyle coach, and founder of the plant-based meal delivery service Fabulously Vegan, Artinces, Caryn Dugan, vegan nutritionist, recipe developer, and local plant-based community leader, and others. Former St. Louis news anchor Ellen Jaffe Jones presented a panel for budget-conscious individuals called “How to Eat Vegan on $4 a Day.” Vegan athlete, influencer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur John Lewis, best known by the handle “Badass Vegan,” acted as emcee at the event.
St. Louis VegFest took place on Saturday, August 4, at the historic World’s Fair Pavilion. The free event was organized by St. Louis Animal Rights Team (START), a non-profit group that has been mobilizing volunteers to promote compassion towards all living creatures since 1985.
