This past Saturday was the DC Vegfest sponsored by Compassion Over Killing. I only realized it the Monday before, so it was a wonderful surprise and a totally spur of the moment trip. 

The day was a total blast and even though it was a bit hot, the weather was beautiful. It’s been announced that there was about 15,000 people there throughout the day…15 THOUSAND people! That’s crazy…and awesome!

The first thing I wanted to do when we got there was obviously eat! Only having gone to the Bethlehem VegFest, I was NOT expecting such crazy lines. I didn’t mind it for the most part, but we actually skipped Vegan Treats all together because the line was ridiculous from the second it opened. We took a quick stroll around to check out what food vendors were there, and I saw someone with a plate of nachos from DC Bread and Brew and very enthusiastically exclaimed, “I NEED NACHOS!” And boy were they worth it. They were huge and delicious, and were served in a frisbee. We sat in the music tent and listened to  a very talented two person music group, Buntopia.

I ate most of the nachos, so my husband wanted to grab some sushi. I only had a piece of two, and it was good, but I think the nachos were a better deal (both being $7 each).

I was super torn because I really wanted to buy a bunch of crap I don’t need stuff, but the sensible side got the best of me. I really wanted a t-shirt from Herbivore Clothing, but my husband politely reminded me I don’t need anymore t-shirts, and he’s completely right. I love supporting ethical companies, but not just for the sake of acquiring more stuff.  Although, I did see someone later tweet about this tank top they got and I had a small twinge of buyers remorse.

There were a lot of free samples to be had, especially from the bigger companies. So Delicious (have you read about their latest news?) had a little stand with a bunch of free samples and coupons. There was always a line but it moved quickly. They had a coconut cappuccino drink (Cococcino), which was sooo good, I wish I could drink/eat coconut products without breaking out. They also had chocolate milk samples, and ice cream bars in strawberry and mocha almond fudge.

We ate our ice cream and listened to Bryant Terry speak a bit. I learned that the Black Panthers started the free breakfast for school children program. There was ALWAYS a crowd in the speaker tent. A little later in the day we listened to Robin Quivers talk about going from working in the medical field to being a patient. I was very impressed with their speaker line up.

I do have a few regrets of the day, and it’s always the same thing when I go to a food festival…I get so full and can’t try everything I’d like to. I saw someone sit down with a Gyro from Randy Radish and for the rest of the day I kept saying “I’d really like one of those gyros…maybe next year we should bring a Tupperwear.”

The lady from Ape Man Foods mentioned to me that their food was all raw because I had my Eat Raw Live Long shirt on. I declined politely, but what I really wanted to tell her was how much I wanted to try her BLT (with eggplant “bacon”) but that I was so stuffed nothing I was afraid to shove anything else in my face.

I also kept saying we’d get some Sticky Fingers on the way out so we wouldn’t have to carry it around with us, but by the time we were leaving it was so hot, I was still full, and there was a decent crowd around their tent. Plus we still had cake at home.

Even though DC is a good 2 hours away, I think it’s important to support these events to let companies/organizations know the demand is there. 15,000 people were there this past weekend, and whether they were vegan, vegetarian, or neither, the attention being brought to animal activism and a plant based diet is amazing.