Victoria Vegan Festival 2014

Amidst the ruckus of Canada Day celebrations and nestled in the heart of Market Square, was the Victoria Vegan Festival. In its third year, the free festival—put on by the volunteer-based, non-profit Victoria Vegan Festival Society—continues to draw both longtime vegans and those curious about the life style to its wide array of activities. Hundreds came out to partake in the festivities, and over the course of the afternoon recipes and vegan-cooking tips were shared, connections and friendships were made, and in the spirit of Canada Day, prizes were won.

Of course, veganism is more than just a dietary choice; it’s a growing political and cultural ideology that is integrally connected to slow-food, whole-food, animal rights, and local economic movements. The vegan lifestyle has steadily grown in Victoria over the last couple of decades, due in part to the information received at events like the Victoria Vegan Festival, and its campaign to motivate and inspire would-be vegans. To better understand who vegans really are, and why they choose the lifestyle, the Victoria Vegan Festival features a “This is what a vegan looks like” campaign, with short bios featured on their website.

Dispelling the myths that all vegans are hippies or undernourished, here vegans are shown to be strong athletes, health-minded individuals, and people just like you and me.

This year, the festival brought a myriad of speakers, cooking demos, and great samples of vegan food, including delectable tacos from Diablo’s Vegan Tacos, products from Beanfields Snacks, Fairy Cakes, Dad’s Westcoast Awesome Sauces, The Edge Food Company, The Good Seed Hemp Company, Pure Lovin’ Chocolate, and Rawthentic Eatery Victoria.

Victoria Vegan Festival

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More photos below

Places that took part:

Diablo’s Vegan Tacos

Market Square, v8w 36c

250-812-9828

3586 Fraser Street, V5V 4C6

604-442-9866

@FairyCakes_yumm

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Dad’s Westcoast Awesome Sauce

Pure Lovin’ Chocolate

102-3 Fan Tan Alley, V8W 3G9

250-590-0414

@Pure_Lovin

Rawthenic Eatery

108 – 4440 West Saanich Road, V9K 1S7

778-432-4800

@eatrawthentic

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vegan

Written By: Sophie MacKenzie

Sophie MacKenzie is a food enthusiast through and through. When she isn't busy working early mornings shifts at a local bakery, she can be found creating and photographing original recipes for her wholefoods centred blog. Her ...

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