Richmond - Magazine33 attended the 2010 Richmond Vegetarian Festival this year Held at Bryan Park.  We set up a tent at the event, putting festival participants in a photo shoot and featuring them in this issue - check out the slideshow below.  The event turned out to be phenomenal.  Upon arrival, they welcome you with a bag and pamphlets on the vegetarian lifestyle and samples of vegetarian food as well as a map to guide you through Veggie Fest, which had various vendors set up and music playing on stage including a belly dancer during intermissions.

If you are wondering what Veggie Fest is, it’s simply a festival celebrating the vegetarian lifestyle.  You don’t have to be a vegetarian to come to the festival; however, they do promote the advantages of being a vegetarian.  There were speakers and several vendors set up giving out information on healthy eating with free samples, and they even had a booth set up boasting an energy drink, XS Blast, which is not made up of sugar or caffeine, but of Vitamin B12.  They let you take a sample of the energy drink, and to my surprise it didn’t taste like pure sugar like most do.  They raffled a case of XS Blast and to my surprise we won the raffle.

There were lots of animal rescue groups at the Veggie Fest this year, and you could even adopt a dog or sign up to foster a pet at this event.  They had free health care and animal care specialists to provide information and answer questions.  There were quite a few pets with their owners, as this was an animal friendly event.  Pit bulls seemed to be the dog most in attendance this year.  There were wildlife and nature conservationists also in attendance this year.  Friends of Bryan Park had a booth with a multitude of information on their foundation.

There were booths for yoga and meditation to help you get to your inner sanctuary.  Plenty of fun for the kids included the moon bounce and pumpkin patch bouncy house.  Captain Rex from Star Wars was there greeting the kids with light saber in hand.  There was also face painting; the kids could blow bubbles and color and do crafts.  There was a booth promoting peace and non-violence through educational programs for youth dialogues.  There were booths on gay rights, education and support such as GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network).

The music at this year’s Veggie Fest was sure to keep you hopping.  Haze and the Transients was the first band to perform, and Unity Sound was second of the day.  Cha Cha’s Cadillac brought back the oldies and had the crowd dancing.  Riverside Drive was the final act, and brought a nice touch to the end of the day.

Richmond Vegetarian Festival

Special thanks to Debra DeSouza Bean

Please login to post your comments.

More Featured Articles