Grand Rapids VegFest: The annual festival devoted to all things vegan turns 5!

It is a great time to be a vegan in Grand Rapids as this once sleepy bedroom community has now more than 40 restaurants offering an array of animal-free options on their menus … and this was before Burger King rolled out the Impossible Whopper!

But VegFest, which is celebrating its fifth year, is so much more than just eating as this annual event touches on so many areas of vegan living from cosmetics to clothing/fashion, animal rights, restaurants, and wellness coaching.  

Each year our local VegFest has showcased an ever-expanding list of vendors as well as the local chefs and speakers, who will be sharing via lectures and cooking demonstrations many educational moments for those who will attend this one-day event.  

VegFest, according to their mission, seeks to connect interested consumers in our West Michigan community with vegan-friendly products and services to empower individuals to make healthier and more compassionate choices and to support vegan-friendly businesses.

If you are seeking to expand your knowledge of what is offered locally or simply are vegan-curious, then this annual event is a great place to expand your knowledge of all things vegan.

Here is a rundown of the speakers and topics: 

11:00 – 11:50 a.m.  Brece Clark – Humane Cowboy
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.  Becky Vandenbroek – Is Your Lip Gloss Killing You?
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.  Sustainable Duo – Let’s Get Zero-Wasted
2:30 – 3:20 p.m. Caroline Trapp – Diabetes 2019: Less Pharm, More farm 

These are the 2019 cooking demonstrations: 

11:00 a.m. Chef Valerie Wilson – Host of Real Food with Chef Val 
12:00 p.m. Chef Josh Musnski from Water & Wheat Cafe
1:00 p.m.  Chefs Cory and Tarra Davis from Daddy Pete’s BBQ
2:00 p.m. Chef Patricia LaVenture of CLNF

The event will also include food trucks and kids activities. 

For ticket pricing and other details, please visit their website: GRVegFest.com