Baltimore VegFest 2016

Did you go to the Baltimore VegFest 2016?  We did! 

We tried walking around, but someone told us it wasn't open to the public,

and we had to wait in line.  It looked like a flea market set up, so I was confused what the point of the line was.  There was still a half hour before it was going to open, and after a three hour drive, we decided to walk around campus instead.  I will say UMBC is really a beautiful campus.

We went back and man that line got longer and longer.  As it turns out, if we waited in line, we would have gotten the free Baltimore VegFest tote.  I really wish that woman had mentioned that, because we would have waited.  Not that I need another tote, but it was the point....anywho....

We did a ton of walking.  The smoked gouda and pepper jack cheese from Follow Your Heart was a favorite of my daughters.  They also gave out coupons and samples of their VegenEgg.

Ben & Jerry's but we were more interested in trying stuff we couldn't get locally.

So we popped over to Hex Ferments for a kombucha sample.  Thanks to that sample, I got approval from the Tyrant to start making kombucha at home.

The people at Compassion for Killing were really nice.  They said the DC VegFest is almost four times the size of this, so we might have to check it out.  It's in September amidst school time, so swinging a ride out to that VegFest might be hard.

Animal Rescue Inc. brought this sweet chicken named Tulip.  It really struck a nerve with the Tyrant.  I wish more people could make the connection, it's not just puppies and kittens that matter, all of these animals matter.  They feel and hurt and want to loved.

These ladies were really nice.  We love our little feral cat, and the Tyrant was super happy to pick up a free "I Love Feral Cat" button at the Alley Cat Allies table.

We did a heck of a lot of walking.  I was super excited for the pizza, but $10 for a smaller than personal size pizza didn't really appeal to us.  The Tyrant suggested falafel, but I was on then fence.   When we walked over, I noticed the people from the Bmore Alive Falafel weren't serving up traditional falafel, they were over a foot long and crammed full of everything.  .

We waited.  And waited.  Everything was made fresh.  They hand sliced the apples, chopped the beets, kale and cabbage, and hand grated the carrots.  They even made their falafel by hand.  They had a small fryer, which was gumming up the works.  

I never thought to put all those vegetables in a falafel wrap.  I also liked the lavash better than the usual pita bread.  The tahini could have been a bit thicker, but it was still delicious!

Well worth the wait and now I'm inspired to start making falafel at home again.

The Tyrant wants a pig.  I don't think Mr. Chubby Chubby would appreciate a pig.

He only tolerates the cat because he has to.  Sorry, no pig pictures.  We were too busy petting the sweet pigs.  They were selling these great tied died shirts (I'll post a picture another time), that I don't see on their website.  They should really add them to their online store.

The guys from Action for Animals had some great stuff.

But a lot of potty mouth stuff, so nothing we could buy.

This lady from Relay Foods was lovely....unfortunately, they don't deliver to Jersey, yet.

After trying a sample from A Better Batch, we had to buy some. Delish!

I am still surprised and happy that were so many people that attended the event.  We bought a slew of t-shirts and collected a bunch of stickers, buttons and samples.

We had a really great time.  Other than that tote issue which still annoys me because I'm crazy, I had one real issue.  When you went up to the vendors at the non-profit tables, they were quick to point out pamphlets and free buttons, which is nice.  The problem is almost no one told you about their organization.  I knew about a lot of them already, but it would have been nice if they said, "Hey, we are (insert name) and we work to save animals by (insert information)."  I feel like a lot of them missed a great opportunity to really spread the message of their organization.  The commercial vendors had so much to say about who they are and what they do;perhaps, the non-profits could learn a thing or two from them.

The next few VegFests that are close-ish to us are the Asheville VegFest on May 15 and the Charlotte VegFest on May 21.  There is a New Jersey VegFest in October, but they're charging $50 tickets at the door!  Of course, the only one in my state is charging for tickets and everyone else's are free, yeesh.  We're going to pass on that one.  None the less, we are excited to go out and meet fellow vegans and to find plenty of vegan food.  Maybe next time we'll remember to sit and listen to a lecture or two!