Victoria Vegan Fest 2012
Hello foodies! Here are a few shots of the very successful First Annual Victoria Vegan Fest 2012! It was super busy {awesome!!} so I didn’t have much time to take many pictures, but I captured the gist of it. Here is the table where I sold more than 300 Char Stars in only 5 hours!
Gardein was there too, serving up delicious samples of their amazing meat substitutes.
One of my favourite vegan companies.
LOVE the teriyaki chik’n strips!! Amazing.
Emma from Zimt Artisan Chocolates was also there, sharing her healthy, delicious chocolates.
Fairy Cakes came from Vancouver with cupcakes! They were offering up gluten-free ones, too.
My lunch was a vanilla cupcake with coffee buttercream frosting. HOLY! The cupcake was moist, with that slight crispness to the outside, delicate flavour, with that perfectly creamy frosting. Such an amazing lunch cupcake.
Of course, Sarah Kramer brought merchandise from her famous Sarah’s Place vegan shop to the event.
I had to buy more Go Max Go bars from Sarah. Obvs.
Vendors were raising awareness about furs…
…and carriage rides. There were also vegan shoes, purses, & clothing available at other booths. With a total of 15 vendors, we had a well-rounded out festival full of food and information for vegans, and for those who are curious about veganism. And because the event was so successful, it is definitely on for next year!
Last but not least, Jenneke from Simply Bar was there.
She traded me some Simply Bars for Char Stars, and it was definitely a good trade {for both of us}!
So far I’ve tried the Cocoa Raspberry, the Peanut Caramel, & the Lemon Coconut and I love all of them. The sweet tartness from the raspberries balances well with the rich cocoa; the taste of peanut butter really blends well with the caramel…I love caramel!; and lemon & coconut are always a hit together. The soft taste of coconut & cashew butter with the sharp, bitterness of the lemon…Amazing! And the stats on these bars compare to no others: Roughly 140 calories, 3 grams sugar, 4 grams fibre, & 16 grams of protein! They keep me satisfied & full, and I love that they don’t have a ton of sugar like so many other bars. Simply Bar is my new favourite bar!
{This is my 100% honest opinion. This is not an endorsement.}
Afterwards, I had dinner at Green Cuisine with Jenneke and her partner. The pay-by-weight food bar is actually priced reasonably, and they offer a discount to students. This whole plate? $10.53!! Green Cuisine is my new favourite vegan restaurant. I cannot WAIT to go back!
Salad with green goddess dressing, pasta salad, LASAGNA, kabocha squash, cashew fried rice, tempeh in peanut sauce {so good!}, curried chickpeas, sweet chili baked tofu…I want all of it, again. I was also eyeing up their Not Nanaimo Bars & the Peanut Butter Blondies, but wasn’t feeling dessert after having a cupcake for lunch. Next time!
Anyhoo, I’m out for now, foodies. Thank you to all of the amazing people who helped make Victoria Vegan Fest such a huge success!! I hope all of my lovely Canadian readers had a fabulous Canada Day, & I hope all of my wonderful American readers had a happy Fourth of July!
peace, love, food <3
Char, xo
Categories: Victoria Vegan Fest 2012 | 12 Comments
Eeks! Over 300 stars??? OMG congrats girl that is amazing! Your booth and sign are so beautiful too!
I love Simply bars, gotta say. Never been disappointed by them! I so wish I could have made it but next year, next year! (Do they have this festival at any other time or is it just once a year?)
Thank you, Anna!! It was so exciting to be there! It’s just once a year, but it would be great if you could make it for next year! You’d be more than welcome to stay with me if you needed to
And I totally agree about the Simply Bars! yum yum.
Those Simply Bars look fantastic! It’s hard to find a snack bar that is vegan AND gluten free (Lara bars are one of the few of those that I’ve found to be such).
A bunch of vegans getting together–looks like it was a ton of fun.
Totally agree about the Simply Bars! And their stats compare to no others.
Wish you could have been there!
Hello!
I didn’t realize Simply Bars were Canadian. Now I understand why I can’t find the darn things (you are the second blogger to mention them).
That looks like a great festival and congratulations and doing so well!
Thank you, Samantha! It was a lot of fun. I hope Simply Bars can make it to you guys sometime soon
How fun! 300 stars? You are one busy girl!
I was just eyeing up Simply Bars tonight, no joke. You know how hard it is to find a nut free and gluten free bar? Impossible.
Thank you, Carly!
I totally hear you! I’m excited about the low sugar in the Simply Bars, too. Many protein bars (even vegans ones) end up being loaded with sugar, so it’s nice to find one that doesn’t make me “crash” after eating one. And they’re so good!
Wow, you are so amazing Char! Way to go! I’ve never had a Simply Bar, they sound great! All those flavors all sound delicious. As does that salad!
Thank you, Annie!
It was all delicious for sure! I’ve been disappointed with every salad I’ve eaten since, haha. I want to go back for more!
300 Char’s Stars – that’s fantastic!! Yay!!
I’ve always wanted to try out Green Cuisine but I didn’t know what to expect – they reviews online are always so so! Next time for sure!
Thank you, Jess!!
I totally hear you. The reason it took me so long to finally try it out was because all I’d ever heard was complaints. About it being too expensive, not enough variety, blah blah. Go and decide for yourself, because I promise you won’t be disappointed! I plan on eating there every time I’m in Victoria now. In fact, wanna grab me on your way down? haha, xo