Last Saturday, September 4th, I took the long (in Kingston time) 20-minute walk from my house down to Tara Natural Foods on Princess. Outside the store stood a crowd of people, gathered around a table on top of which sat piles of appealing goodies.
People were asked to donate whatever they could, with all of the proceeds going towards covering the cost of the upcoming Kingston VegFest—a day-long festival that will have food vendors, product samples, cooking demonstrations, and more.
I dropped a couple fives in the donation box and went straight for the last mixed berry scone—after all, it was only 10 in the morning. My second pick was a mini zucchini-almond loaf, which was conveniently coated in a crunchy layer of “buttery” brown sugar.
As I was getting ready to leave this beautiful table of vegan amazingness, in came the pink frosted sprinkle donuts by Traci, a Kingston baker who owns the vegan food company Eat Lover. Naturally, I took a donut and started chatting with the person who dropped them off.
Not only did the bake sale madly satisfy my sweet tooth, but it reminded me why I seriously want to check out VegFest on Saturday, October 22nd. As stated on their Facebook page, the festival is going to have amazing vegan food. I expect that it won’t just be good in comparison to other vegan food, but good in comparison to typical non-vegan food.
The festival is also a celebration of connectedness and community. Often, students get stuck inside the Queen’s bubble. This event provides a really fun and fulfilling (get it?) opportunity to break outside of our own little community and see what else is out there.
The vegan and vegetarian community here in Kingston could always use more options. Supporting small businesses at the festival could really help get these companies’ names out, and in turn help the community.
Furthermore, going to the festival is a really easy way to eat vegan food without needing to cook or find a suitable place to eat. If you’re interested in trying some vegan food, this is an easy and convenient way to do it. Not to mention that VegFest is at St. Lawrence College, which isn’t too far of a trek.
Last but not least, I ask that you go to the festival for the sake of the animals and the environment. Having one meal or snack that doesn’t involve animals or animal products is a tiny and super easy step towards lessening your environmental footprint and saving lives.