Vegan Summer Fun

One of the most frustrating things about being vegan is the low availability of restaurants and food at public events. We’re just like everyone else. We have days when all we want to do is order some food, lay on the couch, and watch something idiotic on television. We also have busy days, and frankly cooking food is the absolute last thing we want to do. We take hungry children shopping, we go to public events without our picnic baskets, and we stay places way too long with no plans for dinner. Why must we go hungry?

Summer vegan food fests to the rescue.

We (Like Mom’s Only Vegan) were vending the first time we ever attended an exclusively vegan food festival. It was here, in Cincinnati. The Cincy VegFest is held yearly at Burnet Woods, and we were fortunate enough to be a part of it. We could barely contain our excitement. We sampled everything that we could before just about all of the vendors sold out. It was the first time my children, including the ones who actually have allergies to milk, could freely eat whatever was available. This event led us to research other regional events.

The Dayton Vegan Food and Drink Festival, is also a yearly event. We’ve been attending for several years. As with all of the vegan events this one also has speakers and entertainment.

Last year, LMOV was among the vendors of the Bluegrass VegFest. This year, we partnered with The Power Plant Kitchen out of Columbus. It was another opportunity to be introduced to regional vegan businesses and vegan food, as well as share our products. Louisville is about an hour and a half from Cincinnati, but it’s definitely worth the drive time.

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Vegfest was held the same day as the Bluegrass Vegfest, so we had to make a choice. Hopefully, next year we’ll be able to do both events as the Bluegrass Vegfest is being planned for September 2025.

Veggie Fest Chicago has been around for quite some time. We haven’t made the trek yet, but it’s being held in August, so we may. It looks to be a very large event with speakers and food demos.

I believe that the most nutritious foods you can eat are probably products of your very own kitchen. We recommend preparing your meals in house, using ingredients that are as close to their natural form as possible. However, as vegans, it is cool to occasionally be able to try new foods and take in entertainment and information that support your lifestyle. The festivals listed above are relatively close to the Cincinnati area, but if you do a quick Google search in different regions, you’ll likely find plenty of events in your region.