Bethlehem Vegfest 2016

Hi everyone! Today was the Bethlehem Vegfest, and it was lots of fun, though really hot! We had a nice group this year: me, Zach, Zach's brother Ben, my sister Alena, and Alena's boyfriend Alex. When we first got there, we did a loop through the vendors to scope everything out (it definitely seemed like there were fewer vendors compared to past years), and then decided it was time for food. At Freakin' Vegan, I got mac & cheese and a broccoli & cheddar empanada. The mac & cheese was the best (I'd gotten it last year, too!) and the empanada was good, though the broccoli was a bit overcooked/soft for my liking.

my view from where we sat under a tree to eat lunch :)

At the Grape Cat stall I bought this cute Herbivore shirt and got a free little button.

After that, we got free samples of veggie chips; this year they had a new sriracha variety. Next stop was the Franklin Hill Vineyards stall, where I tried a sample of the Crush (pomegranate peach) wine; it was really good, so Zach & I bought a bottle of that, as well as a bottle of the Fainting Goat wine (the one I liked last time). 

After that, we got in (the long, long!) line for Vegan Treats, where I eventually got a peanut butter cup brownie and a chocolate peanut butter drizzle donut to bring home.

Then I got a strawberry lemonade ice pop from Mompops, and we visited the pigs from the Pig Placement Network and the beagles from the Beagle Freedom Project one last time. On the way back to the car, someone from Beyond Juice mentioned that they were giving out free samples, and since the store was right across from where we'd parked, we stopped in. They made a fresh "yellow juice" (carrots, orange, pineapple, and apple) for us; I'm not big on juices, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was!

happy little vegan, post-vegfest :)

For the cute cat pic of today's post, here's Blu, Alena's kitty. She just had surgery yesterday to remove a few teeth that were causing her pain, and she's already bounced back; she was chirping and rolling around on the floor like her silly little self when we stopped by after the vegfest!

This was the only picture I could get of her standing still, all the rest turned out super blurry, haha!

Peace. :)

VegFest Food

This year I made it to three vegfests in PA: Philly VegFest (June 6), Chester County Vegan Festival (August 8), and Bethlehem VegFest (August 22).

Philly VegFest

Philly VegFest was really exciting because it was my first time going. I took the train in with Alena and we enjoyed a bunch of free food samples (including cookies, tahini, maple syrup, bread, coconut fries, and pickles all from various vendors, as well as other goodies in a reusable grocery bag). For our lunch, we got BBQ seitan tacos ($4 each) from Vstreet, which we enjoyed while sitting at the fountain. They were really good, even if they were a bit messy, haha! 

We'd hoped to get something from Blackbird Pizzeria and Dottie's Donuts, but the lines were long; next year we'll be sure to stick it out! Philly VegFest wins for best food samples!

Chester County Vegan Festival

This was my second time going to the Chester County Vegan Festival, and Alena made it this year for her first time, so we had a lot of fun and made sure to pile up our plates at the picnic buffet. My plate included a hot dog, portobello mushroom, rice, potato salad, green beans, spicy cabbage, vegetable skewer, and sausage on a hamburger bun. 

Alena's plate.

While the smallest of the three events, Chester County Vegan Festival wins for best value for the most food ($10 entry, $9 if you brought your own place setting, which we did). It also has a really nice and relaxed atmosphere since it takes place in a park.

We bought ice pops at the end from Mompops (2 for $5). 

Alena got the mint chocolate chip.

I got the orange coconut, which was like a creamsicle.

The blogger as seen in the wild! Hehehe!

Bethlehem VegFest

Alena, Zach, and I went to the Bethlehem VegFest today (our second time going). Alena and I got some free samples of veggie chips (a small bag, not pictured, which we ate right away, and a larger bag which we got later in the day, seen below).

After walking around for a bit, we decided to get lunch from Freakin' Vegan, sharing an order of mac & cheese and a cheesesteak empanada. Both were delicious ($5 each).

I later bought two cupcakes from Mo'Pweeze Bakery; they got a bit bumped along the way home ($3.50 each). 

double vanilla delight

moo's choco choc, which has now been devoured, was so good, especially the icing

And then of course we made our way over to Vegan Treats' tent for more goodies to bring back with us. We stood in line for around 20 minutes but it was worth the wait and we placed our order quickly. I got a "chicken" and waffles donut and an almond pretzel donut; Alena got a cannoli and a chocolate chip cookie ($18 total). 

almond pretzel donut

"chicken" and waffles donut

Bethlehem VegFest wins for best variety of food and baked goods, but it was definitely the most expensive one for me, haha!

Well, that's it for this year's vegfests; thanks to Alena for taking lots of photos! And of course, I'm already looking forward to next year's vegfests!

Finally, here's Leela in her cat tent and Buttons being silly.

Peace. :)